Alpine Skier Petra Vlhova In Workout Gear Walks On Treadmill After Knee Injury

Slovakian Alpine skier Petra Vlhova is taking her time recovering from a knee injury that knocked her out of competing for the rest of the season. Vlhova, 28, shared a video of herself wearing shorts and a black shirt, walking slowly and steadily on a treadmill, wearing socks but no shoes. "You will slowly move on…☺️," she captioned the post. "The queen is back 🔥❤️‍🩹👑," a fan commented. Here's what Vlhova training and wellness regimen looks like, both in season and out.

Vlhova doesn't really have any down time—when she's not competing, she's training. "The whole summer is one big preparation," she told Pravda Sport. "I'm still just training. If I ski in the morning, I have heavy fitness training in the afternoon and I'm done in the evening. However, the most difficult are probably the runs, when my heart rate is high… I reached the bottom of my strength when I completed the motocross race in Žaškov and on the same day in the evening I ran the Night Run in Liptovský Mikuláš. The next morning it was very difficult… However, I realize that I have to pass it if I want to be good and rule the winter on skis. It's part of skiing life. And it was never easy."

Vlhova's unorthodox training methods include speed skating, tennis, kayaking, and Krav Maga. "Skiing is an outdoor sport and I think it's not good to confine yourself to those four walls," her Italian coach Livio Magoni told Olympic Channel. "A top skier needs to adjust to the different situations they face. When I work on her fitness I often come up with new exercises which are functional for her and her weaknesses, it's a constant work in progress."

Vlhova loves motocross riding. "A lot of people think I'm just going for a ride," she told Pravda Sport. "It is not true. I practice balance, coordination, I strengthen my stomach, legs and arms, and of course, it's also about courage. It's a good workout and I'm glad I can do something I enjoy in preparation. I'm not the only one. Austrian Marcel Hirscher and Henrik Kristoffersen also ride. Some may argue that it is dangerous, but I can also break my leg by stumbling. At least that's how I see it."

Vlhova has deep respect for her competitor Mikaela Shiffrin, who hugged her after she made a mistake during a race in Maribor, Slovenia. "I have a big respect for Mikaela because for me she is a true champion: she won a lot of races and now she's the best skier in the World Cup," she told Olympic Channel. "It was a nice hug: I just finished fifth, I made a mistake and I was really sad. She came and she gave me a hug and it was nice because sometimes you need it…We have a good battle all the time when we race so it was a nice gesture."df44d9eab23ea271ddde7545ae2c09ec

Vlhova feels herself getting stronger with age. "After the season, we told each other in the team that I have to work on strengthening the upper part of the body, and that is what is happening," she told Pravda Sport. "Every year I feel stronger, also because I am developing and getting older. It comes with age, I realize that I need to be stronger and stronger. After the holiday I have another week of hard training and then I will just maintain myself until the start of the season."