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Barbell Zercher Carry

A step-by-step form guide from the Ægir Iron exercise library: how to do the lift, what to watch for, and the muscles it trains.

Equipment

Barbell

HOW TO PERFORM

1. Set the bar in a rack around navel height and hook it into the crooks of your elbows, hands clasped in front of you.
2. Stand it up out of the rack, brace hard against a full breath and pull the bar in tight to your body.
3. Walk with short, quick steps, keeping the chest tall and the elbows up so the bar cannot roll down your forearms.
4. Stop under control at the end of the distance, then squat down and set the bar on the floor, still holding it in the elbows.

FORM TIPS

• The bar sits on bare skin at the elbow. Wrap it in a pad or wear long sleeves, because the arms give out long before the legs do.
• The load in front of you tries to fold you forward, so the upper back and the brace do the work. If the back rounds, the weight is too heavy for the distance.

TARGET MUSCLES

Primary

• Lower Back

Secondary

• Abs
• Biceps
• Forearms
• Traps
• Glutes
• Lats
• Quads
• Hamstrings

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Related: All exercises · How every exercise is mapped to the muscles it trains