When choosing the best cardio machine for your home gym, you’ve likely evaluated the top contenders: the treadmill, fan bike, and rowing machine. The ski machine may seem a little niche, but it’s a worthy contender in the cardio showdown.
Ski machines are space and time-efficient, low-impact, versatile, and suitable for all training styles, experience levels, and ages.
In this article, we’ll cover the undeniable benefits of ski machines and why you should add one to your home gym. Let’s get into it!
When building your home gym, every piece of real estate counts. You may have to get creative with your investments and set up for everything to fit. Treadmills tend to be HUGE. Rowers can also be sizeable, though, humble brag, the Blitz Air Rower easily snaps into two pieces for simple storage. Both our Blitz Air Bike and Residental Air Bike are space-efficient, but Satan’s bicycle isn’t for everyone.
Ski machines tuck nicely into a corner and out of the way. For context, the Blitz Ski Trainer is 49.75" (1264mm) x 24" (610mm). Compact, efficient, and positively Blitzful. 😉 What muscles do ski machines work? They work EVERYTHING! Throughout the movement, you’ll use the following muscles:
- Trapezius
- Deltoids
- Pectorals
- Triceps
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Abdominals
- Glutes
- Hip Flexors
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Calves
Have you ever had a workout so good your shins and ears sweat? That’s the ski machine in a nutshell. Ski machines are perfect for off-season training, whether that season is summer, winter, or something in between. If you’re an avid skiing enthusiast, you’ll love this machine for summer sessions. Keep your conditioning fresh so getting back on the slopes is easy peasy.
On the other hand, if you’re a runner or hiker who needs something to keep you moving indoors during the winter months, the ski machine is the ultimate cross-training machine. Ski trainer workouts are intense, but they’re also low-impact. That means you won’t be putting extra stress on your joints. No jumping, no feet slapping on pavement, nothing that’s going to flare up any underlying knee injuries. Fan bikes and air rowers are also low-impact. However, some athletes with previous injuries still find the knee bending problematic. If you experience this on other cardio machines, the ski trainer is a great alternative. Also, talk to your doctor about that before you jump into something new.
We’re all about getting you the best bang-for-your-buck fitness equipment, but time is a valuable resource, too. You’re busy. You may not have time to fit your fitness goals into your schedule. The Ski Trainer works your whole body and provides some epic cardio in a short amount of time. An intense full-body workout you can finish between meetings or while dinner is in the oven? Yes, please! Ski machines are for everybody. While they have a bit of a learning curve, their low-impact nature and intuitive design make them a beginner-friendly option. Just start slow and scale up your intensity over time.
On the other end of the spectrum are the competitors, the workout of the day warriors, the Box barbarians. When you hit the ski trainer, it will hit you back harder, even if you bring some big Ali energy. 🥊 Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And, well, you know the rest. The ski machine will get you sweating and help you burn off that excess energy and stress so you can finish the day happier, healthier, and in desperate need of a shower. You don’t have to wear a pink hat and brown suspenders to hop on a rower (🇨🇦) or dream of the Tour de France to hit a fan bike.
Yet there’s a common misconception that ski trainers are meant for skiers. While the machine was originally designed for off-season ski training, this cardio machine is for athletes of all training styles. Functional fitness fanatics can use this during circuit training or their workout of the day. Powerlifters can use this for some joint-friendly conditioning to help offset DOMs on active rest days. Runners can use the ski machine for winter training. Ski machines are for everyone! Fellow fitness nerds, rejoice!
The ski trainer console gives you all the data you need to track your progress, set goals, and geek out over efforts. We recommend using this data to compete against yourself, but if you want to set up some motivational challenges with your friends, that’s cool, too. We’re all about the “no excuses” lifestyle, but sometimes excuses are reasons. Maybe you’re tired. Maybe you’re feeling a light workout before returning to your daily routine. As mentioned above, the ski trainer’s fan makes it adaptable to your efforts; the harder you push, the more resistance you’ll experience. So, you can push hard and amp up the intensity. Alternatively, you can go light and opt for a simple no-zero day.
Ski trainers aren’t a one-trick pony. Sure, you’ll be doing the skiing motion, but there are several workouts to choose from. You can choose from interval training, steady-state, or HIIT with strength training circuits. Or, get a little crazy and kneel or sit while skiing. You know the drill: 150 minutes per week of medium-intensity cardio exercise lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. That’s 20 minutes a day. Less than an episode of your favorite podcast or six of your favorite songs (unless you’re into Free Bird, in which case you can listen to it twice).
That’s not all. This bare minimum cardio exercise improves sleep quality, offsets the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, and reduces the risk of several types of cancer. (You can thank the American Heart Association for this information). The best cardio machine to accomplish all this is the one you can stick with the most, and the ski machine is a worthy contender. If you have body recomposition goals, the ski trainer may be your new best friend.
This cardio machine torches calories, making it an effective tool for weight loss. And in case you forgot, it’s torching a ton of calories in a short amount of time. Win-win. Many physiotherapy programs use ski trainers in rehabilitation as patients recover from injuries. This cardio machine's low-impact, knee-friendly nature makes it a valuable tool. Before starting a new training program, you should always talk to a healthcare professional, but it’s worth asking about the ski trainer.
Ski trainers are the unicorn of the cardio world, but they offer the full enchilada: space-efficiency, full body engagement, killer cardio conditioning, versatility, and uses for athletes of all backgrounds, ages, and experience levels. Consider adding a ski trainer to your cardio line-up to take your training to the next level.
