Common SkiErg mistakes in HYROX Most athletes lose time on the SkiErg not because they are weak, but because they misunderstand how to use the machine in the context of a seventy minute race. The SkiErg is the first station and it sets your entire physiological trajectory. If you make these mistakes, you raise your lactate too early, elevate heart rate too fast, and set off a chain reaction you will feel for the next seven runs. Here are the three most common errors. 1. Too many strokes per minute A high stroke rate looks fast but usually produces less force per pull. That means you burn more energy for less output. Optimal SkiErg pacing is built on power per stroke, not frequency. Elite athletes often sit between thirty five and forty strokes per minute for controlled efficiency. 2. Damper too high Setting the damper high creates artificial resistance that feels powerful for ten seconds and catastrophic for the next nine minutes of your race. A lower damper, usually between three ...