SkiErg · Terminal Elbow Extension

Why this matters

Hip and knee angles describe the body's posture at the finish. Elbow extension describes whether the handles actually arrived where they needed to go.

The bottom of the SkiErg stroke is a tricep press past the hips. The hands should finish behind the line of the hip, with the arms essentially straight. If the analyst stops at the front of the thighs, the chain doesn't get its full pull — the terminal centimetres of stroke (which contribute disproportionately to flywheel rev per stroke) are skipped.

Tricep contribution is small in absolute terms but the range-ending wattage it captures is significant.

What good looks like

• Arms essentially straight at the finish.
• Hands clearly past the line of the hips (behind, not at the side).
• A small triceps engagement visible — the press is the finish, not an afterthought.

Common faults

Short Draw (< 140°)

Handles stop at the thighs. The analyst is finishing the stroke with the hip hinge but skipping the arm press. This is the most common SkiErg power leak.

Causes: the arm motion is small in absolute distance, so it gets dropped under fatigue. Or, the technique was never coached past "fold the body."

Effect: missed terminal wattage every stroke. Cumulative drag on the 1000 m pace.

Partial (140°–160°)

Arms drove past the hips but didn't fully extend. Small refinement needed.

Coaching cues

• "Punch past the hips" — names the terminal arm motion explicitly.
• "Lock the elbows at the bottom" — geometric cue for the target.
• "Hands finish behind the line of the body" — uses the visible hip line as the depth marker.

How to draw

1. Same finish frame as Hip Flexion / Knee Flexion (handles deepest + furthest back).
2. First line: acromion → lateral epicondyle.
3. Second line: lateral epicondyle → ulnar styloid.
4. Interior angle at the elbow is the reading.

Related measurements

• Shoulder Flexion at Catch — the opposite-extreme arm position. Together they describe the full arm sweep per stroke.
• Hip Flexion at Finish — confirms the body folded; this confirms the arms followed through.