Farmer's Carry

Secondary muscles
Calves, Forearms, Abs
Body part
Upper Legs
Position
Standing
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Two heavy dumbbells at your sides and a stretch of floor is the entire exercise, yet the load your grip and traps tolerate here usually beats anything you hold during a row or deadlift session. Measure the work in distance or time; 20 to 40 meters per trip is a sound starting frame, then heavier bells over shorter trips.

How to do the Farmer's Carry

  1. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your sides.
  2. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back.
  3. Take small, controlled steps forward, maintaining an upright posture.
  4. Continue walking for the desired distance or time.
  5. To finish, stop walking and carefully lower the dumbbells to your sides.

Tip: Stand tall, brace the abs and look straight ahead rather than at the floor.

Muscles worked

Primary

Quads · Legs

The legs carry the load and the quads control every step under heavy farmer's carries.

Secondary

  • Calves
  • Forearms — The grip is the limiter on heavy farmer's carries and will fail before anything else.
  • Abs — The obliques and abs brace the trunk against the load, especially on single arm carries where they resist side bending.

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight — on single arm carries the torso should stay upright, not tilted to the free side; if you cannot, lighten the load.
  • Shrugging the shoulders up — keep the shoulders pulled down and back on farmer's carries so the traps and upper back hold the load, not the neck.
  • Rushing the steps — take short, controlled steps and keep the core braced; speed is not the point.
  • Losing the overhead lockout — on overhead carries keep the elbow locked and the weight stacked over the shoulder, and put it down as soon as it starts to drift.

Where it fits in a workout

Carries go at the end of a session as a finisher or between main lifts as active work. Pair a farmer's carry with a set of swings or a sled push for a strongman-style circuit.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.