This Challenge is only available to PATHFINDER Holiday Hustle participants.

If you'd like to become a participant, head over to Holiday Hustle.

Why This Challenge Exists

The holidays are when structure gets tested most. Time shrinks, priorities scatter, and consistency takes a back seat.

The Carry + Crawl Challenge exists to prove that meaningful training doesn’t require perfect conditions, just deliberate effort. You’ll build resilience through two primal movement patterns that demand full-body strength, grit, and focus. They’re the simplest, most transferable skills in human movement: carrying weight and moving on the ground.

Over six weeks, you’ll alternate between heavy carries and crawl-based circuits designed to maintain strength, endurance, and mobility through the most chaotic season of the year. The goal isn’t perfection, but persistence.

Challenge Purpose

The Carry + Crawl Challenge builds strength, stability, and real-world toughness using minimal equipment. You’ll train core control, shoulder endurance, and total-body strength while reinforcing disciplined movement under fatigue.

This is functional training stripped down to its essentials: you, weight, and time. By the end, you’ll move more confidently under load and prove that consistency is built one honest effort at a time.

Challenge Parameters

Duration: 6 Weeks

Structure: One session per week, alternating between Carry and Crawl. The 6 weeks do not need to be consecutive, but there must be 7 days between each effort.

• Weeks 1, 3, 5: Carry Session

• Weeks 2, 4, 6: Crawl Circuit

Equipment: Ruck or Sandbag (15-45 lb range)

Time Commitment: 20-25 minutes per week

Carry Session (Weeks 1, 3, 5)

• Time: 20-25 minutes

• Load: 15-45 lb ruck or sandbag

• How: Keep moving continuously, switching carry style every 3-4 minutes.

  • Bear hug

  • Front rack

  • Shoulder (alternate sides)

  • Zercher carry

  • Suitcase carry (each side)

• Goal: Stay moving the entire time. Record total carry time and any breaks. Aim to carry longer or rest less each session.

• Focus: Posture, breathing, and grip integrity.

Crawl Circuit (Weeks 2, 4, 6)

• Time: 20 minutes

• Setup: 30-40 ft lane (garage, parking deck, backyard).

• Cycle:

  • Sandbag drag (forward)

  • Bear crawl (forward)

  • Reverse crawl (bodyweight or ruck optional)

  • Rest :60-:90 between rounds

• Goal: Maintain consistent pacing. Count total rounds and aim to increase by one each cycle.

• Scaling: Reduce crawl distance or rest longer if needed; consistency beats exhaustion.

Completion Criteria

1.  Complete all six total Challenge sessions (three Carry weeks and three Crawl weeks).
2.  Each session must be at least 20 minutes of total work.
3.  Log your sessions with load, duration, and observations.

Optional: On Week 6, combine both movements into a single 25-minute session (15:00 Carry + 10:00 Crawl) to finish strong.

Tips for Success

• Keep it simple. You don’t need perfect gear or terrain. Probably a good idea to wear tactical gloves as well.

• Respect recovery. Both movements are demanding. Pair this Challenge with mobility and hydration focus from the Holiday Hustle PDF.

• Film one session. Watching your carry form or crawl pattern helps refine your technique and accountability. It truly helps improve your form.

• Adapt, don’t skip. If travel or weather interferes, swap the Crawl Circuit for a 20:00 bodyweight AMRAP (pushups, squats, fast walk). The principle is effort under structure.

• Finish strong. Week 6 isn’t the end of a season; it’s proof you can sustain structure through the hardest weeks of the year.

Challenge Safety & Restrictions