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Farmer’s Carry

This is an excerpt from Strongman Training for Strength and Performance by Christopher Slater,Heidi Campo.

The farmer’s carry helps build strong, athletic bodies overall, with an emphasis on functional grip, loaded footwork, and core stability.

1. Line up between the farmer’s ­handles so that the center of each handle is just in front of your shins, as if you were about to perform a deadlift (a).
2. Reach down and firmly grip each handle a finger’s width behind its midpoint. Be sure to set up your grip so that the handle rests in the center of your palm rather than on the pads of your fingers.
3. Secure your grip by first squeezing the pinky and then each finger, finishing with the thumb. Try to get as much of your hands around the handles as possible.
4. Pull the slack out of the handle as you lower your hips and raise your chest.
5. Maintain a neutral spine with your shoulders slightly more forward than in a deadlift.
6. Pick the handles up by pushing your hips forward and standing up like you would for a deadlift. Keep your gaze 50 to100 yards beyond where you will transfer the load.
7. Once upright, begin quickly walking in a straight line (b). Keep your head and chest slightly forward as if you are sprinting, while maintaining a neutral spine and stiff core.
8. Start with a short stride and lengthen it as you go.
9. (Optional) Turn with the handles creating a V to control the physics of the turn. This is so you can straighten out after, instead of having the handles rotate out of control.
10. After completing your distance, lower the handles with control. Never throw the equipment. Remain mindful that the equipment may slide due to momentum. Give yourself plenty of room to slow down, and do not finish too close to a wall to avoid collisions.

EXERCISE PROGRESSIONS AND REGRESSIONS

Progressions

• Ways to progress the difficulty of this exercise include intuitive options such as increasing the weight, distance, and training volume or decreasing the rest time.
• If your equipment allows, you can also vary the height of the handles to make it easier to pick up from a higher height, or more difficult from a lower height.
• You can also make this exercise more challenging by performing it on an uneven surface, such as grass or sand.
• Other ways to make this exercise more challenging include adding a turn to the movement (as described earlier in step 9) or making the start time less predictable. For example, having someone start your carry with a whistle blow instead of a countdown or “ready, set, go!” means you maintain a tight starting position and stay ready to go at any time.
• If you have been using dumbbells for the farmer’s carry, you can increase the difficulty by carrying a barbell in each hand instead. This forces you to control a longer lever, which will do wonders for strengthening the forearms and grip.

Regressions

• Regressions work the opposite of progressions. Rather than increasing the weight, distance, and training volume, you can decrease them.
• You can also increase the rest time. Increasing the height of the pick will make the exercise easier.
• If grip strength is a problem, perform farmer’s carries at a lighter weight and work up to a heavier weight. Alternatively, perform holds instead of the full carries. Holds involve picking up the farmer’s handles and holding the weight in a stationary position for a set period of time to help improve grip.

ALTERNATIVE EQUIPMENT OPTIONS

If you do not have access to any kind of “traditional” farmer’s handles, fear not! You can always start with what you have, including dumbbells or barbells. Feel free to use any equipment with a handle. Throwing sandbags, kettlebells, or even a rope tied through a plate can serve as a loadable object you can hold.

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