The Farmer's Walk is an excellent exercise for strengthening and conditioning your body. It involves carrying heavy weights in each hand and walking for a set distance or time.
If we look at the history of Farmer’s walk or Farmer’s Carry, it is said that the concept for this workout comes from popular strongman sports events where well-built men walk with heavy weights in both hands. Later it became a popular fitness training method due to its benefits.
The activity works multiple muscles in the upper body, core, and legs while increasing muscular endurance. Moreover, it can be done with either a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, or any heavy substance, making it an ideal exercise for different fitness levels.
Some other benefits of the Farmer’s Carry exercise include improved body posture, more muscular coordination, and increased balance. This makes it a great fit to go into your regular workout sessions.
Now, let’s move to a detailed overview of Farmer’s Walk or Carry. This article will discuss how to perform the Farmer’s Walk, its benefits, and the muscles worked during the exercise.
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How to Perform Farmer’s Walk the Right Way?
First, you need to find an appropriate weight for yourself that you would carry while performing the walk. It is recommended to pick a lighter weight initially to avoid injuring yourself.
Over time, you can increase the weight of the carry as you gain strength to challenge your body even more. You can also use different varieties of carry, such as one-arm carries or walking lunges with a Farmer’s Carry, to challenge yourself. So don’t be afraid to switch up your routine to keep it exciting and get the best results!
Once you have chosen the weight you want to carry, ensure you have a space with no obstacles to executing the walk while carrying the weight. Here are the steps:
- To do the Farmer's Walk, start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and place a pair of heavy dumbbells or any other suitable weight at your sides.
- Now, lower yourself to pick the weights to carry while keeping your chest upward and shoulders back. Make sure you wear weightlifting gloves and have the proper handle grip.
- If using kettlebells, ensure your wrists are in line with your forearms.
- Brace your core and keep your head up and chest out as you walk forward for a set distance or time.
- Keep the weights close to your body, but not touching it, throughout the exercise.
- Now, start to take controlled steps forward. Take your time with the process, as the purpose is not to move faster but to have a balanced walk.
- Repeat the exercise to meet the targeted numbers or time.
Benefits of Farmer’s Walk or Carry?
The Farmer’s Walk is an incredibly beneficial workout that can help you accomplish much, even if you do not spend so much time at the gym. You can simply do it at home with minimal equipment. Moreover, you do not have to learn some super technique, as it is a very simplistic movement.
The movement provides you with several fitness benefits at once. To give you an idea about how it benefits, we have listed some significant advantages of Farmer’s Carry. Take a look to feel more motivated and add it to your regular workout routine.
Improves Grip Strength
Farmer’s Carry is a fantastic exercise for improving grip strength. By using heavy weights, you can challenge your grip and build up endurance in the muscles of your hands and forearms.
Strengthens Core Muscles
The Farmer’s Carry is an intense full-body workout that helps strengthen your core muscles. The movement involves engaging your abdominal muscles and other stabilizing core muscles throughout your torso when you lift and carry heavy weights.
Related Article: How to Keep your Core Engaged During Exercise
Increases Balance
The Farmer's Carry is excellent for improving balance since it requires you to stay upright and walk with a steady gait while carrying heavy loads in each hand. This exercise helps to improve your coordination, develop better body awareness, and strengthen your stabilizing muscles, which can help you avoid injury in other activities and sports.
Builds Stamina
The Farmer's Carry is a great way to build total-body stamina to use multiple muscle groups simultaneously while lifting and carrying heavy weights. Building up your stamina can help you increase your performance in other exercises as well as activities of daily living.
Improves Posture
Farmer’s carry can help improve posture since it requires you to maintain a good upright stance while carrying heavy loads in each arm. This helps strengthen the back and shoulder muscles, which can help prevent slouching and improve overall posture.
Enhances Mental Focus
Farmer’s Carry also helps build mental focus, as you need to stay focused on the task at hand while maintaining good form. This exercise can help build concentration skills and help you develop better self-discipline and mental toughness.
