From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Mark your calendars: The 15th Annual SkiErg World Sprints will be held November 9–12, 2023.
Whether you use the SkiErg for general fitness, adaptive conditioning, cross-training, CrossFit, or to train for competitive cross-country skiing, this 1000-meter virtual race is a great goal. It gives you a chance to put down a personal best for the 1k distance, and allows you to see how you stack up with others of your age and gender around the world.
How it works: Race 1000 meters on the SkiErg at your club, school or home, November 9–12, 2023. Post your time to the Concept2 Online Logbook by 5 p.m. ET Monday, November 13, 2023.
This event has a virtual option, as well as the option to host a race in person at your club. If you are a club or box and want to host a SkiErg Sprints event, see the SkiErg Sprints challenge pagefor information on submitting results. Submit 30 or more individual results from your club or team and be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a new SkiErg for your facility.
Join the SkiErg World Sprints! You can do this 1000m race solo on your home SkiErg, with your friends, at your club or at an in-person event near you. Wherever you do it, it makes a great training goal, a good chance to discover your personal best, and a chance to see where you stand up against others around the world!
This year’s edition of the SkiErg World Sprints takes place November 11–14, 2021. You can do it at any time during that window—and you can even make several attempts.
The 1000 meter race distance offers a good challenge that is a reasonable training goal for almost everyone. It will most likely take you somewhere between three and six minutes to complete. A little training will go a long way towards improving your performance and making the race more enjoyable. Training will also help you to dial in your optimal pace: fast enough to get you a personal best, but not so fast that you start too hard and “fly and die.”
It’s not too soon to think about training. Below we offer two training plans: a 6-week plan and a 4-week plan. These plans can work for any current level of fitness. The plans offer two SkiErg workouts per week, but you are encouraged to exercise at least 2–3 other days each week. Additional workouts may be done on the SkiErg but can also include whatever else you enjoy for exercise. We also have a beginners plan if you are just getting started on the SkiErg.
This is an event that has always had a virtual option as well as the option to host a race in person at your club. Last year, with the pandemic in full swing and few, if any, people vaccinated, we encouraged people to compete from the safety of their own spaces. This year, we know that many clubs and gyms have reopened, taking careful precautions for safety. If you have access to a facility with a SkiErg and it is safe to host under national, regional and local COVID-19 guidelines, a physical in-person SkiErg Sprints event is a great option.
Note to clubs, gyms and fitness facilities: If you wish to host a SkiErg Sprints event with COVID-19 precautions in place, see the SkiErg Sprints challenge page for information on submitting results. If you have at least 30 people participating in your event, you’ll be entered into a random drawing for a new Concept2 SkiErg and optional Floor Stand. Two prizes will be awarded after the close of the SkiErg Sprints from all eligible entries.
Need help with technique? Check out our technique video. Both training plans, below, can also be downloaded and printed for easy reference:
• 6-Week Training Plan
• 4-Week Training Plan
The SkiErg Sprints is an annual virtual race that allows you to compare your time against others worldwide in a one-weekend showdown of SkiErg speed. There are age categories from 12 and under to 80+ as well as adaptive classes. This event is for everyone!
When and Where
The 2020 SkiErg Sprints takes place between November 12-15, 2020. You can take part on your own or in an organized race or event. You can also use our SkiErg Finder to participate if there is not an event near you.
The Details
Race 1,000 meters on the Concept2 SkiErg November 12-15, 2020.
Individuals should enter their time in their Concept2 Online Logbook by November 16 22:00 GMT (17:00 ET).
Events should send their results by email to info@concept2.com using the result form below. Results must be emailed by November 16 22:00 GMT (17:00 ET).
Late submissions cannot be accepted. All results MUST be submitted by November 16 22:00 GMT (17:00 ET).
We realise that due to the pandemic it may be hard to run an organized SkiErg World Sprints this year. Please only run an event if you are able to do so safely. Due to the limitations placed on many clubs and facilities, we will not be doing a raffle for a new SkiErg this year.
Training
Need some help preparing? Check out our training plans:
The winners of each category will receive custom engraved cowbells to help ring in the snow season. Prizes will also be awarded for the top three times. Please allow 6-8 weeks for prize delivery. Categories are listed below.
Categories
There are separate results for men and women as well as separate adaptive categories for both men and women.
This year’s edition of the SkiErg World Sprints takes place November 7–10, 2019. This is a virtual 1000 meter race—you can participate from your home, school or club—or you can join a physical event near you. If you are a club or box wishing to host a Sprints event, contact joshc@concept2.com for information on submitting results.
The coveted cowbell prize.
