Why We Should Farmer Carry to Become Stronger by Guest Coach Matt Mitcheroney

 For those of you who do not know who Milo of Croton is, here is a quick backstory. The fable of Milo entails a young Greek wrestler who needed to become stronger. So, he decided to carry his bull every day up the hill. Each day Milo would go to the bull, pick it up, and carry that lazy bastard up the hill. Milo did this over the course of four years; starting when the animal was a calf, till it was a fully-grown Bull. Which over time made Milo strong and helped him become one of the best wrestlers in ancient Greece.

(EDITORS NOTE: IF YOU JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW TO WORK IT INTO YOUR PROGRAM, JUST SKIP TO THE END)

 

• What is a Farmer carry?
  • For this blog, a farmer carry consist of something (i.e., Dumbbell, Kettlebell, Barbell, Trap bar) being moved from point A to point B.
  • An easy example of this would be when going to the grocery store and not wanting to make two trips so you load up both hands with groceries. Then walk towards your house looking like a brick, because making two trips is outrageous.
  • And Finally, for the visual people:

This is a Farmer Carry

 

How should they be included in your training?

 

• When programing for sports: CrossFit, Soccer, Football, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, and Life…it can vary
  • Option One:
    • Use it as part of your warm up:
      • When short on time, trust me carrying some dumbbells or kettlebells, will get you ready to go.
      • I prefer to keep it simple, for men and women I’d grab between 35lbs- 53lb kettlebells. (Remember: the goal is to warmup, not exhaust yourself before you lift)
      • For a distance, I would recommend anywhere between 75-100yds.

(Carroll, 2018)

• Option Two:
  • Use it at the end of your training session:
    • This is a great way to end your lift
    • It’s very hard to over train and is an easy way to get a total body training effect
    • Same rules apply as before, keep it simple and use a weight you can handle

 

• How not to screw up farmer carry’s and maximize the benefits?
  • Four Principles:

Don’t let your upper back round, lets fight sitting at a desk all day, not continue the posture:

• Don’t look like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame or look drive your head forward. If you catch yourself doing that…. it’s to heavy
• When you’re carrying the weight your walking like you just took a couple shots of patron or waddling like a duck…it’s too heavy.
• Control your breathing, own the movement

 How Does It Make Us Stronger/ Healthier?

• Upper Body:
  • Trains: Traps, Lat’s, Rotator Cuff, and Rhomboids, Forearms

If done properly will help improve posture, endurance, grip strength, and shoulder health over time.

Lower Body: (Core/ Low Back/ Hips)

• Trains: Erector’s, QL’s, Para spinals, Transverse Abdominis, Oblique’s, Rectus Abdominis and Glute’s (all muscles that hold your spine in place)

The carry challenges the body to maintain posture under load. In the long run, it will strengthen all the above muscles to resist excessive rotation, flexion, or extensions in a loaded posture. Which will benefit your other lifts (Like the clean, snatch, deadlift, squat, etc). The goal is to be strong when your 40-50years old, not burned out at 25.

• Example Program:
  • After Lifting or as accessory work:
    • 2 Times a week, 4-week program
    • Week 1:
      • Day 1: 2 carries of 50yds with 25-30% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 45 seconds between sets
      • Day 2: 2 carries of 30seconds each with 20-25% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 45 seconds between sets
    • Week 2:
      • Day 1: 2 carries of 50yds with 25-30% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 30 seconds between sets
      • Day 2: 2 carries of 30seconds each with 20-25% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 30 seconds between sets

• Week 3:
  • Day 1: 2 carries of 50yds with 25-30% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 15 seconds between sets
  • Day 2: 2 carries of 30 seconds each with 20-25% of Bodyweight in each hand, Rest 15 seconds between sets

Week 4:

• Day 1: 2 carries of 50yds with 25-30% of Bodyweight in each hand, No Rest between sets (Put the weight down, shake your hands out pick the weight up and go)
• Day 2: 2 carries of 30seconds each with 20-25% of Bodyweight in each hand, No Rest Between sets (Put the weight down, shake your hands out pick the weight up and go)

 

(AFTER EVERY 4 WEEKS, UP THE WEIGHT 5-10LBS EACH HAND AND REPEAT THE PROCESS FOR 3 CYCLES)

References:

McGill, S., & Carroll, B. (2018). Gift of Injury: The strength athletes guide to recovery from back injury and winning again. Quebec, Canada. Backfitpro, Inc.