How to Pace the Hyrox Farmers Carry: Short Steps, Breathing, Grip

The Farmers Carry is a 200-meter grip test, not a sprint. Pace it with short, quick steps, steady breathing, and a firm but relaxed grip. Chalk before you start, set your handle once, and treat every turnaround as a chance to reset before the Sandbag Lunges.

Know the demand before you pick up the kettlebells

The Farmers Carry comes in the back half of a standard Hyrox race. Depending on the venue, the 200 meters may break into multiple laps, turnarounds, or short out-and-back sections, so plan for changes of direction instead of one long straight walk.

Both kettlebells must stay in your hands with arms extended by your sides. You cannot rest them on your body, and the load stays with you the entire distance unless you set it down briefly.

Division loads are:

• Women’s Open: 2 × 16 kg (2 × 35 lb)
• Men’s Open and Women’s Pro: 2 × 24 kg (2 × 53 lb)
• Men’s Pro: 2 × 32 kg (2 × 71 lb)

You may put the kettlebells down only if they do not slide forward. When you finish, they must be left with the handles upright, or you risk a 30-second penalty.

Chalk is worth using on this station. Race-provided chalk is only allowed at the Sled Push and Farmers Carry stations, so plan around that instead of assuming it will be available everywhere. For the bigger picture of how this station fits your run, station, and Roxzone pacing, How to pace a Hyrox race: run, stations, and Roxzone covers the full race structure.

Set your grip once and keep the kettlebells close

Pick one grip position before you stand: center of the handle or slightly forward. Avoid re-adjusting mid-carry, because every small shift wastes time and tells your hands they can keep correcting the load.

Chalk your hands before the carry so sweat and fatigue do not force a reset later. Once you lift, keep the kettlebells close to your sides. Any drift away from your body makes the weight feel heavier and increases swing.

Walk with short, quick steps rather than long strides. Long steps let the kettlebells swing forward and back, which pulls on your grip and makes your core work harder to control the movement.

Start breathing from the first step. Use short rhythmic breaths: inhale through your nose and exhale through pursed lips. Holding your breath may feel strong for a few meters, but it raises tension and makes the carry harder to sustain.

Pace the first 50 meters like the last 50

Open at a steady walk or fast walk. Do not attack the first 50 meters, even if your grip feels fresh and your legs want to run. The goal is to arrive at the final meters with the same rhythm you started with.

Focus on reaching the next turnaround rather than the entire 200 meters. Breaking the station into small targets keeps your pacing consistent and prevents you from fading halfway through.

At each turnaround, use the brief change of direction to breathe, reset your posture, and re-brace. Do not let the bells swing wide through the turn. Keep the same short-step rhythm and guide the kettlebells around the corner with your lats and shoulders quiet.

Manage grip fatigue before sandbag lunges

Hold the handles firmly, but avoid excess tension. Overgripping early burns your forearms before the station is half done. Between steps, think about relaxing the fingers for a fraction of a second while keeping control of the handle.

If grip fatigue builds, shake out one hand at a time while continuing to move. This is usually faster than stopping completely and lets you keep a walking rhythm.

If you do plan a rest, decide on the point in advance. Set the kettlebells down calmly, reset your grip once, and continue. Do not turn the middle of the carry into repeated emergency drops.

How you exit the Farmers Carry affects something bigger than your split time. A frantic finish leaves your forearms blown for the Sandbag Lunges and Wall Balls. Prioritize composure over saving a few seconds.

A race-conditioning drill for grip and pacing

A useful circuit is 3 rounds of:

• 100 m heavy carry
• 12–15 dumbbell shrugs
• 60–90 seconds rest

Choose a pair of kettlebells or dumbbells that is challenging but allows you to keep short steps for the full 100 meters without setting them down. In the first round, rehearse the race-day rhythm: chalk first, set the grip once, and breathe continuously.

In later rounds, practice a planned put-down or a one-hand shake-out so you already know what to do if grip fatigue spikes on race day. The goal is not to invent your response in the middle of the station.

What to do this week

Test your current Farmers Carry pace with a 200-meter carry at your division load. Record the time and note whether you had to reset your grip, shake out a hand, or set the kettlebells down.

Add the 100 m carry/shrug circuit once this week, then keep one normal grip-focused strength session later in the week. That gives you enough stimulus without turning every session into another grip test.

Before your next run, carry something for 50–100 meters, then immediately run 400 meters to feel the compromised-running transition. For a full explanation of that training stimulus, What Is Compromised Running? A Simple Hyrox Workout for First-Timers breaks it down.

If you want a plan that builds grip work around your other stations, Velox can build it from your station baselines, run pace, and goal finish time. It is a free Hyrox training app.