First XV Carry Series: Rack Carry

There are a few variations of carries that are front loaded. This and one other, are my go to for such a case. The load in the front forces your upper back to work (otherwise you end up on your face). When you front squat with heavy weight, you can get the same feeling when it’s heavy enough, your upper back lights up like a christmas tree (emoji).

Looking for a core workout? Enough with your silly crunches, sit up and god knows what else you’ve had planted in your brain. Load this sucker up and watch as your core turns into straight fire.

-Load with this can be tricky, there is no percent of body weight here to go by. It’s definitely more of a feeling it out thing here. I’ve got 20 kgs (truth be told, I could’ve got a bit heavier). Sometimes you are limited to what weight you can manage to get into the position (more on that next).

-I certainly recommend using your best double KB swing to get the bells into position. Those that haven’t quite nailed down their swing can use, what I believe Mike Robertson calls, the skier swing. For the sake of at least seeing it done, that’s what I went with here.

-DO NOT try to just jerk and muscle your way the bells into position. It’s not that big of a deal if you can’t get a certain weight into position. Have a friend or lifting partner help you get them into position, if not, then you’ve now exposed a hole in your game you can fix, and just go to a lighter weight for a longer carry.

-Keep  your thumbs to your collarbone/chest. When the weight starts to drift forward and your hands come away from your chest, stuff start to go down hill. This will cause your arms to do more of the work and you will start to fall out of position, putting pressure on your back, no bueno my friends.

I like to use this carry for a few different reasons;

1. As an accessory for those that are looking to get a little more upper back work in (especially those seeking to get better at chin-ups and pull-ups).

2. For anybody that’s hunched over a desk all day and needs a little bit of a posture fix (so like 90% of the universe).

3. For those that are struggling just a bit with their front squat in terms of being able to keep themselves up right and in good position (again, posture kids).