farmers walk

Farmers walks are not only great for building forearm and grip strength. They also double up as additional cardio.

You may not think you need it, but increased forearm and grip strength goes a long way towards improving your performance on your big ‘pull’ lifts.

For example, many lifters find that their grip is the first to go on exercises such as deadlifts and pull ups. By adding farmers walks to your workout routine, you will build on that weakness, which in turn, will improve your overall performance.

Muscles Worked When Performing Farmers Walks

Farmers Walks are generally used to target the forearm and hand muscles, helping you develop your grip strength, which in turn will help you with every single pull exercise in your workout.

But that’s not all, this exercise will target the muscles in your arms, throughout your shoulders and back as well as your legs and core muscles. Farmers Walks provide a unique full-body workout that can benefit strength, endurance and fat loss simultaneously.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform Farmers Walks

These are easy! To perform Farmers Walks, follow these steps:

1. Equipment: Begin by grabbing a pair of heavy dumbbells or kettlebells, one in each hand. These should be challenging to hold, but manageable.

2. Posture: Maintain a strong, upright posture with your shoulders pulled back and down.

3. Arm Position: Your arms should be fully extended, allowing the dumbbells to hang by your sides.

4. Walk: Begin walking, taking controlled steps, up and down the length of your workout area.

5. Keep Walking: Walk as long as you can physically maintain your grip on the dumbbells. When you feel your grip strength start to go, set the dumbbells down. Take a brief rest and then continue for repetitions.

6. Struggle: If you’re not struggling with the weight, you can go heavier.

Other Weight Types You Can Use to Perform This Exercise

You can also perform Farmers Walks with a set of Kettlebells.

Benefits of Farmers Walks

Incorporating Farmers Walks into your fitness routine offers several advantages:

Enhanced Grip Strength: Farmers Walks are renowned for improving grip strength. With a strong grip all pull exercises become easier.

Cardiovascular Workout: The process of walking while carrying more weight naturally builds cardiovascular strength which in turn has the potential to burn more fat.

Full-Body Engagement: Farmers Walks also engage other muscles throughout your shoulders and back, as well as your legs and core, contributing to improved overall posture, strength and endurance.

Farmers Walks: Common Mistakes to Avoid

To ensure the effectiveness and safety of your Farmers Walks, be aware of these common mistakes:

Form: Keep your arms straight down by your sides, maintaining a relaxed and neutral shoulder position. Avoid shrugging or excessive shoulder tension. Ensure your arms are not swinging while you walk, and focus on your grip.

Weight: Remember that you are supposed to be challenging your grip here, if you are able to do a few laps of the gym floor without struggling, you need to get a heavier set of dumbbells. This is no walk in the park (nor a walk on a farm), you should be gripping those dumbbells as though your life depends on it!

Reps and Sets

How to determine the number of repetitions and sets you perform for Farmers Walks is the same for everyone. Do 3-6 sets walking for as long as you can. Your grip strength will thank you for it.

Again, if it’s easy, get heavier dumbbells.

How to Make Farmers Walks More Challenging

Besides using a heavier weight, you can also make this exercise more challenging by using dumbbells or kettlebells that have a thicker bar to grasp, this will force a shift in the way you grip the bar, making it more challenging which in turn makes your grip stronger.

How to Incorporate Farmers Walks into Your Workouts

Farmers Walks are a versatile exercise that can be integrated into almost any workout. Much like Abs and Core Exercises, they are ideally placed towards the end of your workout and performed as a finisher.

You can learn more about exercise order here.

Exercises that Work Similar Muscles to Farmers Walks

To target grip strength and overall forearm development, consider incorporating exercises like Plate Pinches, Hanging Leg Raises, Hammer Curls, Rack Pulls and Deadlifts into your workout. These exercises all contribute towards powerful grip strength.

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