Alternatives · Traps
7 Farmer Carry Alternatives You Can Do Without Room to Walk
A farmer carry needs heavy weights and a clear stretch of floor, and crowded gyms and small home setups rarely offer both. These seven swaps keep the heavy hold on your traps, back and grip while you stand in one place.
The short answer
The best farmer carry alternative is the Trap Bar Deadlift held at lockout, which keeps heavy weight at your sides with a neutral grip in one spot. The Dumbbell Shrug suits home training with the same dumbbells, the Rack Pull hold gives the upper traps the most load, and the Dead Hang covers grip endurance when all you have is a bar.
The best Farmer Carry alternative for your situation
| No equipment | Superman Hold |
|---|---|
| At home | Dead Hang |
| With dumbbells | Dumbbell Shrug |
| With a kettlebell | Kettlebell Shrug |
| With a barbell | Trap Bar Deadlift or Barbell Shrug |
| For heavier loading | Rack Pull |
What a Farmer Carry alternative has to replace
A farmer carry is a loaded walk: heavy dumbbells in each hand, arms straight, and a set measured in time or distance instead of reps. Nothing moves at the shoulder, so the upper traps work isometrically, holding the shoulder girdle up against a load that keeps trying to drag it down. Each step briefly shifts more of the weight onto one leg, and the erectors and trunk have to stop the torso from leaning with it. Grip is usually the first thing to fail, which makes the carry as much a hand exercise as a back one.
The parts worth keeping are a heavy load held in the hands at your sides and a long set, somewhere between 30 and 60 seconds under tension. The walking can go if space is short, as long as the hold stays heavy and long. What most swaps lose is that step-by-step challenge for the trunk, so a static hold is a close match rather than an identical one.
7 Farmer Carry alternatives, best first
1. Trap Bar Deadlift
The Trap Bar Deadlift puts the farmer carry’s handle position on a frame that takes far more weight. Stand inside it, pull to lockout, and simply stay there: the neutral grip beside your hips and the straight arms are identical, and the load can be much heavier than any pair of dumbbells. You lose the walking, but for a gym with no free floor it is the closest match.
Swapping it in: Deadlift the bar to lockout and hold for 20–30 seconds, shoulders set high and chest tall. Do 3–4 holds, and add a short walk with the bar if floor space allows.
2. Dumbbell Shrug
With the same dumbbells and no room to walk, the Dumbbell Shrug turns the carry’s static hold into reps. The weights hang at your sides exactly as they do in the carry, but now the upper traps lift the shoulders and lower them through a full range. Pausing at the top of each rep brings back some of the holding work, which makes it the obvious home pick for small spaces.
Swapping it in: Use weights close to your carry dumbbells, do 3 sets of 12–15, and hold each rep at the top for three seconds. End the last set with a 30-second hold.
3. Rack Pull
The Rack Pull gives the traps and erectors more load than any carry. Set a barbell on pins just below the knees, pull it to lockout and stay there, where the upper traps resist the weight pulling the shoulders down and the erectors keep you upright. The bar sits in front of the thighs instead of at your sides, and there is no walking, but for heavy holding it goes further than anything else here.
Swapping it in: Load it well past your farmer carry total and hold each lockout for 10–15 seconds. Do 3–4 sets of 2–3 reps, using straps only on the final set.
4. Kettlebell Shrug
In a small home space, a pair of kettlebells and the Kettlebell Shrug cover most of what the carry trains. The bells hang at your sides with a neutral grip, and a long hold at the top of each rep keeps the upper traps working against the load for as long as a short carry would. Heavy bells tax your grip too, although the walking challenge for the trunk is gone.
Swapping it in: Do 3 sets of 8 reps with a five-second hold at the top of each, about 40 seconds under load per set. If you have space for even a few steps, add them.
5. Dead Hang
When grip is the reason you carry, the Dead Hang trains it with nothing but a bar. You hang from straight arms for time, the same 30–60 second effort a carry demands of your hands, only with your bodyweight pulling up on the shoulders rather than dumbbells pulling down. The traps get little from it, so it covers the grip half of the carry and needs a loaded pick for the rest.
Swapping it in: Hang for 3–4 sets of 30–60 seconds with a full grip and relaxed shoulders. On days with dumbbells, pair it with shrugs so the traps are covered as well.
