What makes the SkiErg such a great piece of equipment is that it utilizes the full body, the glutes, hamstrings, lats, triceps, and shoulders as well as it works your lungs.
This machine might look complex but the Tattersalls AD team’s got your back, quite literally. We will help you in getting the most out of this amazing piece of equipment.
Firstly the hands and the grip: Your hands should be high and should almost be touching the top of the SkiErg. No half reps needed and, upon the down pull extend your arms back past your body as elbows go past the hips.
Remember to be smooth on the power to start, just like starting a car from a dead stop but getting it up to speed quickly – if you just stomp on it, the wheels will spin.
For the Hips: As the body compresses with the arm pull, hinge at the hips and ankles. Then, focus on quickly getting back to the tall start position by extending the hips via contraction of the glutes (aka “squeeze your butt cheeks”). Your knees should be relaxed and bent only slightly not too significantly during each cycle.
Feet: Make sure you that your feet are shoulder width apart. You should be light through the heels, and have a good gap between you and the dampener. As you exhale and pull down put the weight through your heels, and as your arms return you can raise up onto your tip toes before exhaling and repeating the movement again.
Important tip: Try to avoid your knees turning in or out during this movement.
Finally the return to top: There are two methods to achieve smooth transition here, we encourage you to keep the elbows tucked in while returning to the top to avoid any unwanted stress through the shoulder joint.
If you can go arms wide (like a butterfly) without any pain or discomfort from your shoulder joint or lower back then this method can also be used.
The picture on the right displays the correct body posture while using SkiErg, so try to mirror this posture as much as possible during your workout.
For more information or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team in the AD at Addesk@tattersallsclub.org
