Ski erg and rowing technique for hybrid races
Ski erg and rowing technique for hybrid races: hinge sequence, damper setting, stroke rate, split-time pacing and how to train both machines between runs.
Dr. Pablo Lozano Lominchar
9 min read
> The information in this article is based on published scientific literature and is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical or training advice. Any training programme should be designed and supervised by a qualified coach, with medical clearance from a healthcare professional.
The ski erg and the rowing machine are the two ergometer stations in most hybrid fitness races, each covering 1,000 m and typically taking 3:30–4:30 for the ski erg and 3:30–4:15 for the row in a mid-pack athlete. Together they account for roughly 7–9 minutes of a 60–90 minute race, but they influence far more than that: both are hinge-dominant, both load the posterior chain and the grip, and both are followed immediately by a 1 km run. Poor technique on either machine costs you 15–30 seconds on the erg and another 20–40 seconds on the run that follows. This article covers the movement sequence, damper setting, stroke rate, split-time pacing, the faults that cost the most time, and how to train both machines inside a concurrent programme.
How the ski erg actually works
The ski erg is a vertical pull machine where 1,000 m is covered in roughly 130–170 strokes, meaning each stroke must produce 6–8 m of distance to hold a competitive split. The most common misconception is that the ski erg is an arm machine. It is not. The arms hold the handles; the hips and trunk produce the power.
The sequence is a hinge, not a squat and not a crunch:
Damper setting for the ski erg is usually best between 5 and 7 for most athletes. A damper of 10 feels powerful but slows stroke rate, increases grip and lat fatigue, and rarely improves the split. Lighter, taller athletes often find 4–6 more efficient; heavier, stronger athletes can work at 7–8.
How the rowing machine differs
Rowing covers 1,000 m in roughly 200–240 strokes at a rate of 24–30 strokes per minute, with the legs contributing approximately 55–60% of total power, the trunk 30% and the arms only 10%. The order is the opposite of what most beginners do. [1]
Drive sequence: legs → hips → arms. Push the footplate away with the legs while the arms stay straight and the back stays braced. Only when the legs are nearly extended does the trunk swing open, and only then do the arms pull the handle to the lower ribs. Recovery sequence: arms → hips → legs. Hands away first, then hinge the trunk forward, then let the knees bend and the seat slide up.
The classic error is "shooting the slide": legs extend, but the handle stays at the catch because the arms and back are disconnected. Power is lost, the lumbar spine gets loaded at exactly the wrong moment, and the split collapses.
Damper on the rower belongs at 4–6 for the great majority of athletes, corresponding to a drag factor of roughly 115–135 for men and 105–125 for women. Damper 10 is not "harder training" — it is a slower, more fatiguing stroke that leaves your legs wrecked for the next run.
Stroke rate versus power: the trade-off that decides your split
Split time is a function of power per stroke and strokes per minute, and on both machines there is a clear efficiency window: 38–48 strokes/min on the ski erg and 24–30 strokes/min on the rower for race pace. Going above that window usually means each stroke is shorter and weaker, so the split does not improve while heart rate and lactate climb. [2][3]
The practical test is simple. Row 4 × 500 m at rate 24, 26, 28 and 30, keeping perceived effort identical, and record the split for each. Most athletes find one rate where the split is fastest for the same effort — that is your race rate. Repeat the same test on the ski erg at 40, 44 and 48.
A useful mental model borrowed from endurance physiology: your sustainable power on any ergometer is bounded by the critical power concept, the asymptote of the power–duration relationship above which fatigue accumulates rapidly and exercise tolerance becomes finite (Poole 2016). Rowing 1,000 m at a pace well above your critical power for four minutes may feel heroic, but the oxygen-uptake and metabolic consequences carry directly into the next run. Race-day erg pacing is a whole-race decision, not a station decision.
Pacing: what split should you actually hold
A practical starting point is to take your best all-out 1,000 m split and add 4–8 seconds per 500 m for race pace, because the erg is embedded in a 60–90 minute effort rather than performed fresh. If your best standalone 1,000 m row is 3:30 (1:45/500 m), a realistic in-race target is 1:49–1:53/500 m. [4][5]
Three rules make this work:
- Negative or even split, never a fast start. Modelling and field data on self-paced efforts show that conservative early pacing preserves performance in the closing stages, whereas aggressive starts degrade the finish (de Leeuw 2018).
- Set the monitor to show pace per 500 m and stroke rate, not just distance. You cannot pace a number you cannot see.
