SkiErg Race Tips: Pace, Setup and Station Exit

Prepare for the opening station

This guide covers HYROX^® Singles 26/27. SkiErg is the first station, after run 1, and requires 1,000 m. Seven more runs and stations follow. Plan for the whole event rather than treating the machine as a standalone time trial.

The practical suggestions below are options to rehearse. They are not a verified account of what all professionals do, and the first 30 seconds do not determine every later outcome. Use the official event briefing alongside the current rulebook.

HYROX^® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §8.1

Choose a pace you have rehearsed

Record the pace you can sustain in preparation that includes running before the SkiErg. Consider the subsequent running and stations when reviewing that record. There is no validated rule here that converts every 1,000 m personal best into a race target by adding 20–30 seconds per 500 m.

Distinguish average pace from the current pace on the monitor. As a calculation example, 500 m at 2:30 followed by 500 m at 2:20 gives 4:50 total and 2:25 average per 500 m. This is an optional negative-split exercise, not a 2:20 average or a recommended race time. See the 1,000 m pacing guide for more examples.

Concept2 · PM5 · Ribeiro et al. (2024) · abstract · Skiba et al. (2012) · abstract

Check the damper and monitor

The race preset is 6, and you may adjust it. Concept2’s suggestion to try 3–5 in training is a separate starting point, not a requirement to race at 3 or 4. The damper changes airflow; how forcefully you work determines exercise intensity. A high number alone does not mean near-maximal effort.

Rehearse a setting rather than changing it for the first time on race day. On the PM5, identify distance, current pace and average pace during training. Choose useful moments to check them; looking only at 200 and 500 m is not an official rule or a proven optimum.

HYROX^® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §8.1 · Concept2 · Damper Setting · Concept2 · Getting Started · Concept2 · PM5

Use a simple movement cue

Concept2’s current starting position uses shoulder-width feet and bent arms around 90 degrees, with hands slightly above eye level. Initiate with the trunk, hinge at the hips and bring the handles alongside the thighs, then return smoothly.

Choose a short reminder such as “controlled return” for practice. Exhaling during the pull is another optional cue, not a promise of lower perceived effort or a test of your aerobic threshold. Maintain secure control of the handles. Neither arm fatigue at 500 m nor back pain at 600 m diagnoses a particular technical error; do not use a fixed 45-degree torso angle as a medical explanation.

Concept2 · SkiErg Technique

Break the distance into checks

One optional attention plan is to settle into your rehearsed effort, review the display partway through and prepare for the exit. You can use 200 m, 500 m and the final section as reminders, but these are not three physiological phases with guaranteed outcomes.

If the effort is unexpectedly high, reassess rather than chasing a number. Dropping exactly two or three strokes per minute does not guarantee recovery, and a five-stroke breathing reset is not a demonstrated remedy. A written pace reminder may be useful to you; it does not remove emotion from the brain or guarantee execution under pressure.

Concept2 · PM5 · Ribeiro et al. (2024) · abstract · Skiba et al. (2012) · abstract

Practise the transition in context

At 1,000 m, stay with both feet on the platform, raise an arm and wait for the judge to confirm completion before leaving. Run 2 then leads to Sled Push. There is no prescribed 15-second walking-and-arm-circle routine proven here to improve the next station.

As an optional partial rehearsal, practise run 1, SkiErg, run 2 and Sled Push at an appropriate effort. This is not a full race simulation. Sled Pull follows run 3; Burpee Broad Jumps follow run 4. Thus two designated running segments separate SkiErg from Sled Pull, and three separate it from Burpee Broad Jumps. Adapt practice frequency to the whole plan; eight weekly rehearsals do not guarantee an automatic skill.

HYROX^® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §8.1

Know the limits of the evidence

Ribeiro and colleagues studied pacing in a CrossFit workout in 13 men. Skiba and colleagues modelled work capacity above critical power using cycling exercise in seven participants. Neither study establishes the SkiErg personal-best adjustment, the 15-second exit routine or a claim that gaining 15 seconds here costs 30–60 seconds later in HYROX^®.

Use those studies for their actual questions, not as proof of every coaching cue. The four-week practice example offers an adaptable schedule; it does not guarantee race readiness or a particular improvement.

Ribeiro et al. (2024) · abstract · Skiba et al. (2012) · abstract

FAQ

What pace should I choose for the HYROX^® SkiErg?

Use your own rehearsals in race context to inform a manageable target. The cited research does not validate a universal personal-best-plus-20–30-seconds formula.

Ribeiro et al. (2024) · abstract · Skiba et al. (2012) · abstract

Must I use damper 3 or 4?

No. Singles 26/27 starts at 6 and allows adjustment. Concept2’s training starting range is a separate suggestion, not a compulsory race setting.

HYROX^® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §8.1 · Concept2 · Getting Started

When may I leave the machine?

After the required distance, remain with both feet on the platform, raise an arm and wait for the judge’s confirmation.

HYROX^® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §8.1

Will a specific breathing pattern guarantee a faster race?

No such outcome is established here. Treat a breathing cue as something to try in practice, not a performance guarantee or a physiological measurement.

Concept2 · SkiErg Technique

Should I keep going if I feel very unwell?

No. Stop exercise and seek medical help for chest pain, dizziness or feeling very unwell. At the event, seek the medical team’s help rather than following a blanket instruction to keep moving.

NHS · When to stop exercising