6 minutes
The farmer’s walk is an exercise that cannot be missed in strength competitions. Let’s see how you can do it so that you benefit from a functional or muscular level.
The farmer’s walk is a key exercise in strength athletic competitions, such as the crossfit. It consists of walks with weight, with greater precision dumbbells, that are done through certain distances. It is also known by its English name farmer’s walks and it is practiced as a functional exercise due to its movements.
Although it is a very popular exercise among gym fans, it is not without doubts, prejudices and errors when executing it. Today we teach you everything you should know about it, so that you can include it in your weight training routine.
Muscles worked on the farmer’s walk
Let’s remember again what the farmer’s walk consists of: steps that you do for several meters holding a pair of dumbbells with your arms outstretched. You choose the distance according to the capacity of the place, it can be from a couple and even 30 or 40 meters, as is frequent in the competitions of the strongman.
For this reason, training engages almost every muscle in the body. Some actively and some passively (to maintain balance). The most important ones that are worked on during a session are the following:
- Buttocks: the gluteus maximus, medius and minor allow hip extension with each step. Your participation is active, including some research They suggest that it is the main beneficiary of a farmer’s walk routine.
- Quadriceps: of course it would be impossible to do the walks without the main muscle of the legs, the quadriceps. They take most of the weight and keep it from falling on the knees.
- Hamstrings: Although they do not participate as actively as the previous ones, they are activated when the dumbbells are picked up from the floor and during the flexion of each step.
- ABS: keeping the torso straight is only possible with the help of the abdominal muscles. Everyone from the rectus abdominis to the obliques is involved in this exercise.
- Trapezius and shoulders: Since the weight falls dead on the extended arms, the traps and to a lesser extent the shoulders contract to support and prevent you from swinging to the sides. The greater the distance you travel, the more they will be activated.
Other muscles involved are the calves, lower back, erector spinae, forearms, biceps, and triceps. As you can see, it is a multifunctional exercise with which you work the main muscle groups in a single session.
How it is performed?
At first glance doing the farmer’s walk seems very easy. The difficulty increases as you add more weight. The first thing you should do is clear the area where you will do it. In a gym this can be complicated, but if you do it at home or in another space, make sure that you will not encounter obstacles along the way.
It also defines the exact distance you will travel. You can mark the exact point with a tape or even place an object (a small disk, a bottle of water) that marks the end of the route. There is no minimum or maximum distance. You can start with 10 meters and then increase it to 15 or 20 according to your progress or possibilities.
Once you have considered this, you will proceed with the help of the following steps:
- Choose two dumbbells of the same weight. These should represent a challenge when completing the distance, but at the same time allow you to do it without injury or compromising your posture.
- Place them on both sides of your legs and stand with your back straight and your gaze steady at the start of the goal.
- Relax your shoulders and, taking care of your back, squat down and pick up the dumbbells from the floor.
- Ensures grip and begins to walk with a straight back and without unbalancing to the sides.
- Make sure your gaze is fixed towards the end (not on the dumbbells or feet). Also that your shoulders are pulled back, with the chest towards the front.
- Make sure your steps are regular. That is, each one travels the same distance as the other.
- When you get there, bend over to release the dumbbells. Rest 60 seconds and repeat the journey back.
If the load is very heavy, then you can extend the rest time up to three minutes. Keep in mind that a series is round trip. Four or five are recommended according to your goals.
Common mistakes to avoid
If you apply the execution that we have indicated, you should not have problems with injuries or other muscular complications. The important thing is the amount of weight you choose. You can do several trials to determine how much you can handle. Do it in round trips, only these are valid to complete a series.
In case you do one of these with imbalances towards your flanks or irregular steps, it is best to remove a couple of kilos during the first session. You can then increase them based on your progress, so don’t despair if it’s the first try. Aside from this, other common mistakes to avoid when doing a farmer’s walk include the following:
- Don’t contract your shoulder blades.
- Slouching your back.
- Not following a straight line when completing the journey.
- Getting a bad grip on the dumbbell (it can throw you off balance or even allow you to drop it midway).
- Choose dumbbells that are not the same weight.
- Doing the exercise with a bar (although nothing prevents you from doing it, the classic execution is with dumbbells, discs or adapted instruments).
- Going a very short distance (even if you do it with a lot of weight).
- Do not relax the shoulders and keep them close to the neck.
If you avoid doing all of these things, then you are doing farmer’s walks as an expert. Remember that you must always fix your gaze towards the front, so you avoid accumulating tension in the neck.
Health benefits of the farmer’s walk
Being an exercise with functional characteristics, The farmer’s walk helps you improve balance and coordination. This can be applied in your day to day, from carrying purchases from the car to the cupboard with greater skill, to being able to hold your children or nephews in your arms and walk with them without getting tired so quickly.
It can also relieve back, shoulder or neck pain. It will give you more vitality and strength to do day-to-day tasks. If your aspirations are strictly focused on training, include a routine of farmer’s walks it will help you as follows:
- You increase your strength and endurance.
- You improve the capacity of your core to make stable movements.
- You boost your lung capacity (if you do them at a certain speed).
- You involve many muscle groups in a single movement. This can be useful when you don’t have the time or interest to do a specific routine for each one.
Some studies They have suggested that a multi-set farmer’s walk routine can engage your muscles as efficiently as deadlifting. In short, it is an exercise that you cannot stop trying, whether your goals are to gain strength / muscle mass or just improve some day-to-day skills.
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