The 1000 meter distance offers a good challenge that is a reasonable training goal for almost everyone! It will most likely take you somewhere between three and six minutes to complete. A little training will go a long way towards improving your performance and making the race more enjoyable. Training will also help you to dial in your optimal pace—fast enough to get you a personal best—but not so fast that you start too hard and “fly and die.”
Now is a great time to start training! Below we offer two training plans—a 6-week plan and a 4-week plan. These plans can work for any current level of fitness. The plans offer two workouts per week, but you are encouraged to exercise at least 2–3 other days each week. Those additional workouts may be done on the SkiErg but can also include whatever else you usually do for exercise.
Need help with technique? Check out our technique video. Both training plans are shown below and here are links that can easily be printed for your gym bag:
Warm Up (for both plans) Warm up for at least 5 minutes before every workout. Warmup suggestions:
6 minute warmup: Ski easy for 3 minutes, then take 10 hard pulls at the beginning of each of the last three minutes.
5 minute warmup: Ski easy at a stroke rate of 35 strokes per minute (spm) for 2 minutes, then 38 spm for 90 seconds, 41 spm for 1 minute, 45 spm for 30 seconds.
10 minute warmup: Ski easy for 2 minutes, 3 minutes moderate intensity, 3 minutes easy with 30 second bursts to race pace every minute, 2 minutes easy.
Be sure to cool down for 5 minutes at the end of each workout.
Benchmark Pace
Both plans use a benchmark pace, which will be determined by the time trial in your first workout. This benchmark is used to create the workouts each week. If you’re having trouble holding the suggested pace over multiple workouts, just let your pace adjust accordingly. Try adding +0:02–0:05/500m to start out, and then see if you can bring the pace back down. Training can be affected by things such as other activities, rest, recovery and nutrition, so listen to your body as you follow this plan.
Benchmark Pace ___:___/500m
(Determined in Workout 1)
6-Week SkiErg World Sprints Training Plan
(Starts September 30)
Week 1Workout 1 750m time trial. Your average pace from this workout will be the benchmark pace for which you’ll base the rest of the workouts on.
Mark your calendars: The 10th Annual SkiErg World Sprints will be held November 8–11, 2018. That’s four days, so we expect we will have more participation than ever!
This 1000-meter virtual race allows you to see how you stack up with others of your age and gender around the world. Whether you use the SkiErg for general fitness, cross-training, CrossFit, or to train for competitive Nordic skiing, this event is a great training goal and gives you a chance to put down a personal best for the 1k distance.
How it works: Race 1000 meters on the SkiErg at your club, school or home, November 8–11, 2018. Post your time to the Concept2 logbook by 5 p.m. ET Monday, November 12, 2018. The winners of each age group will receive a special prize; prizes will also be awarded for the top three times in each age group and for the top men and women in three adaptive categories: seated, standing and visually impaired.
Host a Race
Special limited-time pricing is available if you are interested in hosting and purchasing additional SkiErgs for this event. In the US and Canada, call Josh at 800.245.5676 ext 3060 at Concept2 to learn more.
Submit 30 or more individual results from your club or team and be entered in a raffle for a new SkiErg for your facility. See the SkiErg World Sprints page for details on how to submit event results and to download a promotional poster for your club!.
This 1000 meter virtual race allows you to see how you stack up with others of your age and gender around the world. It’s a great opportunity to put down a personal best for the 1k distance. There are age categories from 12 and under to 80+, and adaptive classes, too. This event is for everyone.
How it works: Race 1000 meters on the SkiErg at your club, school or home, November 9-12, 2017. Post your time to the Concept2 logbook [link to: concept2.com/logbook] by 5 p.m. ET Monday, November 13, 2017. The winners of each age group will receive a special prize; prizes will also be awarded for the top three times in each age group. We’ll also have prizes for the top men and women in three adaptive categories: seated, standing and visually impaired.
Coaches: Download an event poster to display. If your facility wants to host an event, special limited-time pricing for SkiErgs is available. Call Josh at 800-245-5676 ext. 3060 to learn more. Don’t have a SkiErg? Find one near you to participate.
One of the best features of Concept2 ergs (The SkiErg or indoor rower) is that they accurately measure the work you’re doing. In addition, the flywheel calibrates itself on every rundown to take ambient conditions into account, so someone at altitude can compare their erg time with someone at sea level, regardless of the weather and environmental conditions.
What’s so great about this? It means you can race, and compare your times and distances with friends and competitors in another state, country or continent! It also makes the SkiErg a great tool for tracking your training progress by comparing your performance over a certain time or distance from one training block to the next. You can also race against your own performance from a previous workout using the ReSki function.
