HYROX Farmer’s Carry Tutorial

Alexandra Radini

February 25, 2025

HYROX is a hybrid fitness race consisting of 8 rounds of a 1km run followed by a functional station. The functional stations change every round and vary from set distances on the row or ski-erg to more strength based tests like the sled pull or sled push.

Among them the most overlooked is the farmer carry.

This simple and straightforward station requires the individual to carry two KB for a set distance.

Taxing mostly the grip, shoulders and core it allows athletes to bring their heart rate down and give their legs a rest. Painting it as a “recovery station”. But without proper preparation it’s anything but. Luckily all you need to crush the farmer walk station and help you utilize it to improve your overall race score is right here in this article.

So without any more words to waste let’s jump right into the useful info shall we?

What is the Farmers Carry?

The farmer carry is an exercise used to mainly develop grip and hand strength endurance while also involving the core, upper back and shoulders. It can be performed with a variety of equipment options like weight plates, barbells fixed with a specific handle, dumbbells or kettlebells.

Different implements will tax your grip, and other muscles, differently by changing point of balance, stability in the movement and how you actually have to grab onto the weight or handle.

In HYROX you will find the equipment of choice is the kettlebell (KB), which can come in a variety of sizes and shapes.

HYROX equipment is standardized but you are likely to find different types of KBs simply by going to a different gym.

This notion is important as you will want to play around with grip style and placement options to find what works best for the KBs that are available to you.

In the next chapter we will look into approaching farmer carries for HYROX.

However you should know this exercise is a great addition to any training program as it helps improve core muscles, posture and reduce strength imbalances.

The Role of Farmers Carry in HYROX Competitions

Each division in a HYROX race will have its prescribed distance and weight to be used.

However ALL divisions can break up the distance however they want, meaning they can pick up and put down the kettlebells as many times and whenever they choose.

hyrox farmers carry women — Foto credit sportograf.com

Take note of what are the prescriptions for your category to understand how much you’ll have to focus on training the farmer walk based on your current strength and capacity.

Weight requirements and distance to be covered

Women: 200m with 2 x 16kg / 35lb kettlebells
Women Pro: 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells
Men: 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells
Men Pro: 200m with 2 x 32kg / 70lb kettlebells
Mixed Doubles: 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells
Women Doubles: 200m with 2 x 16kg / 35lb kettlebells
Men Doubles: 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells
Women Relay: 200m with 2 x 16kg / 35lb kettlebells
Men Relay: 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells
Mixed Relay: Female members 200m with 2 x 16kg / 35lb kettlebells / Male members 200m with 2 x 24kg / 53lb kettlebells

NOTE: farmer carriers are the sixth station in a HYROX race. By the time you reach them you will be fatigued and possibly looking for a “break” from taxing your lungs and legs. This is the perfect place to take advantage of that. But it will only be possible if your grip and upper body is strong enough to carry you through the prescribed distance without having to exert yourself too much. And THAT is why it’s important you put in the work to have all the strength-endurance you need to easily take down this station.

hyrox farmers carry distance — Foto credit sportograf.com

Farmer’s Carry rules in HYROX

The farmer carry is one of the most straightforward stations in a HYROX race. There aren’t many ways you can get penalized as long as you follow these rules:

Station starts and finishes in the marked area behind the start/finish line.
⁠Arms must be extended while carrying the KB, momentum is fine but keep that elbow locked out!
⁠You can put down your kettlebells whenever you want, there is no minimum distance to be cleared.
⁠IF you do break the carry kettlebells stay exactly where you left them, don’t try to push them forward or you could be penalized.

How to Prepare for the Farmers Carry in HYROX

From a technical standpoint the farmer carry is a relatively straightforward exercise to execute.

A few key notes to keep in mind when performing the movement are:

Picking up the kettlebells is like performing a deadlift. You always want to brace your core before lift off and don’t forget to bend at the knees to not excessively tax your lower back.
At the top of the deadlift before taking the first step make sure your shoulders are back, core engaged and chest is proud. This will avoid taxing smaller muscles too soon and especially help you breathe better.
When walking with the KBs, stand tall and always make sure your gaze is set forward to help you keep a neutral spine.
As the weight you’re carrying gets heavier you’ll find it heavier and more taxing to take longer steps. That’s why we always recommend going for short but quick and consistent steps.
When putting the KBs down don’t let yourself get sloppy, still bend at the knee and control the descent enough that the equipment doesn’t move around risking you to lose time getting them back in place.
When it comes to where you should place your hands when gripping the kettlebell handle it’s important to understand as we previously mentioned how much the kettlebell shape and handle size will impact this decision. Additionally every athlete will find that based on their strengths and lever proportion they will have a slightly different preference. We recommend trying first to grip right at the middle of the handle and then comparing that to gripping more forward, almost at the corner, of the handle. Play around with positioning and find what works best for you.
Lastly we recommend practicing both a false grip and a neutral grip on the kettlebell. In our strategy section you’ll see we actually recommend using both during your race so familiarizing yourself with both during training will help loads on the race day.

hyrox farmers carry meters — Foto credit sportograf.com

Race day tips for the Farmer carry station

During a HYROX race you’ll be probably looking to get this station over as quickly as possible.

