Cardio is one of those things that’s sort of a necessary evil when it comes to training. Let’s face it, most of us are in the gym – to one degree or another – because we want to look better naked. And while packing on slabs of adipose covered muscle may make you look like a monster with your shirt on, it won’t do much when you’re catching a tan and flexin’ for the ladies at a beachside bar.
Still, spending massive amounts of time on a treadmill or elliptical is a huge time suck, it’s boring, and tends to come with diminishing returns as far as fat loss is concerned.
That’s why when it’s time to shed some unwanted lbs I turn to loaded carries. Whether you’re an athlete, an operator, or just an average Joe who wants to lift more weight, build more muscle, and burn more fat you can’t go wrong with loaded carries.
The basic premise when it comes to loaded carries is that you will pick up a weight, carry it until you can carry it no more, put it down, catch your breath, pick it up again, rinse and repeat until you hate yourself for doing loaded carries and hate me for writing this article.
You can do a loaded carry pretty much any way you want using any implement you want (seriously your imagination is the only limiting factor – sandbags, bars, dumbbells, kettle bells, safety bars, you name it) but my favorites are overhead carries, Zercher carries, and trap bar carries. Not only will these moves help burn unwanted fat, but they’ll also improve your posture, and bring out your abs, traps, biceps, and forearms.
The embedded videos provide great tutorials on how to perform each exercise, and I’ve added some links below so you further explore the wonderful errr miserable world of loaded carries.
Zercher Carry
Overhead Carry
Trap Bar Carry
Want to learn more? Check out these articles on loaded carries
Timed Carries For Traps, Arms & Core
Boy, You Gotta Carry That Weight
Loaded Carries: The Ultimate Functional Exercise
