IF EVER You grabbed a few bags full of groceries and carried them back to your car, then home, you’ve already committed to the real-world application of a weight room workout. For anyone keeping up with the buzzwords of the gym world, that’s it. functional fitness.
Carrying an object like shopping or a gym bag is as functional as possible in our daily lives. At the gym, we call this very natural movement carrying the bag. When done correctly, it can be one of the best exercises for building core strength and even a sneaky and effective tool for conditioning, as well as helping people of all ages to “function” better in their everyday lives.
Taking the bag carry from a daily movement to a crushing strength building and conditioning exercise requires a little more than just walking from point A to point B. Effectively executing the bag carry requires a combination of strength and stability. to get to the end of the road. (or in this case the other end of the gym) while holding as heavy a load as possible, according to mh fitness manager Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS
“Most of us do this in our daily lives, but we never really see it as exercise,” Samuel says. “[But] we can make it something we do every day into something that will help us get stronger, protect us from injury, and prepare us for real life too.”
The muscles you use to carry the suitcase
- Legs
- Shoulders (Deltoids)
- rhomboids
- Arms
- forearms
- abs and core
Carrying the suitcase should be an effort of the whole body. When you break it down, the move requires leg strength to walk while holding on to a heavy load. That, in turn, requires a lot of grip strength, using your forearms, as well as your biceps, shoulders, and the rest of your upper body muscles.
However, putting it all together requires a connection to your core muscles. And in this case we’re really focusing on a training idea known as anti-lateral flexion. Because you’re only holding a weight on one side, antilateral flexion requires your core to fight the urge to lean to the opposite side and instead work to maintain a balanced position.
“My goal when I do the carry is to not lean to any side, and that will require a lot of abdominal control, it will require all my core muscles to be very, very engaged,” Samuel says. “That means my glutes are going to be involved, my hip flexors are going to be involved, and every single muscle: my rectus abdominis is going to play a key role in this, my obliques are going to play a key role in this…and my lower back. the muscles also have to shoot”.
Benefits of Luggage Transport
- build strength
- Ideal for cardio and conditioning.
- Real world application (functional use)
Picking up a heavy load, holding it on one side without falling over, and then walking a challenging distance requires heavy work on your core, arms, and shoulders—more specifically your forearms. The longer the distance and the heavier the load should be enough for you to feel the burn in your arms, making this a great accessory movement for strength training.
If the burning in your arms wasn’t enough, the elevated heart rate you should experience after walking a certain distance under load will remind you that carrying a suitcase is also great for conditioning. Just don’t forget the key element to effective training: hold on to something heavy. Five-pound dumbbells won’t cut it with this exercise if you want strength and conditioning gains.
How to transport luggage
While packing is a natural move, there are key form elements involved if you want to get the most out of exercise. While holding a ton of weight on one side of your body can take a lot of effort, the goal here is to make it seem almost effortless. Easier said than done, but easy to achieve if you follow these tips.
Key points for the transport of suitcases
When carrying a load on one side, we tend to also focus on keeping the weight level on the shoulder of the carrying side. However, keeping the tension on both sides is essential, says Samuel. He wants to squeeze both blades down and back as he pushes his chest forward. “If someone shoves a pencil between your shoulder blades, you basically want to squeeze that pencil out,” Samuel says.
Holding a heavy object requires a firm grip. Think about flexing and squeezing as much as possible. Doing that will not only help you hang on, but you’ll also get some valuable forearm muscle work.
Don’t forget to flex your abs. This will help you drive your rib cage as close and tight as possible. This will help you combat the urge to tip over from side to side. Keep all that tension and walking becomes the easy part.
Signs to carry the suitcase
- Pick up the weight with one hand. Grasp the implement handle as tightly as possible.
- Engage your core, creating tension throughout the body. Also squeeze your shoulder blades and push your chest forward. Keep your neck in a neutral position, looking straight ahead.
- Walk forward, keeping the tension of the whole body. Keep your shoulders level. If necessary, extend your non-working arm for balance.
Equipment you can use to carry the suitcase
- Weight
- kettlebell
- EZ curl bar
- weight plate
- Barbell
It doesn’t really matter what piece of gear you use to carry a suitcase, as long as it’s heavy. But you can increase the difficulty level by using different pieces of equipment from time to time. For example, a loaded EZ bar will hit your forearms harder than, say, a kettlebell. Using a barbell will require a little more forearm balance than a short bar.
“I really, really encourage you to try mixing it up,” says Samuel. “You’ll get a lot of benefits from playing around with a lot of those tools. They are also going to make other carry-on variations do much better in terms of reps and sets.”
How to use the suitcase to carry in your training
According to Samuel, walking for time and/or distance is the best way to properly attack the carrying of suitcases. A good starting point might be to walk 20 meters one way, then switch arms and walk 20 meters back. Another option would be to walk 30 seconds one way, switch arms, and then 30 seconds backwards. Three to four sets should work best, either as a warm-up, especially for beginners, or even as a finishing move after deadlifts or leg day for more advanced gymnasts.
“Pick up something very, very heavy, work to make it look easy, and it’s not going to be easy,” Samuel says. “It won’t feel easy, but your goal is to work to make it look easy while walking, and that’s how you’ll get a lot for your money out of the suitcase.”
Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer who has written for Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Fitness, and Men’s Health.
