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NaVorro Bowman and Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers refresh their legs with a Normatec treatment in the locker room prior to Super Bowl XLVII  February 2013.
NaVorro Bowman and Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers refresh their legs with a Normatec treatment in the locker room prior to Super Bowl XLVII February 2013. (Photo: Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty)

Athlete Essentials for Surviving the Olympics

Even superstar Olympians need some help staying fresh through the competition

Published: 
NaVorro Bowman and Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers refresh their legs with a Normatec treatment in the locker room prior to Super Bowl XLVII  February 2013.
(Photo: Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty)

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Every four years, we get excited about the new tech debuting at the Winter Olympics. But what doesn鈥檛 get as much attention are the everyday solutions athletes use to keep themselves up and running (or skiing) throughout the competition. Here, five U.S. Olympians dish on their essentials.

Squid ($700)

(Courtesy Squid Compression)

Ashley Caldwell, Freestyle Skier

Aerial skiers launch themselves off 12-foot-high jumps, soar 65 feet in the air while performing flips and spins, then land on their skis. Except they often don鈥檛 land on their skis. 鈥淥ur bodies take a beating,鈥 says Ashley Caldwell, 24, a member of the U.S. squad. That鈥檚 why, during her downtime in Pyeongchang, Caldwell will have her legs wrapped in a contraption called the聽, a dual compression and icing device. To use it, Caldwell cools the gel packs in the freezer (or in the snow, she says), wraps them around her legs, then hits a button on a battery pack that鈥檚 attached via a cord to initiate compression. 鈥淚t helps reduce the inflammation in my joints,鈥 she says. 鈥淪ometimes I forget to use it, and I definitely notice.鈥 Caldwell hopes the technology will keep her healthy enough to challenge for gold at the Olympics鈥攁nd she has a real shot. Caldwell鈥檚 quadruple, twisting, triple backflip is the biggest trick any woman will attempt at the games.

Books on Tape

(Courtesy Audible/Balzer + Bray/Penguin)

Sophie Caldwell, Cross-Country Skier

Coming into the games, Sophie Caldwell scored a World Cup victory in the freestyle sprint and is considered a medal favorite in Pyeongchang鈥攊f she can stay relaxed and healthy. To ensure that she does, the 27-year-old Vermonter has two tricks. To knock out prerace jitters, she listens to books on tape. 鈥淏efore races, your mind is racing, and even if you try to relax, your mind still comes back to racing,鈥 she says. 鈥淟istening to books distracts me.鈥 Caldwell鈥檚 playlist includes by Trevor Noah ($10), by Angie Thomas ($11), and by Celeste Ng ($16), which is what she listened to before her World Cup victory. To keep her immune system healthy, she and her teammates down daily shots of garlic, cayenne, and lemon juice, which contain antioxidants and can help stave off the cold and flu. Caldwell says she typically gets a few colds each season, but since the team began this regimen, 鈥渨e鈥檝e all been really healthy compared to past years.鈥

狈辞谤尘补罢别肠听笔耻濒蝉别 ($1,495)

(Courtesy Normatec)

Jonathan Garcia, Speedskater

According to Jonathan Garcia, a speedskater who鈥檒l race the 500-meter event in Korea, he might not be in the Olympics if it wasn鈥檛 for a machine called the聽. Garcia, 31, has wrapped the giant plastic bags around his legs each day for four years. For 20 minutes, the machine pushes compressed air through the bags, which, he claims, flushes lactic acid from his muscles. 鈥淚t reduces soreness and achiness in the legs,鈥 Garcia says. 鈥淲hat normally takes three days to recover from takes just 12 hours.鈥

Under Armour Athlete Recovery Sleepwear (From $45)

(Courtesy Under Armour)

Matt Antoine, Skeleton Racer

鈥淚 don鈥檛 sleep well, and that gets harder on the road with different pillows, beds, and jet lag,鈥 says Matt Antoine, a skeleton racer who lives Phoenix, Arizona. That can wreak havoc on an athlete鈥 have suggested that lack of sleep can result in the same symptoms as overtraining. To help prevent that, this year Antoine, 32, began wearing , which the company says uses a proprietary print that absorbs the body鈥檚 natural heat and reflects that energy back into the skin, helping your body recover faster and promoting better sleep. Says Antoine: 鈥淲hether that鈥檚 real or not, I can鈥檛 tell you. It might be a placebo effect. But I definitely enjoy it. Not sure I get more sleep, but the quality of sleep seems better.鈥

Airweave Top Mattress ($300)

(Courtesy Airweave)

Resi Stiegler, Alpine Skier

For Resi Stiegler, 32, the key to Olympic success is keeping her battered body in alignment. The Jackson Hole native has raced on the World Cup circuit for 14 years, scoring a podium finish in 2012. Along the way, she鈥檚 suffered numerous season-ending injuries, like a torn ACL and meniscus in her knee. But Stiegler has discovered a simple solution to help keep scar tissue from twisting her legs into a decrepit mess: , a thin, synthetic-fiber mattress that sits on top of the numerous hotel mattresses that Stiegler is forced to sleep on throughout the season. According to the company, the proprietary technology makes it feel as though you鈥檙e floating atop your bed while offering more support than a traditional mattress. Says Stiegler: 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to pack, light, and help keeps my body aligned.鈥

Lead Photo: Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty

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