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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A suitcase carry is a walk with a weight held in one hand. That one-sided load makes it a different core exercise from a two-handed farmer’s carry—and a small 2024 study found that walking with the weight increased activation in some back and abdominal muscles compared with standing still holding it. That does not prove a week of carries builds visible abs or replaces sit-ups, but it does explain why the exercise can feel demanding.
What makes a suitcase carry a core exercise?
Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at your side and walk without letting your torso tip toward the weight or away from it. Unlike a two-handed farmer’s carry, which distributes the load across both sides, a suitcase carry is unilateral: the load is on one side while you move. Your trunk and hips have to help control your posture as you walk.
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That is the key difference from a suitcase hold. In a hold, you stand still with the weight; in a carry, you add locomotion. The exercise also asks for grip strength, so a set may end because your hand is tired before your trunk is.
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What a study found about carries, holds and sit-ups
Ellestad and colleagues’ 2024 study measured muscle activity during loaded-carry exercises in 18 healthy college-aged adults—12 women and six men. Using surface electromyography, the researchers assessed the rectus abdominis, external oblique, longissimus and multifidus. They reported greater activation in both sides of the longissimus and multifidus during suitcase carries than during suitcase holds. On the side holding the weight, rectus abdominis and external oblique activation was also greater during the carry than the corresponding hold; no such difference was reported on the opposite side. Read the study in the International Journal of Exercise Science.
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The researchers’ experimental loads averaged 50.7±1.9 kg for the combined farmer’s-carry and hold conditions, and 25.3±0.95 kg for the single-dumbbell suitcase-carry and hold conditions. Those are study loads, not suggested starting weights. The sample was small and specific, and the experiment measured acute muscle activation—not a training program’s effect over a week or longer.
The study also found that the plank was the exercise to choose for rectus abdominis activation among the conditions tested. That is a finding about one muscle and one measured outcome, not proof that planks are universally better than carries. The study did not directly compare suitcase carries with sit-ups, and it did not measure visible abdominal definition, lasting strength gains or whether a burning sensation predicts results.
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How to do a suitcase carry with control
- Choose a weight you can manage. Use a dumbbell or kettlebell you already have; the available evidence does not establish that a particular brand, model or implement is necessary.
- Hold it at one side and stand tall. Keep your torso upright rather than leaning toward or away from the load.
- Walk while bracing your trunk. Take controlled steps and keep the weight from brushing your leg.
- Reduce the load if your form slips. If you start leaning or the weight repeatedly knocks against your leg, use a lighter weight.
These are practical coaching cues, not a guarantee against injury. The 2024 EMG study did not quantify injury risk. Avoid treating a heavier weight or a stronger “burn” as proof of a better workout.
Where suitcase carries fit in a core workout
Suitcase carries are one option for training while moving, rather than staying in place for a hold or a floor exercise. They make sense when you want to practice controlling a one-sided load during a walk. They need not replace planks or sit-ups: the cited study supports a limited comparison of muscle activation, not a verdict on which exercise is best for every goal.
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Other research has examined unilateral dumbbell carries in suitcase, front-racked and overhead positions at light, moderate and heavy loads in 18 resistance-trained participants, but the available study summary does not provide outcome values that support ranking those positions or loads. A separate 2021 paper examined hip and trunk activity and mechanics while walking with and without unilateral weight; its rationale about potential hip-abductor training should not be mistaken for proof of a rehabilitation benefit. See the 2021 PubMed study on carry position and load and the study of walking with and without unilateral weight.
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