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Before SkiErg: It all starts with rowing
To understand where SkiErg comes from, you have to go back to the United States of the 1970s.
Brothers Dick and Peter Dreissigacker, both rowers and engineers, founded Concept2 in Vermont in 1976. The company initially focuses on the production of racing oars, experimenting with innovative materials and technical solutions.
A few years later, an intuition arrived that was destined to have enormous consequences in the world of training: creating a machine that would allow rowers to reproduce the rowing gesture indoors.
In 1981, the first Model A Indoor Rower was introduced. The principle behind the machine is simple but extremely effective: the athlete’s movement sets an air flywheel in rotation and the resistance increases in relation to the intensity with which the gesture is performed.
That system would also form the technological basis of the future SkiErg.
1982: the first SkiErg prototype is born
Vermont is a region where cross-country skiing is part of the local sports culture. During the winter, for those who practice endurance sports, switching from rowing to Nordic skiing is almost natural.
Precisely for this reason, already in 1982, the Dreissigacker brothers began to wonder whether the system used on their rowing ergometer could also be adapted to skiing.
Concept2 says the first experiment was extremely simple: using some components of the Model A Indoor Rower, a rudimentary system was built that allowed the push to be simulated with cross-country ski poles.
The first SkiErg was born, at least conceptually.
It was not yet a product intended for the market. It was above all a technical experiment carried out by people who knew both endurance sports and the possibilities offered by the air flywheel.
The idea, however, was already the one we find in modern machines: transform the force exerted by the athlete into a progressive and measurable resistance.
An idea that has been sitting in the drawer for over twenty years
The surprising part of the story is that the SkiErg didn’t hit the market immediately.
For over twenty years, Concept2 continued to develop its own rowing ergometers, while skiers and athletic trainers experimented with different solutions to train the Nordic skiing gesture indoors.
Towards the mid-2000s, however, the idea returned to prominence.
Some ski clubs and even some Concept2 employees had started mounting RowErgs vertically to use their resistance system as a stick push simulator.
It was an ingenious solution, but evidently not ideal.
2005: An injury reignites the project
There is a particularly curious episode in the official Concept2 story.
In 2005 Dick Dreissigacker’s daughter suffered an ankle injury. To allow her to continue training, Dick mounted a Model D vertically and created a seat that allowed her to use the machine without loading her injured leg.
The solution worked, but it was clearly an adaptation.
Looking at that system, Dick returned to the idea he had developed more than twenty years earlier: if movement worked so well, why not finally design a machine specifically designed for skiing?
From that moment on, new tests and new prototypes began.
2009: The first commercial SkiErg arrives
In June 2009 Concept2 officially launched the first SkiErg.
For the first time, athletes can purchase a machine specifically designed to reproduce a fundamental part of the Nordic skiing gesture indoors.
The first model allowed above all to perform the double pole, that is, the simultaneous push of the two arms.
For cross-country skiers, it represented an extremely interesting solution: they could train the specific gesture throughout the year, regardless of the presence of snow.
But it was soon realized that the machine had potential that went much beyond the skier’s preparation.
2014: Modern SkiErg is born
In 2014 Concept2 introduces the second generation of the SkiErg.
The project is profoundly updated: the geometry of the frame changes, the internal system of the strings is improved and it becomes possible to perform not only double pole, but also alternating arm movements.
The Performance Monitor 5, the famous PM5, is also here, which allows you to view and record numerous training parameters.
It’s basically the setup that made modern SkiErg famous.
Today the Concept2 SkiErg PM5 uses an aluminum frame and the characteristic air resistance system of Concept2 ergometers. It can be installed directly on the wall or used with a special platform to obtain an independent configuration.
From ski simulator to functional fitness machine
And this is where the story takes a direction that probably not even its creators could have predicted in 1982.
The SkiErg gradually begins to emerge from the Nordic skiing environment.
Athletic preparation, circuit training, HIIT and especially functional fitness quickly discover the characteristics of this machine.
The reason is quite simple: SkiErg allows you to generate a very high metabolic work while simultaneously involving a large part of the body.
The movement starts from the top, involves the core and is accompanied by hips and legs. The result is a coordinated gesture that can be repeated with very different intensities.
The same tool can therefore be used for relatively long and controlled work or for extremely intense sprints.
How does a ski ergometer work?
The principle is particularly interesting because, in air resistance-based machines, there is no motor that imposes a certain speed on the athlete.
It is the athlete who produces the work.
Pulling the handles sets the system connected to the flywheel in motion. The acceleration of the flywheel generates aerodynamic drag and the feel changes as a function of the applied force and speed.
This makes the machine suitable for athletes with very different levels of preparation.
A beginner can work slowly by focusing on technique; an advanced athlete can produce much more violent accelerations and transform a few seconds of work into an extremely challenging sprint.
What muscles work on the SkiErg?
At first glance you might think it’s mostly an arm exercise. In reality, when the gesture is performed correctly, the involvement is much broader.
During double pole, dorsals, shoulders, triceps, core muscles, glutes and legs come into play in an important way.
The upper part generates traction on the handles, while the trunk transfers force and the lower limbs participate in the flexion and extension of the body.
For this reason, one of the most common mistakes made by beginners is trying to perform the entire movement using only the arms.
The gesture quickly becomes inefficient and local fatigue increases.
