How far or how long should you trap-bar carry when you are new to the exercise?

Three or four rounds of a 20 to 30 second carry, or about 40 to 60 feet, with a weight you can hold without your grip failing first is a solid starting target. Progress by adding distance or time before adding load.

What can I do instead of the trap-bar carry with no trap bar?

A farmer's carry with a pair of heavy dumbbells or kettlebells held at your sides trains the same grip, trap, and trunk demands.

What is the trap-bar carry good for and when is it not the right fit?

It builds grip, trap, and whole-trunk strength at once and carries over directly to picking things up off the floor, including the deadlift. It's a poor choice for anyone with a current grip or wrist injury, since the entire load rides on a two-handed grip with no way to lighten that specific demand.

Intermediate

Trap-Bar Carry

The trap bar centers the load around you, so you can carry heavier than dumbbells allow and really tax grip, traps and the whole trunk. It is one of the best bang-for-buck grip and posture builders and carries over directly to deadlifts. Load it heavy and walk for distance or time.

Equipment: Trap Bar
Body part: Forearms, Traps
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Brachioradialis
Browse by movement: Carry

How to do it

1
Load a trap bar and stand inside it with feet hip width.
2
Hinge down, grip the neutral handles, and brace your trunk hard.
3
Stand up by driving through the floor until the bar is locked at your sides.
4
Set the shoulders back and down and pick a focal point ahead.
5
Walk with short, controlled steps, keeping the ribs stacked over the hips.
6
Reach your distance or time, then hinge to set the bar down under control.

Tips

Squeeze the handles as hard as you can; grip is often the first thing to fail.
Keep the torso tall and resist the urge to lean forward as you fatigue.
Take smaller steps than feel natural to keep the load from swinging.

Variations

Common mistakes

The shoulders round forward and down as the distance adds up, letting the bar's weight pull the upper back into a slouch instead of staying stacked tall.
The steps get longer and more like a normal walking stride as fatigue sets in, which is exactly when the load starts swinging side to side instead of staying still at the hips.
The bar gets set down by simply letting go and dropping the hips forward instead of hinging back to lower it the same controlled way it was picked up.
Holding the breath for the entire carry instead of breathing steadily robs the trunk of the rhythm it needs to stay braced over a long distance.

Frequently asked

How far or how long should you trap-bar carry when you are new to the exercise?: Three or four rounds of a 20 to 30 second carry, or about 40 to 60 feet, with a weight you can hold without your grip failing first is a solid starting target. Progress by adding distance or time before adding load.
What can I do instead of the trap-bar carry with no trap bar?: A farmer's carry with a pair of heavy dumbbells or kettlebells held at your sides trains the same grip, trap, and trunk demands.
What is the trap-bar carry good for and when is it not the right fit?: It builds grip, trap, and whole-trunk strength at once and carries over directly to picking things up off the floor, including the deadlift. It's a poor choice for anyone with a current grip or wrist injury, since the entire load rides on a two-handed grip with no way to lighten that specific demand.

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