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Kettlebell Loaded Carries

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@Shawn90,

Dan has an harder version of the Sparhawk called The Eagle. Instead of goblets and suiecarries you use two bells and do front squats and farmer walks instead!
 
@Shawn90,

Dan has an harder version of the Sparhawk called The Eagle. Instead of goblets and suiecarries you use two bells and do front squats and farmer walks instead!

Lol i thought of that after reading your previous post. I would prefer that i suppose, since i already suitcase carry my toolbox

Nevertheless im saving the sparhawk in my "library" when i get home !

Im also re-reading Rock Iron Steel by Steve Justa and chapter 2 is dedicated to loaded carry and endurance-strength. The chapter in a nutshell: do carry heavy weight alot. Fun stuff in there.

I suppose im really looking for something i could do every day. I like what i did yesterday. Its in my traininglog.
 
Dan has a wonderful gem. The sparhawk! Did it after my regular DMPM (Dan Martin Program Minimum) as suggested by Dan. It did light up my oliques quite well!
Dan Martin has some pretty good stuff. But around here he goes by John. ;)
@Papa Georgio
Dan John and Dan Martin are two different people, although Dan Martin posts a lot on Dan John's forum.
 
Lol i thought of that after reading your previous post. I would prefer that i suppose, since i already suitcase carry my toolbox
I alternate the Cook drill and Sparhawk and because both use the suitcase carry I changed the suitcase carries in Sparhawk to horn walks (= KB in the position you use for goblet squats).
Horn walks are awesome. There are not many exercises that had such a carryover to real life applications for me like the horn walks.
 
I alternate the Cook drill and Sparhawk and because both use the suitcase carry I changed the suitcase carries in Sparhawk to horn walks (= KB in the position you use for goblet squats).
Horn walks are awesome. There are not many exercises that had such a carryover to real life applications for me like the horn walks.

Hence Dan´s workout the "Hornees" :) Another great one!
 
I alternate the Cook drill and Sparhawk and because both use the suitcase carry I changed the suitcase carries in Sparhawk to horn walks (= KB in the position you use for goblet squats).
Horn walks are awesome. There are not many exercises that had such a carryover to real life applications for me like the horn walks.

True! And if the KB is light - just move it away from your body (like you are holding a steering wheel). This instantly turns on your midsection and helps with real life carrying.
 
Dan John and Dan Martin are two different people, although Dan Martin posts a lot on Dan John's forum.
Ok. Never heard of Dan Martin. I'll have to check out Dan's blog.
This thread is hitting about the right time because I've read Dan John's HKC book lately and been mulling over how I could implement either his Cooked or Sparhawk cycle. I will do some farmers and suitcase carries as finishers, but not very consistently. Sounds like I need to make a time commitment to work these cycles into my schedule.
 
Loaded Carries, specifically Farmers' Walks, have been a magic bullet for me. I weight 210~215. At my workout's end I would normally carry two 48Kg bells seven times total (212 lbs total) for 150, 200, or 300 feet. One time I did 420 feet (127 meters). From there I increased to 48Kg/56Kg carries; usually 150~200 feet five to seven times. I'd simply swap weights between carries. From there it was 56Kg/68Kg carries, then double 68Kg (300 lbs) for 50 or 100 feet. Lately I have been using the trap bar. 315 lbs for 100~150 feet, normally five turns. This morning it was 335 lbs for 125 feet (38 meters) twice and 165 feet (50 meters) once.

My takeaway? Now when I swing the 56Kg I can easily hit 10 swings with a distinct float at the top. My jumping has slightly improved; as during my workout I jump up to an 8 1/2~9 foot tall bar for pullups and that is definitely easier. I am running 400 meters faster at a heavier weight, plus my lats and arms are more pronounced. I will soon test a max deadlift and see if it has increased from 435 lbs last year. Mind you, I am 54 so jumping improvement is significant.
 
Loaded Carries, specifically Farmers' Walks, have been a magic bullet for me. I weight 210~215. At my workout's end I would normally carry two 48Kg bells seven times total (212 lbs total) for 150, 200, or 300 feet. One time I did 420 feet (127 meters). From there I increased to 48Kg/56Kg carries; usually 150~200 feet five to seven times. I'd simply swap weights between carries. From there it was 56Kg/68Kg carries, then double 68Kg (300 lbs) for 50 or 100 feet. Lately I have been using the trap bar. 315 lbs for 100~150 feet, normally five turns. This morning it was 335 lbs for 125 feet (38 meters) twice and 165 feet (50 meters) once.

My takeaway? Now when I swing the 56Kg I can easily hit 10 swings with a distinct float at the top. My jumping has slightly improved; as during my workout I jump up to an 8 1/2~9 foot tall bar for pullups and that is definitely easier. I am running 400 meters faster at a heavier weight, plus my lats and arms are more pronounced. I will soon test a max deadlift and see if it has increased from 435 lbs last year. Mind you, I am 54 so jumping improvement is significant.

That's a lot of carrying and great results. Nice!

On average, how long would the total distance in a training session be for you? How often do you do the carries? What are your experiences like with other forms of loaded carries vs. the farmers' walks?
 
