I do my farmers carry’s using a trap bar. Is it necessary to start off by deadlifting the weight from the ground?
I can farmers carry more than I can deadlift, so I usually will set my trap bar up on some concrete blocks and pick up and walk from there.
Thanks.
Yes, the entire movement is wasted effort without the little deadlift-shimmy thing in the beginning.
Ok, so even If i have to drop the weight some, I’d be better off doing something I can deadlift off the ground to start the carrys?
Picking up the weight isn’t crucial to the loaded carry element. A yoke has minimal pick up, for example. But you can also try various attempts at carries in turn. Some days with a heavy pick up, some days without.
Thanks. Yeah I do my deadlifts and carry’s on the same workout day, just trying to figure out the most optimal way to do it.
Example, I’ll do 5 sets of 5 on deadlifts with 375 lb. But I can do farmers carrys with around 425lb on the trap bar.
You can always make it more interesting by hitting 5 reps, carry and hit 5 reps before sitting the bar down. Rest. Repeat.
I was joking, sorry.
You are fine to farmers walk above the weight at which you can deadlift - you do not need to deadlift it up for the movement to have a meaningful impact.
I am curious how far you are doing your farmers walks at weight above deadlift though.
Thanks, My heavier sets of farmers walks I do for about 30 second sets.
I saw one studly dude doing sled drags + farmers walk to make the farmers walk tougher.
And, of course, there’s always this
Fun fact: that is a cast on his wrist, since he had broken it at a weightlifting meet and was needing to find new ways to train.
He clearly succeeded, based on the photo.
Yeah, me too. I’m envisioning doing a max rep of a TB deadlift, which is in the low 400’s for me. No way I could then start walking around with it. I don’t think I could do Farmer’s carries with even 75% of my 1RM.
I don’t even do farmers carry with 75% 1RM honestly, like I’ll deadlift ~500 but my TB carry is typically 315-365lb.
I was surprised to read someone carrying more than they pull, but then i didn’t know if I was the odd one, or if OP was. Glad to have you chime in.
I typically do longer Farmer’s carries with typically no more than 100 lbs in each hand, and usually less than this (this is also based on the reality of my garage set up and the weights I have). I don’t think I’ve ever done one at or above 50% of the amount I could deadlift or pick up off the floor.
Strongman guys do frame carries with their max DL, and they walk that shit uphill.
You ever hear of one doing frame carries with >1RM deadlift?
For sure man. Pretty much Every strongman competition with a farmer type carry, somebody is doing more than their deadlift.
From the training logs where a dude with 400 pound dead does farmers with 220 per hand.
All the way to the Arnold Strongman, where some dudes deadlift “only” 800 and then do an 880 frame carry.
Definetly not typical-
Check out this guy doing 900 pound deads and 1000 pound frame carries on his farm.
Tom Haviland is a beast!
Well, I could do that too.
Strongman judge: “What’s your max dead lift, antiquity?”
Me: “Ummm, 95 lbs. Yeah, that’s it. Let’s go with that. Now show me the hill you want me to carry this up.”
Strongman judges have found an easy way to discourage that sort of sandbagging.
On contest day, they make you compete in the deadlift first.
