Two hundred metres carrying two kettlebells. Open women take 2 x 16kg, Open men and Pro women 2 x 24kg, Pro men 2 x 32kg. It looks like the simplest station in the race and it has a nasty habit of going wrong.
Grip fails first
For almost everyone, this station ends when their hands give out, not their legs or their lungs. That matters because grip is highly trainable and because grip failure is predictable.
By station six you have already pulled a sled with a rope and rowed 1000m, both of which tax your forearms. Arriving with fresh hands is partly a pacing decision made two stations earlier.
Technique
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Stand tall. Shoulders back and down, chest up. Rounding forward makes it harder to breathe and shifts load into your lower back.
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Hook grip the handle. Let the bells hang from your fingers rather than crushing them in your palm.
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Short quick steps. A brisk march, not long strides. Long strides make the bells swing.
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Keep them still. Swinging bells waste energy and hit your legs.
Plan your breaks
Decide in advance where you will set the bells down, typically once or twice across the 200 metres, and take those breaks before your grip actually fails.
A planned break costs a few seconds. An emergency drop costs much more, because your hands need real recovery before you can grip again, and picking the bells back up with failed hands is genuinely difficult.
Grip also recovers surprisingly fast. Ten seconds with your hands shaken out buys a lot more distance.
Training it
Carry heavier than race weight for shorter distances, and race weight for longer than 200 metres. Both work. Add dead hangs, which are the cheapest grip builder available and need only a bar.
Practise picking the bells up off the floor when tired, because that specific moment is where races get lost.
Chalk and gloves
If your event permits chalk, use it. Gloves are personal: some people find they help, others find they reduce feel and make the handle slip more. Decide in training, not on race day.
Frequently asked
Can I rest the bells on my shoulders? No, this is a carry at your sides.
How many breaks are normal? One or two is typical. Zero is a good goal.
What if I drop one? Pick it up and continue from where you dropped it.
Racing soon? Our compression tights for Hyrox use 15-20 mmHg graduated compression in a 225 GSM knit built to hold shape through sled and sandbag work, and our compression race socks run at 25-30 mmHg. Free UK delivery over £50.
Hyrox Farmers Carry: Grip, Posture and Pace
Two hundred metres carrying two kettlebells. Open women take 2 x 16kg, Open men and Pro women 2 x 24kg, Pro men 2 x 32kg. It looks like the simplest station in the race and it has a nasty habit of going wrong.
Grip fails first
For almost everyone, this station ends when their hands give out, not their legs or their lungs. That matters because grip is highly trainable and because grip failure is predictable.
By station six you have already pulled a sled with a rope and rowed 1000m, both of which tax your forearms. Arriving with fresh hands is partly a pacing decision made two stations earlier.
Technique
Plan your breaks
Decide in advance where you will set the bells down, typically once or twice across the 200 metres, and take those breaks before your grip actually fails.
A planned break costs a few seconds. An emergency drop costs much more, because your hands need real recovery before you can grip again, and picking the bells back up with failed hands is genuinely difficult.
Grip also recovers surprisingly fast. Ten seconds with your hands shaken out buys a lot more distance.
Training it
Carry heavier than race weight for shorter distances, and race weight for longer than 200 metres. Both work. Add dead hangs, which are the cheapest grip builder available and need only a bar.
Practise picking the bells up off the floor when tired, because that specific moment is where races get lost.
Chalk and gloves
If your event permits chalk, use it. Gloves are personal: some people find they help, others find they reduce feel and make the handle slip more. Decide in training, not on race day.
Frequently asked
Can I rest the bells on my shoulders? No, this is a carry at your sides.
How many breaks are normal? One or two is typical. Zero is a good goal.
What if I drop one? Pick it up and continue from where you dropped it.
Racing soon? Our compression tights for Hyrox use 15-20 mmHg graduated compression in a 225 GSM knit built to hold shape through sled and sandbag work, and our compression race socks run at 25-30 mmHg. Free UK delivery over £50.