Station 6 of 8
HYROX Farmers Carry: Complete Station Guide
200m carrying two kettlebells
The farmers carry is the shortest station in HYROX and the closest thing to free time on the course — if your grip still works. By station 6 your hands have survived the sled pull and 5km of accumulated fatigue; the carry asks one simple question: can you walk fast for 200m without putting the bells down? Athletes who can, bank a sub-2:30 split and breathe. Athletes who can't, watch 90 seconds evaporate in three rest stops.
How long should the Farmers Carry take?
- Beginner: 2:30–3:30
- Average: 2:10–2:30
- Competitive: 1:50–2:10
- Elite: 1:30–1:50
Fastest station in the race for nearly everyone. The split differences look small — the downstream effect isn't: a failed grip here predicts a slow wall balls and a miserable final run.
Official weights & standards
- Open Men: 2 × 24 kg kettlebells
- Open Women: 2 × 16 kg
- Pro Men: 2 × 32 kg
- Pro Women: 2 × 24 kg
- Doubles: Same bells as equivalent singles, carry shared
Technique
- Grip the handles slightly off-center and crush them — a loose grip fails sooner than a tight one.
- Walk tall: shoulders packed down and back, core braced; leaning forward turns a carry into a grip-only exercise.
- Take fast, short steps — a controlled shuffle-walk around 130–140 steps/minute. Running with bells bounces them and burns grip faster than it saves time.
- If you must break, break once at 100m by a turn point, for 5 seconds, deliberately — not three panicked drops.
- Breathe rhythmically; carries invite breath-holding, which spikes heart rate for nothing.
Where athletes lose time
- Never training heavy carries, assuming 24 kg 'sounds light' — it is, for 20m; it isn't after a sled pull and 5km of running.
- Running with the bells and letting them swing.
- Multiple unplanned drops (each drop-and-pickup costs ~10 seconds plus grip).
- Death-gripping the sled pull early in the race and arriving here with empty forearms — pace your grip across the whole race.
Race-day pacing
This is a green-light station: move at the fastest walk you can hold unbroken. Use it to control breathing before the sandbag lunges. Doubles: the stronger-gripped partner takes the longer share.
How to train it
- Heavy carries: 4 × 50m at race weight +25%, twice weekly — overload makes race weight feel trivial.
- Grip endurance: max-time dead hangs, 3 sets, twice weekly.
- Compromised: 500m run → 100m carry × 3, rehearsing carry form at race heart rate.
FAQs
How heavy is the HYROX farmers carry?
Open Men 2×24 kg, Open Women 2×16 kg, Pro Men 2×32 kg, Pro Women 2×24 kg, carried 200m. The load is modest; the challenge is your grip arriving at station 6 already taxed by the sled pull.
Should you run during the farmers carry?
Almost never. A fast shuffle-walk with short steps is nearly as quick, keeps the bells stable, and preserves grip. Elites who run it have trained it for years — over 200m the walk costs them maybe 15 seconds, and costs you nothing.