Farmer Carry
Grip and a braced trunk under a load that is genuinely heavy
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Deadlift a heavy dumbbell, kettlebell or farmer's handle in each hand from the floor. Stand tall, shoulders pulled down and back, ribs stacked over the pelvis.
The rep
Walk with short, quick steps for the set distance, keeping the trunk still and the shoulders level. The grip should be crushing the handles the whole way. Put the weights down under control at the end rather than dropping them from the shoulders.
On the exercise card
- Stand tall
- Do not let the shoulders round
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The shoulders round forward | Pull them back and down before the first step, and choose a load you can hold in that position. |
| Leaning back | Usually the load is too heavy. Stack the ribs over the hips. |
| Long strides that rock the trunk | Shorter steps keep the weights and the trunk still. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Lighter loads, or a shorter distance.
- Harder
- Heavier loads, thicker handles for the grip, or a suitcase carry with the weight on one side only.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
It builds grip and a braced trunk at the same time, under a load that is genuinely heavy. In grappling, cricket and rugby union it is as much a test of holding on as of carrying.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby Union | Power & Contact | 3 × 40m | Heavy |
| Cricket | Speed & Strength | 3 × 40m | Heavy |
| MMA | Grip, Pull + Trunk | 3 × 40m | Heavy |
| General Fitness | Full Body B | 3 × 40m | Heavy |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Traps · Back · Abs / Core
- Region
- Full body
- Prescribed in
- rugby union · cricket · MMA · general fitness
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Plank | Anti-extension trunk stability |
| Long-Lever Plank | Hands further forward — overload anti-extension |
| Plank Drops (rotating side to side) | Plank with hip drops to each side — anti-rotation under fatigue |
| Banded Dead Bug | Dead bug with band tension overhead — loaded anti-extension |
| Split-Stance Pallof Press | Split-stance cable Pallof — anti-rotation in a sport posture |
| Copenhagen Plank | Unilateral: groin + adductor armour — soccer, AFL, hockey |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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