6. Barbell Shrug
In a crowded gym, a Barbell Shrug loaded heavy and held at the top works the upper traps the way a carry does, with the extra weight a bar allows. Both hands share one bar in front of your thighs rather than a weight at each side, so the grip and trunk get less. It suits lifters who mainly carry for trap size and just need a stationary way to keep that work going.
Swapping it in: Do 3–4 sets of 10, holding the last rep of each set at the top for 15–20 seconds. Pick a weight about equal to the total of your two carry dumbbells.
7. Superman Hold
With no weights at all, the Superman Hold is the honest fallback for the erectors’ side of the carry. Lying face down, you raise your arms and legs and hold, so the lower back works isometrically for time as it does while you walk loaded. It does nothing for grip or the upper traps, so use it to keep the habit going until you can pick up something heavy.
Swapping it in: Hold for 20–30 seconds, rest 30, and repeat 4–5 times. When you can, grab two full bags or water jugs and walk them around the house instead.
Illustrations adapted from Everkinetic via workout-guide, CC BY-SA 4.0. Full credits.
Side by side
| Exercise | Equipment | Where | Level | Muscles shared with the Farmer Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farmer Carry (original) | Dumbbell | Home or gym | Beginner | Upper Traps, Erectors |
| Trap Bar Deadlift | Barbell | Gym | Intermediate | 2 of 2: Erectors, Upper Traps |
| Dumbbell Shrug | Dumbbell | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 2: Upper Traps |
| Rack Pull | Barbell | Gym | Intermediate | 2 of 2: Erectors, Upper Traps |
| Kettlebell Shrug | Kettlebell | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 2: Upper Traps |
| Dead Hang | Pull-up Bar | Home or gym | Beginner | None — works Lats |
| Barbell Shrug | Barbell | Gym | Beginner | 1 of 2: Upper Traps |
| Superman Hold | Bodyweight | Home or gym | Beginner | 1 of 2: Erectors |
How to choose
Most farmer carry swaps come down to space, so decide how much of the walk you can keep before you pick.
- A few meters of floor: keep carrying, even if it means short trips with a turn.
- Gym, no room to walk: Trap Bar Deadlift holds first, Rack Pull holds for heavier trap work, and Barbell Shrugs with long pauses.
- Home, dumbbells or kettlebells: Dumbbell Shrugs or Kettlebell Shrugs with long holds at the top.
- Only a pull-up bar: Dead Hangs for grip.
- Nothing: Superman Holds, plus anything heavy you can carry around the house.
Holds of 30–60 seconds keep the character of a carry. Short, fast sets turn any of these into a different exercise, so keep the time under load long even when the walking is gone.
Full Farmer Carry guide: form, muscles worked and mistakes →
Frequently asked questions
What is a farmer carry alternative when you have no space?
A static hold is the best alternative with no space: deadlift a trap bar or two dumbbells to lockout and stand still for 20–40 seconds. The Trap Bar Deadlift hold keeps the grip and load position of a carry exactly, and Dumbbell Shrugs with long pauses at the top work at home. You lose the walking, but the traps and grip still get the long, heavy hold.
What can replace farmer carries with no equipment?
Nothing without weight fully replaces a farmer carry, but two bags filled with books or water jugs make a workable carry at home. With truly nothing, the Superman Hold trains the lower back’s holding role and the Dead Hang trains grip endurance if you have a bar. Neither loads the upper traps, so return to a weighted hold when you can.
What is a machine alternative to the farmer carry?
Gyms rarely have a carry machine, so the practical options are a Trap Bar Deadlift held at lockout or a Rack Pull from pins in a power rack. Both let you hold far more weight than dumbbells, and the Rack Pull suits gyms without a trap bar. Hold each rep for 10–30 seconds so the set resembles a carry rather than a lift.
What is the farmer carry also called?
The farmer carry is also called the farmer’s walk or farmer’s carry, and the one-handed version is usually called a suitcase carry. All of them are loaded walks with the weight hanging from straight arms. Their stationary alternatives are the same: the Trap Bar Deadlift held at lockout, the Dumbbell Shrug with long pauses, and the Kettlebell Shrug for home setups.
Which of these does your back actually need?
BackMaxx scores your traps and the five other back zones from one photo, then builds each session around whichever one is furthest behind.
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