The Farmer’s Carry is the sixth station in a HYROX event. You need to complete a distance of 200m with the kettlebells in your hands.
When you reach the Farmer’s Carry station, you will have already have completed 6km of running and 5 functional stations (SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps and rowing).
Following this station you have 2km of running and 2 remaining functional stations (Sandbag Lunges and Wall Balls).
This exercise engages your upper back and core. Good grip strength is required. You may place the kettlebells down without receiving a penalty.
Below is a video from HYROX outlining the Farmer’s Carry and some training tips…
HYROX Farmer’s Carry Requirements (Weights and Distance)
The Farmer’s Carry requirements, by category, in HYROX are as follows:
Women: 200m with 2 x 16kg kettlebells
Women Pro: 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Men: 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Men Pro: 200m with 2 x 32kg kettlebells
Mixed Doubles: 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Women Doubles: 200m with 2 x 16kg kettlebells
Men Doubles: 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Women Relay: 200m with 2 x 16kg kettlebells
Men Relay: 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Mixed Relay: Female members 200m with 2 x 16kg kettlebells / Male members 200m with 2 x 24kg kettlebells
Completing the Farmer’s Carry Station
The station is completed when you cross the finish line and return the kettlebells to the marked area. The kettlebells must be placed back in their position with the handles up.
With many of the stations in HYROX, you should pace them a little so you have the energy to continue for the remainder of the race. My personal belief with the Farmers Carry, however, is that you should complete it as quickly as you possibly can. The longer you hold on to the kettlebells the more taxing it will be on you. You want to get the 200m done as quickly as possible, minimise the amount of time you need to put them down for (if you do at all), and get on with your race.
Target times:
Elite men: ~1:10 to 1:30
Elite women: ~1:20 to 1:40
Competitive age-groupers: ~1:30 to 2:30
If you are over 3 minutes, this station needs work.
Training for the Farmer’s Carry
Grip strength is obviously a factor when it comes to the Farmers Carry in HYROX. Anything that challenges your grip is, in some way, preparing you for this station. Pull-ups, heavy holds, dead hangs and carries all help.
That said, a fast Farmers Carry time is not just about grip…
In a conversation with Dr Adam Storey, exercise physiologist and HYROX Sports Science Advisory Council member, on the Rox Lyfe podcast, he said:
“I would actually classify the farmer’s carry as a postural endurance test. How long can you maintain good posture before things start to crumble?”
That changes how you should think about this station.
When you watch athletes start to struggle in the Farmers Carry in HYROX, what usually happens first? The shoulders round forward, the upper back collapses, the chest drops, and the torso starts swaying.
Once posture goes, efficiency goes with it. Your metabolic cost rises, your grip starts to fatigue faster, and your speed drops.
Adam explained that the trap complex plays a huge role here:
– Upper traps help stabilise the shoulders under load
– Mid traps maintain scapular retraction
– Lower traps support thoracic extension
If you lose scapular control and your shoulders drift forward, your arms move into a weaker mechanical position. The kettlebells feel heavier. Energy leaks increase. Grip fatigue accelerates.
In other words, your hands might not be the weak link. Your posture might be.
So instead of only hammering dead hangs and heavy holds, you should also build:
– Upper back strength
– Posterior chain endurance
– Core stability under load
– The ability to maintain tall, efficient posture while moving
The fastest Farmers Carry athletes in HYROX do not just have strong hands. They look rock solid from shoulders to hips. No collapse. No wasted motion. That might, therefore, mean including exercises such as Romanian deadlifts, heavy shrugs, barbell rows, single-arm carries, and front rack carries in your training.
That does not mean specificity is irrelevant.
You still need to practise moving quickly with kettlebells in your hands. Farmers Carry is a skill under load. The more comfortable you are at race pace, the less it will spike your heart rate and disrupt your rhythm.
Over time, build both:
• Distance at race weight
• Heavier carries over shorter distances
For example:
• 3 rounds of 150m at race weight
• Or 3 rounds of 60 to 80m at a load above race weight
Farmers Carry is often overlooked because there is always more running to do, more sled work to fit in, more wall balls to survive.
But it can shape how you enter the final stages of your HYROX race.
Adam Storey described it as a hugely underrated exercise. If you want to improve your Farmers Carry in HYROX, it deserves deliberate training, not leftovers at the end of a session.
Should you need any help with your training for the event, then you may be interested in our personalised coaching options, our 12 week HYROX training plan or our 12 Week Doubles plan.
