The fat-burning cardio machine you're not using

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April 8, 2017 12:51 AM

It's the only cardio machine that hits your upper body hard.

maximus fitness

The SkiErg is easily my favorite piece of cardio equipment. It’s relatively new to gyms. Concept2, the company who makes the famous rowing machine, released the SkiErg in 2009.

Most cardio machines are lower-body heavy. Treadmills, stair climbers, and ellipticals, for example, primarily work your legs and hips. Even the rower is 60 to 70 percent lower body. The SkiErg, on the other hand, is more of an upper-body cardio workout. It mimics double-poling in nordic skiing. Each pull hammers your arms, back, shoulders, core, and legs.

The machine works on the same fan-based technology that rowers do. That allows you to get a harder workout, because the wind resistance is exponential, meaning the harder you ski or row, the harder the act becomes. In other words: The machine fights back.

Problem is, most guys don’t know how to use the SkiErg correctly, and that hurts their times, muscle gain, and fat loss results. See my two tips in the above video for how to get the most from the machine.

My new Men’s Health book, the Maximus Body, has 100+ workouts guaranteed to get you shredded and in the best shape of your life. Many of them are specialized cardio workouts you can adapt to any piece of equipment in the gym.

For example, you can do the book’s workouts “500-Meter Murder,” and “Let’s Make a Deal” with a SkiErg, rowing machine, treadmill, stair climber, or running outside. The result: A no-excuse plan to get you the most ripped you’ve ever been.

The workouts are part of my body-shredding 12- and 26-week elite fitness plans that I use with my clients ranging from pro NFL and NBA guys to Special Forces soldiers and UFC fighters.

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