Summary
Dan John answers listener questions about loaded carries, old-time strongman training, weightlifting shoes, and tumbling for athletes. On loaded carries, he explains why grip strength is one of the best indicators of biological age and how the farmer walk, suitcase carry, and bear hug carry each contribute differently to physical development. He notes that while farmer walks and suitcase carries are grip-dominant, many valuable carry variations like bear hug carries, waiter walks, and backpack carries are not primarily grip exercises. The episode also draws fascinating parallels between loaded carries and the ancient practice of Milo carrying a growing bull daily, arguing that the loaded carry is the original progressive overload exercise. John connects this to his insight that a pull-up, deadlift, and farmer walk program would hit grip through the roof, while squats may be the best mass builder precisely because they don't involve grip. The Q&A format also covers old-time strongman training philosophy, the value of tumbling for longevity, and how deprivation breeds training ingenuity.
Key Points
- Grip strength is arguably the best indicator of biological age, making carries critical for longevity
- Not all loaded carries are grip-dominant -- bear hug carries, waiter walks, and backpack carries train different qualities
- A pull-up, deadlift, and farmer walk program would create enormous grip development and broad strength
- The myth of Milo carrying a growing bull is essentially the first example of loaded carry progressive overload
- Loading the gait pattern (walking under stress) is something most people have neglected in training for years
- Squats may be the best mass builder precisely because they don't involve grip, allowing more muscular focus
- Old-time strongmen trained with fixed weights, doing as many exercises as possible with one load before progressing
- Deprivation in equipment leads to increased training ingenuity and capacity
Key Moments
Grip strength is the best indicator of biological age
Dan John explains that grip strength is probably the best indicator of your actual physical age, and connects this to the homunculus man concept showing how much of the nervous system is devoted to the hands.
"not the age that's on your birth certificate or your driver's license, but your actual physical age. So yeah, grip strength, anything that improves grip strength, I think is always important. Also, there's a thing you'll see in some of the biology books called, I think it's called homunculus man. And it has huge eyes and massive fingers and genitalia and one or two other areas. It represents the amount of"
Milo and the bull as the original loaded carry
Dan John connects loaded carries to the ancient Greek myth of Milo, who carried a growing bull daily, arguing this was the original progressive overload exercise and that Milo was doing loaded carries, not isolation exercises.
"with Milo or Milo, you know, the guy who picked up the bowl, the light bowl the first day and then, you know, every day picked it up for a year and He did loaded carries. He didn't do French presses or reverse curls."
Loading the gait pattern is a neglected training element
John emphasizes that adding load to the gait pattern -- walking under stress -- is something most people have completely neglected in their training for years, and this is a key reason loaded carries produce such dramatic results.
"the fact that you're adding to the gait pattern, G-A-I-T, under load and under stress is something most people have not done in their training for a long time."
