What is the farmer's carry?
The farmer's carry is the simplest carry there is: pick up two heavy kettlebells, walk. In Hyrox it's 200 m split across four 50 m segments around the rig, station 6. Sounds easy, until you do it on legs cooked by 5,000 m of running plus four stations. It trains grip endurance, scapular control, core anti-lateral-flexion and gait under load. Done well it's a meditation; done badly it's a forearm bomb that destroys your lunges and your final run.
How to do the farmer's carry
- 1
Pick up like a deadlift
Kettlebells outside the feet, hinge the hips back, neutral spine, grip the handles in the fingers (not the palm), stand by driving the floor away.
- 2
Stack the posture
Chest tall, shoulders pulled down and back, lats engaged, ribs over hips. Imagine someone trying to bend you sideways, brace against that pull.
- 3
Walk smooth, not big
Short, controlled strides, foot landing under the hip. Quiet upper body. The kettlebells should barely sway. Breathe through the nose if you can.
- 4
Set down with control
At the corner or finish, hinge the hips, lower to the floor with a flat back, never drop the bells. Dropping costs you a no-rep at most, an injury at worst.
Pro tip
Train the carry in segments that match the race. Four 50 m sets with five-second drops in between teach your grip to recover between corners, that's where seconds vanish on race day.
Common mistakes
Crushing grip from step 1.
Forearms cooked at 30 m. Hold the handles in the fingers, only crush if a bell starts slipping.
Leaning sideways.
If one bell is lower than the other, you'll bend toward it. Stand square, engage the lats on both sides.
Marching with long strides.
Big steps make the bells swing and the heart rate spike. Short, fast, low contacts.
Dropping at the corner.
Setting down without a hinge stresses the lower back and risks a no-rep. Hinge, place, breathe, lift.
Hyrox standards
Official Hyrox standards by division. Always confirm the current weights on the official Hyrox site before a race.
| Division | Distance | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 200 m | 2 × 24 kg | 2 × 16 kg |
| Pro | 200 m | 2 × 32 kg | 2 × 24 kg |
| Doubles / Relay | 200 m | 2 × 24 kg | 2 × 16 kg |
Prepping for a race? Follow our complete Hyrox training plan to structure your weeks all the way to race day.
Variations and progressions
Easier
50 m unbroken segments
Drop to 50-70% of race load and walk four unbroken 50 m segments with full rest. Build posture and grip endurance.
Harder
Pro load, 200 m unbroken
Pro-division kettlebells, 200 m without setting down. Brutal grip and core test; only attempt with strong fundamentals.
No kettlebells?
Trap-bar carry or dumbbell carry
Trap bar loaded heavy, or two dumbbells held at the sides. Same hip-hinge pickup, same posture cues, same walking distance.
How to program it
Three protocols by goal. Pick one per cycle and aim for progression on load or distance.
| Goal | Sets × distance | Load | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grip endurance | 5 × 50 m | Race weight | 60 s |
| Capacity | 3 × 200 m | Race weight | 2:00 |
| Race simulation | 1,000 m row → 200 m carry → 100 m lunges | Race weight | As in race |
Farmer's Carry FAQ
How do I stop my grip from giving out?
Train carries weekly, both heavy short sets (30-40 m at over race weight) and longer sets at race weight. Add dead hangs and farmer's holds. Most importantly, hold the kettlebell in your fingers, not the palm: a crushed palm grip cooks in 20 seconds.
Should I stop at the corners or keep moving?
Most age-groupers gain time by setting down briefly at each 50 m corner. Five seconds to shake out the hands and reset costs less than fighting a failing grip for 30 m. Test in training, find your number of unbroken meters, plan from there.
Open or Pro weight, how do I choose?
Open if you can walk 200 m unbroken in training at race kettlebells and recover quickly. Pro adds 8 kg per side, which means about 30-50% more grip time under tension. Make the jump only when Open feels easy on tired legs, not on fresh ones.
