When it comes to cardio, some people just aren’t interested in clocking up endless miles, much preferring the simple, sleeve stretching, pleasures of pumping iron to plodding along on a treadmill. If you’re one of them, we’ve got good news, there’s a better way to get in that all important heart protecting, health promoting cardiovascular work: strongman-style loaded carries. And even better, you’ll be adding slabs of lean muscle, with every step you take.
Loaded carries are the perfect hybrid between weights and cardio. Moving heavy things, as quickly as you can, over medium to long distances, will give you all of the benefits of both lifting and shifting, in one convenient package. You can expect to build full-body strength, size and stamina, while simultaneously stoking your metabolism, with studies suggesting you may also be building resistance to injury.
Sound to good to be true? Well before you get too carried away, we should tell you that you’re going to have to work for it, and work hard. But we promise— the rewards will be worth it.
The Workout
Our ‘Loaded Carry Trinity’, requires just two kettlebells or dumbbells and a 20-40m length to strut your stuff across. After a thorough warm-up grab a set of 'bells totalling around half of your bodyweight and set a countdown timer for 30 minutes. Work your way through as many high-quality rounds as possible of the following trifecta, resting only as necessary to catch your breath and keep your form tight. Keep a note of your ‘lengths’ and tot up your total distance when the buzzer sounds. Your goal is increase the total distance you cover each session, aiming for a total of around a mile before upping the weights.
Form Check
1. Overhead Carry x 20-40m
Clean your 'bells onto your chest and press them overhead (A). Take a few deep breaths before starting your walk. As you move, try to avoid flaring your ribcage; keep your core braced and your biceps almost touching your ears (B). The strength and stability you will build across your whole shoulder girdle here is ideal for keeping them injury free in the long run.
2. Front Rack Carry x 20-40m
Don’t let go of your weights just yet – drop them down and secure them across the top of your chest, knuckles grazing your chin and elbows packed tight against your ribs. Again, stride forward with purpose. Focus on your breathing and try to ensure you walk in a straight line and avoid lateral movement as much as possible.
3. Farmers Carry x 20-40m
Finally drop your weights to your sides and finish the round with test of grip strength. (A) Let your arms hang freely at your sides, take a deep breath into your belly and begin a fast, deliberate march (B). Once you’ve covered your allotted distance, drop your 'bells, shake off those arms and get ready for round two.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
