Push-ups and the bench press fire up the pecs, core and shoulder muscles, but the farmer’s walk is one of my favorite full-body exercises for targeting these body parts and more.
The farmer’s walk has traditionally been viewed as an exercise for the shoulders, but the movement offers so much more to your body. All you have to do is grab a trap bar or two heavy weights like the best adjustable dumbbells or kettlebells and go for a walk. If you’ve ever carried groceries home, then you already know that shoulder burn.
Also known as the farmers carry, the popular strength and conditioning move works a lot more shoulder muscles while also strengthening the muscles in the arms, back, legs and core muscles and targeting major muscle groups. It’s also a cardio exercise that can raise your heart rate and test your overall endurance.
I decided to take my weights and perform the peasant walks around my apartment every day for a week. Find out what happened to my body or find out how 50 Arnold presses went down in another challenge.
Farmers walk – benefits
The Farmers March is a versatile compound exercise used in functional training workouts such as CrossFit and Hyrox. You can choose to carry two weights or challenge your balance and stability by working unilaterally (on one side only) while carrying one weight. Either way, strength gains are up for grabs. Other benefits of Farmers’ Walk include building muscle, improving grip strength, and developing lower-body power.
The movement is considered an isometric and isotonic exercise; Isometric refers to static exercise that places stress on the muscles without causing the muscle to lengthen or shorten (in this case, the shoulders and core muscles), while isotonic includes dynamic movements such as walking.
Farmers walk – the muscles worked
Muscles worked in the farmers carriage include the biceps, triceps and shoulder complex, frontal, medial and lateral heads of the rectus abdominis, oblique muscles, deeper core muscles, quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, buttocks AND back muscles such as erector spinae, traps, lats, and even the chest (under heavier loads).
During a farm walk, your shoulders are held in tension which tests your postural stability, control and balance under load. Your other muscles, including your core and legs, move under that load, helping build strength throughout your body. Research has shown that farmers walking could be an effective lifting alternative to the deadlift with less stress on the lower back muscles and similar activation.
How do peasants walk
You can use a range of weights, but use kettlebells well as an example. Here’s how to do the farmer’s walk in more detail and what happened when I tried the variation of the farmer’s grip.
As:
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and two kettlebells placed on either side of your feet
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Bend your knees and lower yourself into a squat position with your chest proud and your weight evenly distributed across your feet
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Grab both kettlebells, engage your core and put your shoulders back and down
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Keep your chest proud, look forward and push off the ground to stand up
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Begin walking with control and without leaning back or to one side.
I did the farmer’s walk every day for a week, here are my results
Walking puts your whole body to work, as I discovered by making the farmers walk every day.
Days 1 and 2
A move or workout that targets multiple muscle groups and joints at once is called a functional exercise, which perfectly sums up the farmer’s walk because we carry stuff every day. If you’re looking for ways to add functional movement to your next workout, try this calisthenics workout we swear by.
I set out to do the Farmers Walk for 45 seconds with 15 seconds of rest and a total of eight sets, using my apartment to measure distance. If you prefer, you can also do this exercise for a specific distance or number of steps. I picked up a pair of 35lb kettlebells, a decision I would regret and continued on.
Beginners might opt for lighter weights or even tote bags, which is great if you want to get some quicker cardio, but I decided to use it as a strong finisher to bulk up my muscle mission accomplished.
My shoulders were on fire, but the next day I felt it in my legs, core and back muscles as well. Dropping the weights at either end of the flat allowed me to add an underhanded deadlift and was also able to restore my shoulders and core. While he helped keep my form tight, it did nothing to soothe sore muscles.
Days 3 and 4
By day four I was getting bored of my apartment (and my dog kept following me), so I graduated to the stairs outside. It was no surprise to feel my quads and glutes working much harder and I had to keep my core very tight to keep the load from going to my lower back.
I preferred the activation in my lower body, so I continued that way for the rest of the challenge, but I definitely noticed some tent twitching from the neighbors. Maybe it was my heavy breathing?
Days 5-7
While the first few sets felt comfortable, the last ones challenged my posture, control, grip and core strength. There is a lot to think about as you walk keeping your core tight, shoulders down and standing as you step forward while maintaining your grip.
I have a rotator cuff tear in my left shoulder, so I immediately went into protection mode when I noticed the fatigue. It meant resetting the weights after each walk which helped me adjust my shoulders, re-engage my core and re-grip the kettlebells.
The rotator cuff muscles surround the shoulder joint and help stabilize and support the shoulder through movement. When your primary working muscles begin to fatigue, any weak stabilizer muscles won’t be properly activated to support you.
Any internal rotation of the shoulder (falling forward) prevents the rotator cuff muscles from activating properly, which means that other muscles may be catching up instead. As a result of taking extra precautions, I felt this exercise anywhere I wanted without straining my shoulder or lower back. Though my grip strength still needs some serious work.
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