The Farmers Walk is one of the BEST overall total-body exercises you can do. And if youre not currently doing them in some way, shape or form, youre really missing out on tremendous strength, muscle and conditioning benefits. If youre not familiar with a Farmers Walk, youve actually done them before and didnt even know it! The concept is very simple. Youre just carrying weight. Thats literally it. Every time you carry a pair of dumbbells from the dumbbell rack to where youre going to use them, youre doing a Farmers Walk. When you take this exercise and apply relatively heavy weight to it, you work literally your ENTIRE body...grip, back, traps, arms, shoulders, legs..and yes, even your chest to some degree! Farmers Walks can be done as a strength-focused exercise. Personally, I like to use the exercise as my cardio training, instead of mind-numbing machines. To do this type of heavy Farmers Walk training, I prefer to use a Trap Bar . This is essentially a bar that goes AROUND your legs. Its generally used for shrugs or deadlifts, but its PERFECT for Farmers Walks. The one I have is open at the back...you may also see hex bars that have a complete cage around you as well. Im using 405 lbs in the demo...but dont start with that if this is the first time youre trying the exercise. Begin light, get familiar with the movement, then move up from there. The weight should be something youre comfortable deadlifting relatively easily. Ive gone as high as 455 lbs on this Farmers Walk cardio training and that was pushing the limits as breathing and the load bearing down on you starts to limit the distance you can cover. Im also using grip assistance in the form of hooks for this training so that grip strength didnt limit the cardiovascular training I got. Its not 100% necessary to use grip assistance but know that not using will likely force you to use less weight or go shorter distances. That being said, your grip will obviously get a lot more work without grip assistance! It just depends on what your priority is...for me, in this case, it was cardio training with maximum loading. So first, deadlift the weight up. Then start walking. Take SHORT steps that are fairly close in line with each other, so youre not swinging the weight side to side...(almost like a tight-rope walker in concept...though not quite that close in). On the other end, Ill set the bar down, turn around, then come back. I recommend taking an interval approach with this training, going for about 20 to 30 feet in one direction, then turn around and come back. Then set the weight down and rest about 30 seconds, then go again...just like regular interval training. This places tremendous demands not only on the muscular system but your cardiovascular system as well. Carrying heavy loads demands massive amounts of oxygen, just like any other form of cardio... I will then do this for a set period of time, e.g. 10 to 15 minutes straight. THAT is how I do cardio... ...its much more fun and challenging than sitting on a bike and slogging away mindlessly. As well, this sustained long-duration loading challenges the structures in your body in a way that even normal weight training doesnt. Now, on a side note, Im not suggesting you do this, but to give you an idea of how far you can push this type of training and the type of sustained loading Im talking about, Ive also done this interval Farmers Walk training with 250 lbs on the bar...covering almost a MILE...in just over an hour. And believe me, I got an INCREDIBLE cardio AND strength/endurance workout from it! Next time you do cardio, forget the standard approaches and try these interval Farmers Walks, whether it be with a trap bar, dumbbells or kettlebells. Youll either love them, hate them, or both!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 20:37:44 +0000
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