The ski erg is a cardio machine that mimics the movement of Nordic skiing. It looks like a vertical rower, and like a rowing machine, it’s self-powered. You get the wheel spinning by pulling on the handles that are attacked above you.
If you watch people doing the ski erg, you generally see two different approaches. (You’ll also notice these on the rower).
Fast and Furious
Some people move within a shorter range of motion. On the rower, they don’t come all the way in, and they don’t extend fully or lean back. On the ski erg, they don’t fully extend through their hips to stand up straight; the handles never get close to the top. These people try to build their distance by pulling as fast as they can in that limited range of motion.
They put all their effort into moving quickly.
Slow and Controlled
The other group of people pulls at a much slower pace.
Each pull is intentional, and moves through a longer range of motion. On the rower, this group will come all the way in with the seat, push through their feet, give a strong pull, and lean back at the end of the movement. On the ski, they will pull the handles from the top of the machine every time, and extend the handles behind them at the bottom.
In comparison to the first group, the second group is moving at a snails pace. It hardly looks like they’re doing much at all.
But don’t be fooled by the slow pace of their movement. Each pull actually accumulates more meters on the machine’s counter compared to the people moving “faster.”
By slowing down the movement they are able to put more power into each pull, which helps them get farther, faster.
The Best Strategy Depends on Your Outcome
One approach isn’t necessarily better than the other. It depends on what your outcome is.
Over the past couple of months, as I’ve been recovering from a knee injury, the ski erg has been the only cardio machine accessible to me and I’ve done the ski erg almost daily. I’ve experimented with both general approaches to the ski.
When I do the “fast” way it feels like I’m really getting “a cardio workout.” My heart rate spikes. But I can make myself dizzy from the fast pace, and it’s hard to sustain that high heart rate for more than a brief sprint.
I have found the “slow” way to be more sustainable over a longer distance. It also turns out that the “slow” way is not much slower than the “fast” way on a moderate distance. An extra 5–10 seconds on my pace doesn’t make me much slower over the course of 1000 meters.
Sometimes in the heat of a workout I’m tempted to pull faster, sacrificing range. It can feel like I’m going fast. But when I watch other people on the ski erg, I can see how the “slow” way is more efficient.
When you put power and intention into each pull and slow it down, you allow the ski erg to do some of the work for you. You give yourself a chance to get out what you put in.
The Lesson Beyond the Gym
You don’t have to get on a rower or a ski erg to put the lesson here to use.
The same pattern shows up in how you work.
Sometimes being “busy” and moving through tasks quickly feels like we’re “making progress” and “getting things done.” But we might just be tiring ourselves out without much progress.
Moving fast and being effective are not necessarily the same thing.
Power comes from putting your focus, intention, and energy into every move. Often, the slower way is more sustainable over the long term.
When it comes to your day, are you doing a lot quickly or are you actually working with intention so that every move gives you the maximum possible result?
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