Old McDonald had a farm and some of the best core strength in the county. Why? That old (or so the story tells us) farmer was performing different farmer’s carries all day, much to the benefit of his livestock and his body.
When it comes to everyday accessible exercises that practically perform miracles for whole-body strengthening and endurance building, farmer’s carries sit near the head of the class.
Farmer’s carry exercises are variations of what is known as “loaded carry.” In addition to holding something heavy(ish), you’re also taking it somewhere. These exercises are highly effective at taxing muscles and endurance. They also force you to balance the weight as you move through the environment, challenging the body on several fronts simultaneously.
You probably perform loaded carries every week without ever thinking about it. Carrying a basket of laundry counts, as does bringing in the groceries and carrying a child. “Babycising” hasn’t caught on yet, but maybe someday it will.
The following exercises work well for my patients and are generally easy to perform, but it’s a good idea to check with your medical provider to ensure they are right for you.
5 Farmer’s Carry Exercises for Balance and Strength
One nice thing about Farmer’s carry exercises is that they can be done with varying weights depending on where your strength is right now. Feel free to start light, and you'll be upping the weight before the cows come home.1. Classic Farmer’s Carry
This is where it all started—not in a gym but on a farm. Overworked farmhands and farmers carried heavy things in both hands, most likely to decrease the number of trips they had to make to complete their chores. The farmer’s carry gained greater therapeutic value in the modern era, when most of us no longer work on farms but can still benefit from its broad therapeutic applications.Step 1: Stand while holding a heavy weight in each hand and with your arms straight down by your sides. How heavy? Heavy enough to be challenging but light enough to control. I suggest starting with 5 pounds and adjusting up or down from there.
Step 2: Maintain an upright posture and slowly walk, pacing your steps about one per second. Maintain full body tension during task performance to maximize postural control. Avoid taking large steps, which can be unstable—instead, take well-controlled, shorter steps.
Step 3: Maintain your walk for 1 minute. Walking for 1 minute counts as 1 set. Try to perform 3 sets.
Modification: Only use an amount of weight that you can comfortably hold. In the early days of doing this exercise, it’s common for your hands to run out of strength before your shoulders or anywhere else. Rest as needed.
Why I like it: This exercise makes excellent use of a perfectly natural two-handed carry pattern for heavier items and just plain works for shoulder, hand, and core strengthening.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
2. Goblet March
The goblet march brings both hands together and places the weight up and out in front of your balance midline. This increases the challenge on the front of your shoulders and dials in your back muscles.Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with both hands holding onto a weight positioned out in front of your face, at chin level. Be sure to keep your upper arms off your chest so that your arms do the weight-bearing.
Step 2: Slowly bring your right leg to 90 degrees of hip flexion, and carefully place it back down before repeating the movement on the left side.
Step 3: Lifting a leg up and then placing it back down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions per side. You can alternate sides or perform all movements on one side and then the other.
Modification: If carrying the weight out in front of your face proves too difficult, you can hold it at chest height instead. Feel free to modify sets and repetitions as you see fit.
Why I like it: The goblet march provokes a strong, upright posture because of the natural tendency to straighten up to resist the forward pull of the weight.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
3. Overhead Carry
We’re reaching for the sky on this one—literally. Moving the weight overhead induces a significantly greater effect on balance, and it’s just plain physically challenging.Step 1: This exercise starts like the goblet carry, but with the weight held overhead and straight elbows. Be sure to maintain your elbows straight to avoid overtaxing your arm muscles and maintain an upright posture.
Step 2: Slowly walk like you did with the classic farmer’s carry, maintaining an upright posture as you do so.
Step 3: Walk for 1 minute, attending to the weight and controlling it assertively. Walking for 1 minute counts as 1 set. Try to perform 3 sets.
Modification: Only use as much weight as you can comfortably control—too much weight is hard to control when it’s over your head. Also, losing control of the weight can bring it down on your noggin. If you get tired, lower the weight and rest to avoid losing control of it.
Why I like it: This exercise gets difficult fast but remains imminently controllable. Moving the weight over your head requires the body to work harder for balance—it’s also quite challenging for your endurance.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
4. Overhead Marching Carry
The overhead marching carry picks up where the overhead carry leaves off, magnifying the stepping motions of the legs to increase the work of maintaining your balance.Step 1: Start in the overhead carry position.
Step 2: Initiate movement by slowly bringing your right leg up until you reach 90 degrees of hip flexion, then slowly place it back down before repeating the movement on the left side. Stay slow because a lot is going on during this exercise.
Step 3: Lifting a leg up and then placing it back down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions per side. You can alternate sides or perform all movements on one side and then the other. Most people are limited by how long their arms can hold the weight.
Modification: If you struggle to lift your legs high, just lift them as far as you can, knowing you will improve as your core strengthens. As with other overhead carries, pay careful attention to arm fatigue and lower the weight as needed.
Why I like it: The high steps add a single-leg balance component, magnified by the high weight, and can help make you more surefooted.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
5. Suitcase Carry
The suitcase carry takes all of the goodness of the classic carry and focuses it on one side. This increases the challenge on your trunk musculature and allows you to strengthen both sides equally, versus one side potentially carrying more weight than the other.Practice Tip: Avoid waddling—keep your whole body upright as you walk.
Step 1: Stand with a manageable weight held in one hand.
Step 2: Keep your posture upright, and walk as you did with the classic farmer’s carry.
Step 3: After walking for 1 minute, switch the weight to the other hand and walk another minute.
Step 4: Try to perform the activity 3 times per side, alternating hands each time.
Modifications: If you struggle with large items or significant resistance, use lighter weights or carry smaller objects.
Why I like it: Asymmetrical farmer’s carries work to strengthen your core muscles, emulating the classical movement on one side at a time while demanding more strength to remain stable.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
Weighted farmer’s carries and rehab go together like bread and butter—we use them all the time. Given a consistent regimen of these exercises—at least 3 times per week—you will be amazed at how strong and balanced you become.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
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