The Ski Erg is a intermediate-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the lats, middle back, abdominals and triceps, with the shoulders, chest, quadriceps and glutes working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back, Abs, Triceps
Secondary musclesShoulders, Chest, Quads, Glutes
EquipmentMachine
LevelIntermediate
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Ski Erg
Stand about eighteen to twenty-four inches from the flywheel with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Take a handle in each hand and raise them slightly above eye level with the elbows bent to about ninety degrees.
Brace the core and start the drive by dropping the head, chest and shoulders so the arms follow.
Push the hips back into a hinge and drive both handles down alongside your thighs.
Finish with the knees bent and the arms extended by the hips, thumbs pointing toward the thighs.
Stand back up and lift the arms into the next stroke, taking about twice as long as the drive.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
One of very few cardio machines driven mainly by the upper body and trunk rather than the legs.
Trains the same proximal to distal chain used in double poling, from trunk flexion to elbow extension.
Non-impact and upright, so it loads the posterior chain without any landing forces.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Squatting instead of hinging, which takes the trunk out of the drive and leaves the arms to do the work.
Pulling with the arms from the top, which starts the stroke with the weakest link in the chain.
Bending the wrists or fully locking the arms at the finish, which stresses the joints with no added power.
Rushing the recovery back to the top, which shortens the next stroke and drops power output.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Ski Erg, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
