Get Ski-Ready: Olympian Doug Lewis Shares Pre-Season Ski Fitness Tips

Ski season is fast approaching, and if you’re dreaming of powder days and long runs, now is the time to start your ski fitness training. In the latest episode of the Where to Ski podcast, host John Morgan sits down with Doug Lewis—two-time Olympian, World Championship medalist, and U.S. Ski Team legend—to share his best advice on pre-season ski workouts that anyone can do.

If you’ve ever felt wiped out after only a few runs or struggled with altitude on a ski trip, you’re not alone. According to Lewis, the key to skiing with confidence, endurance, and control is simple: get in shape for skiing before you hit the slopes.

The best part? You don’t need a gym membership or expensive machines. Lewis recommends bodyweight ski conditioning exercises like squats, push-ups, burpees, lunges, and sit-ups. Combine these with cardio—jogging, cycling, or short sprints—and agility drills such as trail runs or even walking through a riverbed to sharpen balance. For explosive power on skis, add jump training.

Consistency is everything. Just 20 minutes a day, five days a week, for 60 to 100 days before your ski holiday can completely transform your experience. “Control gives you joy,” Lewis explains. Stronger legs, a stable core, and mental commitment mean more fun whether you’re carving groomers, tackling moguls, or heading into the backcountry.

So if your goal this season is to ski longer, stronger, and safer, start your ski workout plan today. Build strength, boost cardio, improve agility, and commit mentally—you’ll arrive on the mountain confident and ready to rip.

👉 Subscribe to the Where to Ski podcast at wheretoski.org for more expert ski fitness tips and insider stories from legends of the sport.

For more on Doug - www.eliteam.com

For more on Utah Olympic Park - https://utaholympiclegacy.org/location/utah-olympic-park/

In this podcast we explore the Arlberg region of Austria, the cradle of skiing and one of the largest ski regions in the world including St. Anton, Lech and Zeurs - with Barney Caddick from Ski Like A Pro.

Barney Caddick has been working as a ski guide in St. Anton for the past 27 Winters, is a fully certified 'Staatlich Geprüfte Skilehrer und Skiführer' - the Austrian equivalent of master and has 36 seasons teaching in 8 Ski-schools on 4 continents.

Find Barney Caddick, Ski Like a Pro, https://www.skilikeapro.com/

My Favs

• Best Restaurant – Verwallstube - best food and a huge vibe
• Best Hotel – Hotel Karl Schranz - Amazing small hotel just far enough from town - meet the legend and see all his trophies from World Cups to individual trophies from every major event
• Best Apres - MooserVert - The baddest apres on the mountain or pretty much any mountain - the Krazy Kanguruh is a close second
• Best Run- either top of Valluga to St. Chistoph or Vallugato Flexenbahn to Zurs
• Don’t miss – Skiing Rendl or the White Ring in Lech/Zurs

Thanks to the Grits Band for the music

Sometimes I come across a story that is so compelling I feel I must dig deeper and bring in to this audience. Hubert Schriebl’s stunning photographs have thrilled New Englanders for decades. Born in Austria, Hubert arrived in Vermontin 1964 to teach at the Stratton Ski School and made it his home. He has traveled, skied and taken photographs around the world, from the Arctic Circle and the Himalayas to the American Southwest, including four Winter Olympics andmultiple World Cups. His work has appeared in SKI, Skiing, GEO, Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Vermont Life, and Stratton Magazine. Hubert has chronicled life in his adopted home state not just capturing the image but capturing what’s behind the image making him one of the sport’s preeminent photographers.