CARRY ON LIFTING FOR A SOLID CORE
Nothing builds a hard midriff and old-school strength like loaded carries – THE ZERCHER CARRY will level up your results in a flash
From the basic farmer’s walk to yokes and hefting heavy sandbags, loaded carries are a staple of strongman-style training and can improve almost every aspect of your physical prowess.
However, in lieu of specialist equipment, we often scrape around for poor substitutions, limiting ourselves to the heaviest set of dumbbells we can find in the gym. Enter the Zercher carry.
Requiring just a loaded barbell, and giving you the ability to go heavier than most mortals can, the Zercher carry hits nearly every muscle in your core. It builds strength, stability and ‘anti-flexion’ – ie, the ability to not fold up like origami under a heavy load – which is vital in training and handy in daily life.
‘Zerchers don’t just hit your core, they build the postural muscles in your upper back that are criminally underused in the 21st century, helping to balance out desk-bound life,’ says MH fitness director Andrew Tracey. ‘It’s also quite an uncomfortable movement, which is uncommon in gyms full of padded machinery – this can help to build fortitude.’ Who’s up for a walk, then?
01 LIFT OFF
Place your feet at shoulder width under a bar. Bend your knees, hinge and grip the bar with a flat back. Brace your core and drive your feet into the floor to stand with a neutral spine.
02 LAP IT UP
Begin to squat down by bending at the knees, but keep your torso upright. As you descend, lift the bar slightly so it makes contact with the bottom of your stomach. Hold it here so that as you reach the bottom of your squat, the bar is resting at your hips.
03 HOOK OR CROOK
Reach under the bar, squeeze your fists, and, with the bar in the crook of your elbows, lift it away from your hips. With the bar secure, pull your shoulders back and stand tall. Stride forwards, keeping your core tight.
04 WALK THE LINE
After covering your distance, stop and slowly turn back. Maintain whole-body tension; the distance of the weight plates from your body will call both rotational and anti-rotational muscles into play for total core mastery.