Loaded Carries, specifically Farmers' Walks, have been a magic bullet for me. I weight 210~215. At my workout's end I would normally carry two 48Kg bells seven times total (212 lbs total) for 150, 200, or 300 feet. One time I did 420 feet (127 meters). From there I increased to 48Kg/56Kg carries; usually 150~200 feet five to seven times. I'd simply swap weights between carries. From there it was 56Kg/68Kg carries, then double 68Kg (300 lbs) for 50 or 100 feet. Lately I have been using the trap bar. 315 lbs for 100~150 feet, normally five turns. This morning it was 335 lbs for 125 feet (38 meters) twice and 165 feet (50 meters) once.

My takeaway? Now when I swing the 56Kg I can easily hit 10 swings with a distinct float at the top. My jumping has slightly improved; as during my workout I jump up to an 8 1/2~9 foot tall bar for pullups and that is definitely easier. I am running 400 meters faster at a heavier weight, plus my lats and arms are more pronounced. I will soon test a max deadlift and see if it has increased from 435 lbs last year. Mind you, I am 54 so jumping improvement is significant.

Damn that's some nice work! I've always thought of carries as a chore (too much construction work) but now I'm beginning to see the light.

Right now I'm carrying the double 48's for around 30 steps x 3. I guess that would equate to around 90 yds total. I haven't been doing the heavier carries for long so have not noticed much difference yet.
That being said I had a nasty groin tear 16 mos. ago and the carries seem to help knit things back together. This thread is motivating me to take carries to the next level.
 
I have three different workout days: BJJ, LSD cardio (Maffetone running), and strength. For my strength days, I've boiled it down to the essentials: swings, getups, bench press, double KB front squats, and farmers carries. I do carries at the end as 3 sets of 60 second; typical weight is 32's, and heavy days would be 36's.
 
That's a lot of carrying and great results. Nice!

On average, how long would the total distance in a training session be for you? How often do you do the carries? What are your experiences like with other forms of loaded carries vs. the farmers' walks?

Thank You! Usually I total 5 or 7 walks. With the kettlebells my training partner and I were totaling at least 1000' per session. With double 48's or 48/56 we would total from 1320' (1/4 mile) to 1500'. Double 68's are about 500' per session.

With the trap bar we total 500 ~ 700'. A limiting factor is the bar's knurling. The knurling is very deep and will definitely dig into one's hands. Still, after 100~150' or so it's time to put the darn thing down!

Usually there is a "buy in" of 21 pushups or a couple 16kg weighted pullups each turn.

I have not done any other carries other than the occasional rack carry to take bells outside or put them away. I have done waiter walks in the past. Whilst deployed in 2016 my trainees and I would getup to the standing position, walk overhead about 80' and then the get down portion. I was using a 32kg for this.
 
I don't use them as my main strength movement, because I don't have that much weight to go around with. Plus I'm still doing and enjoying KB routines.

And when you do them as a main strength movement, how does it look like ? Weight, distance, time, repeats, variations

Good point about the weight. I wasn't specifically referring to you in the first post, it just seems that the general feeling about carries is an afterthought.

My driveway is about 20 yards so I load them up heavy (~.75 bw per hand) and make 5 or so down and backs (10 passes total) with 3-5 minutes between sets. Sometimes I use the 1" handle, sometimes the 2". Sometimes I use straps, sometimes not.
 
My driveway is about 20 yards so I load them up heavy (~.75 bw per hand) and make 5 or so down and backs (10 passes total) with 3-5 minutes between sets. Sometimes I use the 1" handle, sometimes the 2". Sometimes I use straps, sometimes not.

Pretty nice

If i understand correctly that is 40 yards for 5 sets ? 1" or 2" handle.. i dont know what that is. But i would never use straps or a belt myself. It would kind of defeat the purpose :)

0.75 bw per hand is cool. I would need 2 bells per hand for that. Not that im heavy, just dont have many bells :)
 
Pretty nice

If i understand correctly that is 40 yards for 5 sets ? 1" or 2" handle.. i dont know what that is. But i would never use straps or a belt myself. It would kind of defeat the purpose :)

0.75 bw per hand is cool. I would need 2 bells per hand for that. Not that im heavy, just dont have many bells :)

How do the straps defeat the purpose? I can understand that it's good to train the grip and that the carries are a good way to train it. But if the grip is the first to go, why not put on the straps and continue training for all the other benefits?
 
Pretty nice

If i understand correctly that is 40 yards for 5 sets ? 1" or 2" handle.. i dont know what that is. But i would never use straps or a belt myself. It would kind of defeat the purpose :)

0.75 bw per hand is cool. I would need 2 bells per hand for that. Not that im heavy, just dont have many bells :)

10 sets of 20 yards each. Straps don't defeat the purpose, I use the straps to make if possible to do other, better grip work. My farmers handles have 2 handles, a 1 inch and a 2 inch thick.

Good blog post: Mythical Strength: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE FARMER’S WALK?!
 
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How do the straps defeat the purpose? I can understand that it's good to train the grip and that the carries are a good way to train it. But if the grip is the first to go, why not put on the straps and continue training for all the other benefits?

The answer is in your question. What use do all of the other benefits have, if grip is your weakest link. A chain can't be stronger then its weakest link.

So for me it would defeat the purpose. But do what you want to do :)
 
The answer is in your question. What use do all of the other benefits have, if grip is your weakest link. A chain can't be stronger then its weakest link.

So for me it would defeat the purpose. But do what you want to do :)

But certainly the carries are also good for other things than carries, where the grip isn't the limiting factor?
 
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