Do you have a competitive streak? Or do you just want to make your workouts more interesting? We invite you to try the following challenges—some are geared for individuals and some for teams:
100 Meter Dash: Pre-set the Performance Monitor for a 100 meter distance. The meters will count down to zero, and your total time will be displayed at the end.
1 Minute Max Meters: Pre-set the Performance Monitor for a 1 minute piece. The time will count down to zero, and your total meters will be displayed at the end.
2000 Meter Mixed Team 2k relay (two men/two women): Pre-set the Performance Monitor for a 2000m distance. Rotate each team member through in order, with each person skiing as long as they can maintain their goal pace, then switch on the fly. The meters will count down to zero, and your elapsed time will be displayed at the end.
1000 Meter Individual Sprint: An indoor version of the standard Nordic sprint. Pre-set the Performance Monitor for a 1000 meter distance. The meters will count down to zero, and your total time will be displayed at the end.
Post your results and pictures on the Concept2 SkiErg Facebook page .
About the second generation SkiErg:
We have reworked the internal mechanism with the goal of improving cord wear and making maintenance easier. This also allowed us to support classic single-stick technique. The SkiErg is now aluminum, so it’s lighter in weight, and the optional floor stand has a lower profile. Adaptive athletes will like the longer standard cord length. As with all our indoor rowers, we have introduced the Performance Monitor 5 (PM5), which offers a backlit screen, Bluetooth Smart connectivity, and a new USB flash drive Logbook, among other features. We are excited to offer these additional features at similar pricing: $770 for the SkiErg, $180 for the optional floor stand.
As skiers working to engineer the best product possible, we’re always looking to incorporate improvements into our equipment. Based on our own experiences and feedback from athletes, we’re proud to introduce a second generation SkiErg. Both the original and new SkiErg provide you with a great workout; our new SkiErg is easier to maintain and provides more workout options.
The new SkiErg looks a lot different! We have reworked the internal mechanism with the goal of improving cord wear and making maintenance easier. This also allowed us to support classic single-stick technique. The machine is now aluminum, so it’s lighter in weight, and the optional floor stand is lower-profile. Adaptive athletes especially will like the longer standard cord length. As with all our indoor rowers, we have introduced the Performance Monitor 5 (PM5), which offers a backlit screen, Bluetooth Smart connectivity, and a new USB flash drive Logbook, among other features. And we are excited to offer these additional features at similar pricing: $770 for the SkiErg, $180 for the optional floor stand.
We’re getting good feedback already so we think you’ll like the improvements. For more information, check out concept2.com/skierg.
Remember, if you are a member of your regional ski association, you are entitled to a $40 discount. Be sure to ask for it when you place your order. Call Josh Carlson at 800-245-5676 ext. 3060
The U.S. Ski Team’s leading woman Kikkan Randall having fun with the SkiErg. She’s been using it this year to rehab an Achilles issue.
Know Where You’re Starting From!
Over the past month, skiers and biathletes around the world have been getting back to training. For many of those at the upper levels, this means a round of testing. It might be VOmax testing on a treadmill or SkiErg, strength testing of various sorts, uphill runs, double pole rollerski time trials—there’s a wide variety, but the important point is that it makes good sense to test at the beginning of the training year so that you have a baseline from which to measure your progress.
Most of us don’t have ready access to a rollerski treadmill, or a VOmax lab, so we find other ways to test ourselves. Ideally, the test(s) should be repeatable and accurately measurable, so that results can be compared from one time to another and offer meaningful guidance.
If you have access to a SkiErg, it’s a good option testing option because it doesn’t have the innate variability of most outdoor tests. And the Performance Monitor is self-calibrating so tests can also be compared from one SkiErg to another. Compare your results with a friend in Europe, or across the US.
Here are some test distances you might consider using in your own testing protocol. Several of these are also included in the Concept2 Online Ranking, and SkiErg Performance Series, so you can see how you stack up there as well.
Speed/Power: 30 seconds
Sprint: 1000m
Distance: 2000m
Distance: 5000m
…and Make Sure You Get Where You Want to Go
The one kind of training that we all hope to avoid is rehab, but sometimes it is unavoidable, whether due to overuse or accidental injury. The challenge becomes finding good training activities that can still be done without hindering the recovery of the injured body part. Recovery from injury demands patience, determination and creativity. On the bright side, these are all good attributes to develop and you may find new training modalities that you truly enjoy. And a lower body injury may help you make significant gains in upper body strength and power, and vice versa. But enough of the optimism! Injuries are not something any skier wants to deal with.
