Conan's Wheel
Also works: Abdominals · Biceps · Calves · Forearms · Lower Back · Shoulders · Traps
A loaded arm pivots around a central post, and you carry the end of it in the crook of your elbows while walking in a circle for as many degrees as you can hold. The Zercher position and the outward pull of the turn make this a bracing and grip-on-your-own-wrists event long before the legs give out.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Load the arm and check which way the wheel turns before you get under it — walking the wrong direction wastes an attempt.
- Set the implement into the crook of both elbows, not on the forearms. Clasp your own wrists or hook your hands together.
- Pull your elbows tight to your ribs and your shoulder blades down before you take the weight.
- Stand close to the end of the arm; a hand's width further out noticeably increases the leverage against you.
- Take a full breath and brace before you extend the legs to lift it clear of the ground.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Short, continuous breaths, roughly one every two steps, with the abs braced between them. Steps stay quick and even; there is no slow phase in this event.
Before you load it
- Do not hold one breath through the turn. Sustained Valsalva under a rotating load is the fastest way to faint mid-carry.
- Have a partner watching the path. If you drop the arm mid-turn it can swing, and the safe direction is away from the post.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Start at a weight you can hold in the Zercher position for 30 seconds standing still — if the arms give out static, they will give out walking. Build distance before load: add a quarter turn at the same weight before adding plates. Once you can complete a full turn cleanly, add roughly 10 kg to the arm.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Re-rack it into the elbow crooks and clamp the elbows to your ribs before lifting. If it still slides, wear a long sleeve or sleeve wrap for friction and reduce the load until the position holds for a full turn.
Take short, sharp breaths on every second or third step and keep the abs firm between them. A full Valsalva that lasts 30 seconds is how people black out on this event.
Fix your eyes on a point on the inside of the circle and steer to it. Practise the walking path with a light load until the line is automatic.
Halve your stride and double your step rate. Distance is a product of time under the implement, and short steps buy you far more of it.
Why bother
Holding the implement in the elbow crooks pulls your torso forward and down on every step. Your spinal erectors, abs and upper back have to resist that fold continuously while your legs keep moving, which is a very different demand from a squat where the trunk holds one position under a load that is already balanced over your feet.
The circle adds the part nothing else replicates. Walking an arc under load throws you outward, so you are constantly correcting sideways as well as forward. Most attempts end because the lifter drifts wide, the arm's leverage increases, and the implement effectively gets heavier mid-turn — not because their quads failed.
Where it fits
Once every week or two in a strongman block, first thing after warming up, and only if you have access to the apparatus. Two or three turns is a session. It leaves the biceps and elbows sore in a way that interferes with pressing, so keep it away from the day before any heavy bench or overhead work.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
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Asked and answered
Why does it hurt my arms more than my legs?
Because the Zercher hold is the limiting factor for almost everyone. The bar sits on soft tissue in the elbow crooks and the whole load presses into it for the length of the turn. Bruising there is normal early on; sharp pain in the biceps tendon is not, and means the implement has slipped onto the forearm.
Do I really need the apparatus?
For the event itself, yes — nothing replicates the rotating arm and the outward pull. But the training qualities transfer from Zercher carries and heavy sandbag carries, both of which load the same forward-fold resistance. Build those first and use the wheel to rehearse, not to develop.
How do I stop losing the implement halfway round?
Two fixes, in order. First, clamp the elbows to your ribs and hook your hands together so the arms cannot spread. Second, take shorter steps — every long stride creates a bounce that walks the implement further down your forearms. If both are in place and it still slips, the load is too heavy for your current hold.
How many attempts should I take in a session?
Two or three. Each one is a maximal, unbroken hold and the drop-off after the second is steep. A fourth attempt at a slid grip and a drifting path is not extra training, it is rehearsing the failure.