SkiErg · Hip Flexion at Finish

Why this matters

The finish position is where the SkiErg stroke either finishes or doesn't. Hip flexion at the finish answers a single question:

Did the athlete fold the body at the hip, or did they fall at the knee?

The correct answer is fold. SkiErg power comes from a hip hinge — the hips travel back and up while the torso descends, pulling the handles down past the body. If the hips just drop straight down (squat), the handles don't actually move much relative to the body and almost no stroke happens.

Measuring the trunk-to-thigh angle at the deepest-handle frame is the cleanest geometric diagnostic for "did the hinge happen." 90°–110° means torso parallel to the floor — the canonical SkiErg finish.

What good looks like

• Trunk close to horizontal (parallel to the floor).
• Hips visibly behind the heels (the hinge has carried the COM back).
• Handles below and behind the hip line.

Common faults

Shallow Hinge (< 85°)

The torso never folds enough. Handles never travel past the hips. Each stroke moves the chain only a fraction of its full range.

Causes: tight hamstrings (can't load the hinge), weak posterior chain (can't control the descent), or just unfamiliarity with the hinge pattern.

Effect: stroke length is sliced in half; cardio cost stays the same.

Over-Fold (> 115°)

Body collapses below parallel into a deep bent-over position. Looks aggressive but the rebound back up costs more than the extra length earned. Often paired with the Squat Fault at the knee (see Knee Flexion at Finish).

Coaching cues

• "Fold the hinge" — bias the cue toward the hip motion rather than knee bending.
• "Hips travel back, not down" — addresses the hinge-vs-squat fault directly.
• "Chest toward the floor, but stop at parallel" — caps the fold at the right depth.

How to draw

1. Pause on the deepest-handle frame — handles at their lowest and furthest-back point.
2. First line: acromion → greater trochanter (torso, drawn top-down).
3. Second line: greater trochanter → lateral femoral condyle (thigh).
4. Interior angle at the hip is the reading.

Related measurements

• Knee Flexion at Finish — paired with this. Hip 90–110° + knee 130–145° = hinge. Hip < 100° + knee < 120° = squat fault.
• Global Extension at Catch — the opposite-extreme finish-vs-catch comparison shows full body range per stroke.
• Terminal Elbow Extension — confirms the handles actually went past the hips, not just the trunk.