Low-Impact Exercise
Finally, the Farmer’s Carry is an excellent exercise because it is low-impact compared to other exercises such as running or jumping. This means you can perform this exercise without worrying about joint pain or stressing your body too much.
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Reduces the Risk of Injuries
Farmer’s Carry also helps reduce your risk of injury by strengthening the muscles and joints throughout your body. This exercise helps to build strength, endurance, and stability, which can help protect your body from injury while performing other activities.
Additionally, the Farmer’s Walk helps improve balance and coordination, which can help you avoid falls or missteps that could lead to injury.
Increases Mobility
The Farmer's Carry is a great way to increase mobility since you have to move your body while carrying heavy weights. This helps to improve the range of motion and flexibility throughout the entire body, which can help you move with greater ease and less pain.
Improves Endurance
Finally, the Farmer’s Carry is an excellent exercise for improving endurance as you lift and carry heavy weights for extended periods during this movement. This helps build up the muscles in your arms, legs, and core which can help you last longer during activities that require endurance.
Additionally, this exercise can improve your cardiovascular health by helping to increase your heart rate and oxygen intake. The Farmer’s Carry is an excellent exercise for improving overall fitness, building strength, and increasing endurance. So give it a try and see the results for yourself!
Muscles Worked During Farmer’s Walk
The Farmer’s Walk is a great full-body workout that primarily targets the muscles of your back, arms, and legs. The primary muscles worked include the trapezius, rhomboids, biceps, triceps, deltoids, latissimus dorsi (lats), glutes, and hamstrings. Let’s elaborate on that further!
Your trapezius and rhomboids are the muscles that help to pull your shoulders back and down. These muscles will work hard to help keep you upright as you hold the weights in your hands.
The biceps and triceps also work together to keep your arms straight and help move the weight forward. At the same time, your deltoids help to stabilize the shoulder joint as you move and are also responsible for raising your arms.
Lastly, your lats work with all these muscles to allow you to bend at the waist and move forward with the weight.
Your glutes and hamstrings will be working overtime during a Farmer’s Walk as they are responsible for helping to move you forward. They also will be working to stabilize your body as you walk with the weight in your hands.
FAQs
1. Can you build muscles with a farmer’s walk?
Farmer's Walk works many of your muscles, including the trapezius and rhomboids, biceps and triceps, lats, glutes, and hamstrings.
It also works your core muscles, such as the rectus abdominis (abs), obliques, and erector spinae (lower back). These muscles work together to maintain stability in your torso and spine which is essential for this exercise.
2. How to prevent injury while doing a farmer’s carry?
It is important to remember that proper form is critical to prevent injury and maximize the benefits of this exercise. Keep your head up, back straight, chest out, and shoulders pulled back as you walk with the weights. With consistent practice, you will be able to feel the muscles in your body working and strengthening as you take on this challenging exercise.
3. Are farmer carries worth it?
Yes, farmer carries are worth it! They are a great way to build strength and stability in the core, shoulders, and back. They can help improve grip strength and posture. They’re relatively easy to do without fancy equipment.
4. How many times a week should you do farmer carries?
The frequency of farmer's carry exercises depends on your individual fitness goals and your current level of physical fitness. A good rule of thumb is to perform the exercise two to three times per week, with at least one day of rest between each session.
If you’re just beginning your training regimen, you may need to start with just one session of farmer's carry per week. You can add an extra session if you’re looking for quicker results.
The Bottom Line
Overall, the Farmer’s Walk is a great full-body exercise that targets many muscles throughout your entire body. Incorporating this exercise into your regular workout routine can strengthen and tone all these muscles. Furthermore, it is a low-impact exercise that can help to protect your joints from injury.
Reading List
Article Sources
- Farmer’s Walk - The World’s Strongest Man. https://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/events/farmers-walk/. Accessed 17 Dec. 2022.
