C2 Ski Erg users......

BrianSharpe
BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've had my C2 rower for years and it's become an integral part of my fitness program but I have a questions for their Ski Erg users.

I do classic X country skiing in the winter and am looking for a way to maintain in the off season. I've concluded that my 2 choices are either a set of roller skis or a ski erg (not a huge differential in price if you're getting decent roller skis) and I'm leaning a bit towards the erg largely because of the increased traffic on the local MUPs with the pandemic. Questions..... how closely does using the erg replicate classic x-country skiing? For those who have bought one.....would you buy it again?

Any other input welcome.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    I don't use one, never have, so I have no opinion on that side. I'll just make an observation, FWIW. Maybe you already know this. The Dreissigacker brothers, the founders behind C2, are of course former elite (Olympic level) rowers and educated as engineers. C2 also owns Craftsbury Outdoor Center, long a destination for rowing camps. In Winter, it runs XC skiing camps. Two of the Dreissigacker daughters, Hannah and Emily, were elite level biathlon competitors (Olympic level). Seems like all of this would create some good expectations . . . ? 😉
  • littlebear0121
    littlebear0121 Posts: 1,073 Member
    I have a friend who is an elite level classic cross country skier (I love to ski as well, but am not elite.) My friend uses a SkiErg in the off season for training. FWIW, she does also rollerski. I don't know which one is better, but I know she highly recommends the SkiErg. I also have a C2 rower and love it!
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    I don't have one and have never used one, but I have a lot of friends that do. Let me ask some of them for you.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Never used a ski erg, I've considered and watched other people use roller skis. Maybe it's my background as a cyclist where I have hydro brakes, but roller skis seem to get the risk reward thing wrong from my perspective. I suddenly became too old to crash into anything but soft snow.

    Single leg deadlifts aka warrior pose 3 both help my skiing. I do them in a slow controlled motion, great for balance and core. If you ski somewhat aggressively your weight is just sightly forward coming fast through sharp turns; in the skate lane you have some leeway to move but in the track where it's faster, you've got to weight the outer ski just right through the turn which puts some force on you. SLDLs / warrior 3 mimics this almost perfectly, just missing the centrifugal part.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Never used a ski erg, I've considered and watched other people use roller skis. Maybe it's my background as a cyclist where I have hydro brakes, but roller skis seem to get the risk reward thing wrong from my perspective. I suddenly became too old to crash into anything but soft snow.

    The roller skis appear a little scary in the braking department but I've always admired the kids I see out on the (closed to cars) Gatineau Parkway skiing up hill on them (I couldn't be doing that). With ski season just around the corner the deadlifts would probably be in order.

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't use one, never have, so I have no opinion on that side. I'll just make an observation, FWIW. Maybe you already know this. The Dreissigacker brothers, the founders behind C2, are of course former elite (Olympic level) rowers and educated as engineers. C2 also owns Craftsbury Outdoor Center, long a destination for rowing camps. In Winter, it runs XC skiing camps. Two of the Dreissigacker daughters, Hannah and Emily, were elite level biathlon competitors (Olympic level). Seems like all of this would create some good expectations . . . ? 😉

    Thanks for that, I wasn't aware that they had Olympic biathletes in the family, that's an impressive sport. Have you seen what one of those .22 rifles goes for?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't use one, never have, so I have no opinion on that side. I'll just make an observation, FWIW. Maybe you already know this. The Dreissigacker brothers, the founders behind C2, are of course former elite (Olympic level) rowers and educated as engineers. C2 also owns Craftsbury Outdoor Center, long a destination for rowing camps. In Winter, it runs XC skiing camps. Two of the Dreissigacker daughters, Hannah and Emily, were elite level biathlon competitors (Olympic level). Seems like all of this would create some good expectations . . . ? 😉

    Thanks for that, I wasn't aware that they had Olympic biathletes in the family, that's an impressive sport. Have you seen what one of those .22 rifles goes for?

    I hate to think. Even a decent "suitable for woodchucks" model is expensive enough. I'm sure the answer is many thousands. Had an acquaintence who did 3-position rifle competition as an old(ish) guy, but I never was bold enough to ask him what the rifle cost - different details, but assume it's similar $$$, since technical, but dunno.

    One year when I was at Craftsbury, a few of the kids were doing some kind of fun informal mini-triathlon, including one of the biathletes, IIRC. Seems like it was something like run and/or roller ski, something water based (can't remember whether swim or row), and maybe run. They were just playing, but fun to see.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited November 2020
    The couple of people that said they have a SkiErg and also Cross Country ski themselves was only a few. One said that the muscles used are more similar than the actual action. The other one said the old NordicTrack was actually a more similar movement, but that it worked the same muscles.

    Seems the common concensus is that it isn't the same movement, but a great way to work those muscles and be better prepared to do the actual skiing. Hope that helps.

    On the positive side, you'd be able to do the new "ergothons" -- a program on the PM5 where you can combine two or more devices as one workout. I also have not known one person that bought it that regretted the purchase.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    I've cross country skied and used a SkiErg.
    Was going 2 buy aSkiErg but decided against it.

    There is no horizontal motion to replicate cross country movement realistically (Nordic Track is better for that) but you can still use the same muscles and simulate cross country movements using the SkiErg.

    Cost wise you can get used Nordic Tracks Pretty cheap but I srldom see any used Ski Ergs4 sale. New SkiErg w/a base cost around $1k but Ski Ergs take up less space than NordicTracks.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited November 2020
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    I've cross country skied and used a SkiErg.
    Was going 2 buy aSkiErg but decided against it.

    There is no horizontal motion to replicate cross country movement realistically (Nordic Track is better for that) but you can still use the same muscles and simulate cross country movements using the SkiErg.

    Cost wise you can get used Nordic Tracks Pretty cheap but I srldom see any used Ski Ergs4 sale. New SkiErg w/a base cost around $1k but Ski Ergs take up less space than NordicTracks.

    I moved early last year from OH to AZ and the move was tight (ended up having to get an extra small hitch and trailor on top of the small moving truck last minute). The month before we left, I saw a gently used SkiErg with base for like $500. I would have so bought that had it not been for the cross country move coming up. I still may end up getting one.

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