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Athletes combine running, cycling, gym work, technique work, exercises with resistance bands and – most importantly – on-ice sessions, in order to reach peak physical condition for the ISU Short Track World Tour, World Championships, and Olympic Games. 

Racers are usually aiming to really ramp up their workouts in spring – they might have been maintaining with easy jogs, bike rides and the gym before that. 

By April, they are going hard with full training blocks, and are often back on the ice by May. Summer sessions riding bikes up mountains are very common to build base fitness. 

Jessica Santos Rodrigues of Portugal warms up during the ISU Short Track World Tour - Dordrech © ISU

In the gym, leg work is unsurprisingly important, although with short track often having a lot of contact, upper body workouts and core work are also very popular. 

Different racers like different methods. Arianna Fontana has previously stated her dislike of cycling. “I like to skate, and I love inline skating as cross training,” she says. “I used to absolutely hate the bike. I couldn’t have been a good cyclist. My limit mentally and physically is two hours.”

Athletes use the exercise bikes in the warm-up area during the ISU European Short Track Championships © ISU

Koreans are well known for their off-ice technique work – practicing positions and using resistance bands, while other nations favour different methods. 

Once on ice, different nations often collaborate. Training benefits from having larger groups to work with, so smaller nations often combine with larger squads to improve – whether that’s Brendan Corey (AUS) joining the Italians, Poland and Latvia combining forces, or the numerous nations that take advantage of the training plan in Utah with team USA. 

Belgium and the Netherlands – famous regional rivals on the football field – even joined forces a number of years back, with Hanne and Stijn Desmet (BEL) being the major beneficiaries. The pair have since trained with other teams including Hungary.

Hanne and Stijn Desmet warm-up before an event in 2022 © ISU

“It has really helped us, training with the Netherlands team – they are on such a high level, their coaches are great and Heerenveen is one of the best places in the world to train,” said Desmet back in her days in Holland.

Ultimately nothing beats hard yards on the ice, and you’ll often find Olympic medallists say: “I had a great summer.”