Learning to use the body as a coordinated chain instead allows you to produce more work and sustain the effort longer.
Why is SkiErg so effective at conditioning?
One of the most interesting features of the SkiErg is the ability to quickly go from very low intensities to extremely high intensities.
You don’t have to speed up a treadmill, manually adjust a load, or stop exercising to change a weight.
It is sufficient to increase the strength and frequency of the pulls.
This feature makes it particularly suitable for interval protocols.
For example, you can plan short sprints alternating with recoveries, calorie-based intervals, distance work, or longer sessions aimed at aerobic capacity.
The SkiErg can also be easily inserted into circuits along with barbell exercises, kettlebells, dumbbells, sleds, or bodyweight movements.
SkiErg and low-impact training
Another element that has favored its diffusion is the absence of the repeated impacts typical of running.
This does not mean that any person with an injury can use it without individual assessments, but from a mechanical point of view the ski ergometer allows to develop an important cardiovascular demand without the succession of impacts with the terrain present in the race.
For athletic trainers and coaches, this means having an additional conditioning modality available and being able to diversify the stimuli during programming.
Concept2 SkiErg PM5: The Historical Reference
For those looking for the model that has written the history of this category, KingsBox offers the Concept2 SkiErg PM5.
The machine uses air resistance and allows both double pole movement and alternating arm technique.
One of the distinctive elements is the PM5 monitor, developed to provide immediate performance data and make workouts comparable.
The bulk is also interesting for structures that need to optimize space: in the wall configuration the machine measures approximately 216 cm high, 48.3 cm wide at the bottom, 52 cm at the top and 40.6 cm deep.
You can also use it with a dedicated floor stand when you don’t want or can’t fix it to the wall.
Royal Ski Runner 2.0: The KingsBox Range Alternative
Alongside the Concept2, KingsBox also offers its own Royal Ski Runner 2.0, designed to bring the same training concept into the Royal range.
The principle remains what made this category of machines so popular: using a cross-country skiing-inspired movement to create intense work on muscular endurance and conditioning.
The Royal Ski Runner 2.0 is particularly interesting for functional circuits, intervals and sessions dedicated to upper body endurance, maintaining the involvement of the core and lower limbs during movement.
With a base of approximately 127.8 x 60 cm and a height of approximately 211.6 cm, it represents a complete solution with integrated floor support.
Concept2 SkiErg or Royal Ski Runner 2.0?
There is no universal answer, because the choice depends on the intended use, budget, and type of facility.
The Concept2 SkiErg PM5 brings with it a history that began over forty years ago, a well-established measurement system, and the PM5 ecosystem. It is a particularly interesting choice for those who place great importance on performance comparability and the Concept2 experience.
The Royal Ski Runner 2.0 represents the KingsBox proposal for those who wish to include this type of work in their gym, box or home gym through the Royal line.
Rather than asking which is “the best” overall, it is therefore useful to start from a more concrete question: how will the machine actually be used?
How to use SkiErg in training
One of the reasons for the success of the ski ergometer is its versatility.
Relatively long sessions can be used to develop the aerobic base while maintaining a constant and controllable pace. The goal, in this case, is not to produce the maximum number of calories in the shortest possible time, but to learn to maintain technique, frequency and intensity.
For high-intensity conditioning, short intervals can be used instead: for example, periods of very intense work alternating with recoveries sufficient to maintain high repetition quality.
Another option is to work on distance or calories, making the SkiErg a real station within a circuit.
It is precisely this flexibility that has made it particularly popular in functional training: a single machine allows you to construct very different metabolic stimuli without having to modify complex weights or configurations.
The most common errors
The first mistake is to pull exclusively with your arms. The movement should involve the body in a coordinated manner, using the core and accompanying the traction with hips and knees.
The second is to start too fast. SkiErg can give a false sense of ease in the first few seconds, but an overly aggressive pace can quickly become unsustainable.
The third is to sacrifice technique to simply increase the frequency of tugs. More movements per minute does not necessarily mean greater efficiency.
As with the rower, learning to produce force effectively is generally more useful than simply frantically increasing your cadence.
A machine born in the snow and become universal
The history of SkiErg shows how some of the most successful innovations in the world of training arise from very real problems.
In 1982, the goal was to find a way to use the ergometer principle in cross-country skiing training as well.
More than twenty years later, a RowErg mounted vertically to allow an injured athlete to continue training brought that idea back into the spotlight.
In 2009, the first commercial product arrived. In 2014, the second generation further transformed the machine. And in the years that followed, functional fitness helped bring her permanently out of the Nordic skiing world alone.
Today you don’t have to be a skier to have a reason to use a ski ergometer.
It can be a machine for developing aerobic capacity, a tool for high-intensity intervals, a station within a circuit, or simply a different way to test your ability to produce and sustain power.
Bring SkiErg into your workout
In the KingsBox catalog you can choose between two interpretations of this machine.
The Concept2 SkiErg PM5 represents the direct evolution of the Vermont-born project over forty years ago and offers the Concept2 air resistance system along with the PM5 Performance Monitor.
The Royal Ski Runner 2.0 instead brings the concept of the ski ergometer into the Royal KingsBox range, offering another solution to integrate this type of conditioning into your gym or home gym.
Two machines born from the same fundamental idea: transforming one of the most challenging gestures in Nordic skiing into a workout available all year round, even when there isn’t a single inch of snow outside.