Italian Alpine skiing champion Sofia Goggia decided to do some training in the desert heat of Dubai, UAE, to mix things up—unfortunately, it was raining. Goggia, 31, shared pictures from her trip, including a photo of her posing on a rainy track in black shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. “I like to think that I brought the rain to the desert and, after all, being here to a specific objective, this has allowed me to work at the top between physiotherapy and outdoor training… Thanks Dubai, and thanks to those who were there, this is for sure a week to be remembered,” she captioned the post. Here’s how Goggia stays fit, focused, and ready for anything.
Goggia loves e-biking in the mountains with her friends. “I particularly like the contact with nature, with the mountains, and the fact that it is a little less tiring than a normal mountain bike,” she told Bike Like This. “I immediately understood that it could become a great training tool, also thanks to the fact that it presents a pedal stroke that never has moments of maximum effort, especially using it as an alternative work for milder cardio.”
Goggia is preparing for competitions even in her sleep. “Before I go to sleep I tell my brain, ‘Dream about the course and the right lines…’ It’s almost if I tell it to keep working and collect information after my training runs,” she told the Red Bull podcast. “From a technical point of view, I focus (before the race) on the technical moves that I’ll need in race. The pure technique is probably not my strongest skill, but I’ll try to pay attention to every detail from sleep, food, other things I need to take care of … I’m not superstitious, but I like to have my routine. Routine puts me in a sort of comfort zone because you keep doing things that make you feel confident.”
Goggia’s workout regimen includes training with weights and resistance equipment at the gym. “You don’t need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training,” says the Mayo Clinic. “You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions a week.”
Goggia escapes to a rustic cabin when she wants to rest and reset. “To find inner peace, I have my own special place,” she told Demoerosso. “I have a cabin in the Aosta Valley, 2200 meters up in the Gran Paradiso National Park. There is no electricity or running water. Light comes from an oil lamp and I wash in the creek. When I want to rest I go there, it’s beautiful. I can’t always carve out time, but I always try for at least a couple of days. It is the ideal place to really switch off and unload any stress. Being demanding with yourself is fine, but when this becomes a limit you have to be able to acknowledge this and find the right balance.”
Goggia wants to keep evolving in both her personal and professional life. “I read a lot of books about personal growth and I am always trying to improve myself as a person,” she told Demoerosso. “When you think that thirty of us women are within half a second over 3 km, you understand that what makes the difference are also soft skills, all those skills and character traits that we unconsciously exploit when interacting with people. I’m stubborn, for example, but I’m trying to be more flexible, this is one aspect of my personality I’m trying to improve right now. Working on these details can also make the difference, so that I’m calm when I reach the gate and ready to express the best of my mind and body.”