Top 10 Reasons Why Farmers Carries Belong in Powerlifting Training
I hear it all the time.
“Farmers carries don't transfer over to powerlifting.”
“Powerlifting is about static strength”
“It's too risky”
First of all, too risky? Listen, at some point we aren't doing this heavy lifting for our health anymore. There is an assumed risk with anything we're doing in the gym, but farmers carries can actually be one of the safest exercises to improve your longevity and develop functional strength.
As a 20-year veteran of strength athletics who has competed in almost 100 powerlifting and strongman competitions, plus a coach who has amassed over 25,000 hours of in-person coaching experience, I can tell you with great certainty that the farmers carry is perhaps the most underutilized and undervalued “Horsepower” exercise you'll ever do in the gym.
As you read this blog over time you may hear me refer to certain exercises as “Horsepower.” this means that while they may not have specific applicability to the three main power lifts, it's an exercise that is crucial for developing brute force. There will come a time in your powerlifting training where technique will waiver but brute force will prevail. The farmers carry is one of those exercises that fortifies your body for when technique gets compromised
With that said, here are my top 10 reasons why farmers carries are a necessity in powerlifting training:
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10. Grip Strength: One of the most immediate benefits of farmers carries is the development of grip strength. A strong grip is essential for deadlifts, and to some extent, for bench presses. In my experience, athletes who complain about wrist pain in the squat also have a weak grip.
9. Bone Density: Weight-bearing exercises, like farmers carries, can help increase bone density, reducing the risk of fractures as you age. For the novice or intermediate powerlifter, bone density and ligament strength will help improve their longevity in the sport.
8. Shoulder Stability: Holding heavy weights at your sides will challenge and strengthen the stabilizing muscles in your shoulders, which can help in bench press and squat stability.
7. Strengthening the Posterior Chain: The posterior chain includes muscles like the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and traps. Strengthening these muscles can have a positive carryover to the deadlift and squat.
6. Increased Work Capacity: Farmers carries can improve your cardiovascular system and overall work capacity, making you more resistant to fatigue during long training sessions.
5. Improved Functionality and Athleticism: Powerlifting is about strength, but incorporating movements that enhance your overall athletic capabilities can be beneficial. Farmers carries do just that by mimicking a fundamental human movement: carrying heavy objects over distances.
4. Injury Prevention: Incorporating different movements and exercises can help in preventing overuse injuries. By adding farmers carries, you're diversifying the strain on your muscles and joints, potentially decreasing the risk of injury associated with repetitive strain from the main lifts.
3. Mental Toughness: This won’t turn you into David Goggins (thank God) but they do get you used to hanging in there when things get hard. Farmers carries are grueling. Incorporating them can build mental toughness, teaching you to push through when things get difficult—a critical skill in powerlifting.
2. Improved Balance: Moving with heavy weights in each hand challenges your balance, forcing various stabilizing muscles to engage. Muscle imbalances, when compounded with heavy weight over time, will end most promising careers with chronic pain.
1. Core Stability: Carrying heavy weights requires a significant amount of core stabilization. This stability will translate to better overall posture and form in all three powerlifting movements. If I've coached you, you have definitely heard me say that squats and deadlifts are an ab exercise.