We’ve heard from a number of skiers who have found that the SkiErg can be a really helpful training tool during the rehab period for lower body injuries. Pull up a stool, or spin bike, and you can do any kind of workout you want: from intervals to distance. Or, if you can stand but can’t bend your knees, you can ski that way as well. Ideally, through your rehab period, you’ll be able to progress from seated to straight-leg standing to full use of your legs.
We sincerely hope that it is not injury that introduces you to the SkiErg, but if it is, we hope you find it helpful and we wish you a speedy recovery!
Concept2 will be at the First FIS Cross Country World Cup in Quebec
Leading Manufacturer partners with Fast and Female
December 3, 2012 – Morrisville, VT – Concept2 is proud to be a Bronze sponsor of Fast and Female, an organization founded in 2005 by Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford and members of the Canadian National Cross-Country Ski team.
As part of the sponsorship, Concept2 will be exhibiting at the first World Cup in Quebec, Canada, on December 7 and 8, 2012, and is providing Concept2 SkiErgs for athletes’ use. They will also be holding SkiErg contests during the two days of racing. The SkiErgs will then be donated to Fast and Female for their post-race Breakfast of Champions fundraising raffle on Sunday, December 9.
Fast and Female is dedicated to the empowerment through sport of young women between 9 and 19. With an emphasis on cross-country skiing, biathlon and complimentary summer enduro-sports, Fast and Female hosts events led by athletic champions like Chandra Crawford and Kikkan Randall. These role models inspire girls to gain the confidence and leadership they need to reach their full potential in life and sports. In parallel, Fast and Female educates parents, coaches, and sports leaders to ensure they foster the most supportive environment for their young female athletes.
The SkiErg World Sprints in action earlier this month in Sweden, which was organized by FasterSkier Editor-at-Large Chelsea Little. (Concept2 photo)
FOURTH ANNUAL SKIERG WORLD SPRINTS: Popular Competition Kicks off the Ski Season
(Press release)
November 16, 2012 – Morrisville, VT – The SkiErg World Sprints is an international race of 1000 meters on the Concept2 SkiErg. It’s held annually in homes, gyms, ski clubs and fitness centers around the world—all it takes is a SkiErg and interested people. Sometimes it’s a small group of friends in a home gym; other times it’s a sizeable public event. No matter the venue, the goal is the same—your best effort for 1000 meters.
Swedish skiers get after it during the SkiErg World Sprints earlier this month. (Concept2 photo)
This year’s event held November 9-11, 2012, drew 855 participants from nine countries, with ages ranging from 5 to 88. The fastest men’s time was 3:05.1, pulled by 36-year-old Ats Pärnaste of Estonia. The fastest women’s time was achieved by Anika Miller with a blistering 3:51.4. Since its inception, Miller has been a regular competitor at the SkiErg World Sprints at Rudy’s Gym in McCall, Idaho, and she’s only 17!
All host sites with at least 20 participants were entered in a drawing for a new SkiErg. Club Form, of Littleton, Colorado, was the lucky winner.
The SkiErg World Sprints, coordinated by Concept2 in Morrisville, Vermont, continues to grow each year. Participants around the world can accurately compare their times from one location to another because the SkiErg includes a self-calibrating Performance Monitor. The SkiErg provides measurable and specific training for Nordic skiers, while also offering a high-quality low impact exercise option for non-skiers of all ages. Concept2 offers rankings and challenges to help keep skiers motivated throughout the year. More information on the SkiErg is available at concept2.com/ski.
Haven’t tried the SkiErg yet? You can use Concept2’s “SkiErg Finder” to locate a public SkiErg near you so you can give it a try. http://www.concept2.com/skierg/finder.
Concept2 was founded by Dick and Peter Dreissigacker in 1976. Both competitive rowers and engineers, the two brothers designed and manufactured carbon fiber racing oars, then went on to create the world’s first airresistance indoor rower. The SkiErg, launched in 2009, builds upon the Dreissigackers’ love of skiing and Concept2’s years of experience in designing and manufacturing high-performance training equipment. For more information about Concept2, visit concept2.com.
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/sprints-logo_NEW.png"){kind=logo}
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Concept2-SkiErg-2018.png")
![SkiErg_Josh_Double_sm](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/06/SkiErg_Josh_Double_sm.jpg")
![Introducing the second generation SkiErg.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/11/SkiErg_Josh_Single_sm.jpg")
![The U.S. Ski Team's leading woman Kikkan Randall using the SkiErg. She's been using it this year to rehab an Achilles issue.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/06/IMG_1065.jpg")
![SkiErg by Concept2](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/06/JimF_1865clip2_5x4.jpg")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/11/IMGP8134.jpg.jpg" "Chelsea Little, SkiErg World Sprints")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/11/IMGP8152.jpg.jpg" "SkiErg World Sprints in Sweden")