How long should you use the ski erg when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 3 sets of 2 minutes at a steady, conversational pace, resting a minute between sets, or fold it into a warm-up at an easy pace for 5 minutes. Add time before intensity, and save hard stroke-rate intervals for once the hip hinge feels automatic.

What can you do instead of the ski erg without one?

A rowing machine trains a closely related hip-hinge-and-pull pattern if you have access to one. A band lat pulldown from an overhead anchor, combined with a bodyweight hip hinge, approximates the movement without any machine.

What is the ski erg good for?

It gives you upper-body-biased conditioning that spares the legs, which makes it a smart choice when your legs are cooked from squatting or running but you still want cardio work. It is a poor choice if you have a low back injury that flares with repeated hinging, since every stroke loads that exact position.

Intermediate

Ski Erg

The ski erg turns the double-pole motion of cross-country skiing into a demanding cardio piece that leans on the lats, triceps, and trunk. It is a great upper-body-biased conditioner and a smart alternative when your legs are cooked from squatting or running. The power comes from a hip hinge plus a hard pull-down, not from yanking with the arms alone.

Equipment: Machine
Body part: Abs, Lats
Type: Cardio
Browse by muscle: Latissimus Dorsi, Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head
Browse by movement: Hinge, Vertical Pull

How to do it

1
Stand tall holding the handles overhead with a slight bend in the knees.
2
Hinge at the hips and pull the handles down and past your thighs in one sharp motion.
3
Finish the pull by bracing the abs and driving the arms toward your pockets.
4
Let the handles retract as you rise and reach tall again to reset.
5
Keep the knees soft and use the hip hinge to add power to each stroke.
6
Maintain a steady rhythm and breathe out on each downward pull.

Tips

Snap the hips and abs to start the pull; the arms just finish what the trunk begins.
Reach fully overhead each rep so you use the whole range of the lats.
Keep a soft knee bend and let the hips move, rather than staying stiff and pulling only with the shoulders.

Variations

Common mistakes

The low back rounds hard at the bottom of the hinge instead of staying braced, a position you do not want to repeat for dozens of strokes in a row.
The elbows flare out to the sides at the finish instead of driving straight back toward the pockets, shortening the pull and cutting the lats out of the last part of the stroke.
Holding the breath for several strokes in a row instead of exhaling on each pull turns a rhythm-based cardio piece into a breath-holding contest that gasses you out early.
Standing too far from the machine leaves the arms already bent at the overhead reach, cutting real range off the top of every stroke before the pull even starts.

Frequently asked

How long should you use the ski erg when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 3 sets of 2 minutes at a steady, conversational pace, resting a minute between sets, or fold it into a warm-up at an easy pace for 5 minutes. Add time before intensity, and save hard stroke-rate intervals for once the hip hinge feels automatic.
What can you do instead of the ski erg without one?: A rowing machine trains a closely related hip-hinge-and-pull pattern if you have access to one. A band lat pulldown from an overhead anchor, combined with a bodyweight hip hinge, approximates the movement without any machine.
What is the ski erg good for?: It gives you upper-body-biased conditioning that spares the legs, which makes it a smart choice when your legs are cooked from squatting or running but you still want cardio work. It is a poor choice if you have a low back injury that flares with repeated hinging, since every stroke loads that exact position.

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