And with such a long distance to cover it can be tempting to just try to hold onto the KBs as long as possible to cover a big chunk in one go.

However, what can happen if you do this is that you’ll be forcing yourself over your lactate threshold meaning you’ll need to take a lot longer to recover before you can pick up those KBs again.

And because your forearms are a relatively small muscle they’ll be suffering from this effect even more.

This is why we recommend a different strategy.

The most successful approach to the farmer carry station we have found with our athlete is the “short but quick” approach.

This basically consists of breaking sooner than you plan, usually we say 10-20m before you think you’ll reach failure. This allows you to avoid excessive lactate build up and help keep those breaks short. Overall the goal is to aim to break up the distance a little more frequently than what your max capacity would allow but ensure that those breaks are very quick. With this strategy you’re guaranteed to achieve your shortest time possible for completion.

hyrox rules for farmers carry — Foto credit sportograf.com

Another thing to watch out for is how you approach gripping the handles through the station. Our best recommendation is to start with a very “deep” grip. This is also what is called a false grip, where the handle is effectively sitting more in your palms than in your actual fingers. It is more taxing for the wrist and forearm muscles but spares your fingers strength which is usually the limiting factor.

As you go on with your set you’ll feel your false grip gradually giving out and you’ll naturally transition to neutral grip relying more on your finger and hand endurance.

This transition will buy you several more meters of carry each set and it’s important to capitalize on it especially during race day with such a long distance to cover.

Overall you’ll find that the farmer carry station is a great opportunity to regroup and recover before finishing off strong. In order to do so however you need to approach this station with a plan and mentally prepared to be disciplined on those breaks. Trust that even if your grip tires, the rest of your body is fit enough to take the chance to recover while you still speed through every meter.

Curious how to train these two important race day tips? In the next section we’ll go over how to approach your race prep training to maximize results.

hyrox farmers carry weights — Foto credit sportograf.com

Tips on training and improving the Farmer Carry

Recommended exercises and implements to build grip strength and endurance

The deadlift: specifically performed WITHOUT a hook or mixed grip. Next time you have a deadlift piece in your training use it as an opportunity to really maximize your grip strength as well and watch yourself improve in all other grip dependent movements.
Dead hang: great to relax your spine after a tough session while also improving your grip endurance. Challenge yourself to a max time hold for two sets. Or give yourself a time goal and just go set by set until you get there (1:00 to 1:30 minutes is a good place to start).
The pinch grip carry: this variation of the farmer carry is performed by carrying to weight plates but NOT utilizing the holes at the center of the plate but instead gripping the side of the plate as if you were “pinching it”. This will improve not just grip but specifically hand and finger strength which can over time become the biggest limiting factor.
Fat gripz: they are a tool that can be added on a variety of different implements to increase their diameter therefore taxing the grip much more. If you have a pair available to you try adding them to your KB exercises but also to your dumbbell, barbell and even pull-up bar movements.

Conditioning techniques for longer carries

As you get closer to the race it’s time to become more specific with your training, transitioning from strength and endurance to mainly endurance. Additionally it will become important to test yourself by practicing the carries while under fatigue and mixed with other movements you’ll be performing on race day.

Here is an example taken from our HYROX Daily training plan:

3 rounds
400m run at race pace
100m farmer carry with race weights
400m run
2:00 rest

Conclusion: Why Mastering Farmers Carry is Key to HYROX Success

Farmer carries in a HYROX race are one of the only stations that is more taxing for your upper body than lower.

Because of this, and the lower intensity of the movement, they can be utilized as a recovery break that comes at an optimal time being the sixth station you’ll encounter.

But to capitalize on this “break” you’ll need to have trained your grip strength endurance enough and worked on core capacity so that you can make your way through the prescribed distance without taxing other muscles too much and allowing your heart rate to come down.

There are three major steps to follow to put yourself in that position:

Find the perfect set up for you,
train a mix of grip maximal strength and grip endurance,
practice competition strategy.

If you follow the tips in this guide you’re guaranteed to be more than ready to crush this station come race day.

And if you need more help getting ready for your HYROX event check out the rest of our hybrid training articles in our blog library or check out our official HYROX program.