- Decide the split before the race, not during. Athletes reliably overshoot by 3–6 seconds per 500 m when they improvise under adrenaline.
Common faults that cost the most time
The five faults below account for the large majority of avoidable time loss on both ergometers, typically 10–40 seconds per station.
- Damper too high. Feels strong, produces a slow, grinding stroke and heavy leg fatigue before the next run.
- Rushing the recovery. A 1:1 drive-to-recovery ratio spikes heart rate without improving the split. Aim for 1:2.
- Arms-first rowing. Breaking the arms before the legs finish removes the strongest muscle group from the equation.
- Excessive forward fold on the ski erg. Bending to the shins adds hip-flexor and lumbar fatigue and slows the turnaround.
- Death grip. Squeezing the handle at 100% for 200 strokes destroys forearm endurance you will need later for carries and sleds.
How to train the ergometers inside a concurrent plan
Two erg sessions per week is enough for most athletes, and roughly 70–80% of that erg volume should be easy, aerobic work with 20–30% at threshold or race pace. This distribution mirrors the polarised or pyramidal patterns observed in elite endurance athletes, where the large majority of sessions are performed at low intensity and a smaller fraction at high intensity (Seiler 2010; Casado 2022). [6][7]
Three sessions that cover most of what you need:
Schedule hard erg work at least 6–8 hours away from heavy lower-body strength sessions where possible. Concurrent training can blunt strength adaptations when high-volume, high-frequency endurance work is stacked directly onto lifting, with the interference effect most pronounced for running-type modalities and higher endurance frequencies (Wilson 2012). Rowing sits somewhere in between: it is non-impact, but it is unquestionably a leg-driven activity.
Finally, do not neglect the last of the three erg realities — the ability to hold pace when already fatigued. Recent work on durability shows that physiological thresholds shift after prolonged prior work, so the split you can hold fresh is not the split you can hold at minute 45 of a race (Jones 2024). Train the fatigued version.
Frequently asked questions
What damper setting should I use for the ski erg and the rower?
Ski erg: 5–7 for most athletes, 4–6 if you are light, 7–8 if you are heavy and strong. Rower: 4–6, corresponding to a drag factor of roughly 105–135. Damper 10 is almost never the fastest option in a race context and leaves the legs heavier for the run.
Which is harder on the legs, the ski erg or the row?
The row, clearly. Approximately 55–60% of rowing power comes from the legs, so the 1 km run after the row is typically the most compromised of the race. The ski erg loads the posterior chain, lats and grip more than the quadriceps, which is why many athletes run better off the ski erg than off the row.
How many strokes per minute should I use in a race?
Ski erg: 38–48 strokes/min. Rowing: 24–30 strokes/min. Test three rates over 500 m at identical perceived effort and use whichever produces the fastest split — most athletes are 2–4 rates lower than they assume.
How often should I train the ergometers?
Two sessions per week is sufficient for most hybrid athletes, with one easy technical session and one at race pace or as an erg-to-run transition. Increase weekly erg volume gradually — jumps above roughly 30% in a week are associated with elevated injury risk in running populations (Nielsen 2013), and the same caution applies to any sudden training-load increase (Bowen 2017).
Putting it together
Ski erg and rowing technique is not a marginal gain in a hybrid fitness race — the two ergometers plus their subsequent runs account for close to a quarter of your total race time. Lower the damper, lengthen the recovery, drive with the hips and legs, decide your split in advance, and practise the transition rather than only the station.
If you want a 12-week concurrent plan that schedules erg work, running and strength around each other without stacking the interference, the plan generator at hybridbeastbrain.com is completely free — build your plan here. You can read the reasoning behind the programming on the science page, and check the calendar of events on the races page.
References
The claims above are sourced to the papers below, numbered in the order they appear in the text. Where a number sits at the end of a paragraph, it points to the work that claim rests on.
Dr. Pablo Lozano Lominchar, MD, PhD, EBPSM
Surgical Oncologist · Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid
Specialist in peritoneal malignancies, sarcomas, and complex pelvic surgery. Associate Professor of Surgery at Complutense University of Madrid. Hybrid athlete and creator of the HybridBeastBrain training engine.
ORCID: 0000-0002-5413-8449
How this article was made: it is a summary of the available scientific literature, not original research. The search and the summarising were done with AI assistance, and the accuracy was then checked by hand against the sources cited. If you spot an error, write to us and we will correct it.