Alpine Skiing
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen’s diverse fitness routine? We’re all in!
Cliff diving, slacklining and acrobatics are all part of Lucas Pinheiro Braathen’s fitness routine as he returns to the top of alpine skiing.
When Lucas Pinheiro Braathen decided to make his much-anticipated return to alpine skiing, he labelled it “the start of the biggest project of my life.”
It was easy to see why. In wearing the Brazilian flag, he’s now representing 200 million people and skiing with the aim of revolutionising the sport while continuing to win in his own unique style.
Standing out from the crowd is nothing new for Pinheiro Braathen, but upon deciding to make his comeback to the sport that “gives him love and happiness”, there was an element that was going to be even more non-negotiable. He was going to do it his way.
Braathen is bringing his personality to the fore more and more
© Erich Spiess/Red Bull Content Pool
I made it my goal to do what I love the most while also trying to transcend the industry of skiing and sports by expressing myself and showing who I am
“I made it my goal to do what I love the most while also trying to transcend the industry of skiing and sports by expressing myself and showing who I am – and to not be compromised,” Pinheiro Braathen says.
This uncompromising belief applies to all areas of his life, not just how he attacks the slalom piste on race day in a fashion that’s already brought him multiple victories and titles on the FIS World Cup circuit.
His approach to fitness follows the same authentic attitude and is based solely on what he individually requires to be the best version of himself.
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Personalise your fitness
“We're individuals, and we all have different needs. We all have different genetics and respond differently to different types of movements, foods, everything,” Pinheiro Braathen, explains.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen embraces what makes him unique
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
“That is the basis for entering any conversation around fitness. You first need to go on a journey with yourself and listen to your own body.”
Pinheiro Braathen, the son of a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, has known from a young age that his make-up is multicultural. Being between these two different cultures and worlds has shaped every part of his past, present, and future and it’s evident in his training.
02
Have variety in your workout
“It all comes back to diversity in every aspect of fitness,” Pinheiro Braathen explains. “That's the one thing I would say is key in the overall programme that I do.
“It needs to be a different experience every time you walk into the gym, and it needs to have a very specific goal. What are we trying to achieve effectively? [In slalom skiing] You need amazing power, you need amazing strength. You need endurance, and you need coordination.
"I need all of my sessions to give me a new experience, and that's what I love about skiing as you need everything. It's important that I keep this diversity.”
The variation in Pinheiro Braathen’s training is wide-ranging. He does punishing squatting sessions in the gym and endurance sessions on the mountain, where his heart beats outside his body, and he can’t feel his legs anymore.
These, he says, are very important in achieving the core fundamentals of being a professional skier at the top of the sport. However, he also sees enormous value in continuing fun activities that offer benefits in different ways.
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Don't forget to have fun
“I think it's important to spend time on your interests that don’t necessarily fit into training and structure,” Pinheiro Braathen says.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is chasing what makes him happy
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
“Keep surfing if you love it. I keep doing my cliff diving. I keep doing my acrobatics. I keep walking on a slackline, biking on a one-wheel bike; all these things that offer attributes of balance, hand-eye coordination, room orientation, all these things that are so valuable in my niche of skiing.”
When announcing his comeback, Pinheiro Braathen said he wanted to leave behind a legacy of staying true to himself to make skiing more diverse and accepting of different personalities. We can safely say he is already well on the way to achieving his goal!