Farmer walk: a full-body workout

Do you know the farmer walkor farmer's walk? This exercise of musculation typical of the strongman competitions is, in my opinion, underutilized by practitioners. However, it is rather simple to perform and highly effective for building muscle throughout the body. In this article, you will discover the muscle groups involved in the farmer walk and learn how to perform it to include it in your training program.

How to do the farmer walk?

What is the farmer walk?

The farmer walk (or marche du fermier in French) is a strength exercise extremely comprehensive.

The principle of the farmer's market is rather basic. It consists of moving over a given distance while carrying loads of varying weight.

It is a functional movement that is supposed to replicate the effort of a farmer when carrying buckets of water or farm equipment.

In the weight room, this exercise can be done as a warm-up or incorporated into your workout.

How to make it?

To do the classic farmer's walk (we'll see below that there are a number of variations), grab a weight in each hand in a neutral grip. These can be dumbbellsYou can also use a kettlebell, a classic barbell, a trap bar, a sandbag or even water packs if you choose to work out at home.

In some rare fitness centers, there are even machines specially designed to do this exercise. This is, for example, the case of this farmer walk machine offered by the fitness brand StairMaster and accessible at the Fitness Park in Antibes, on the French Riviera.

During strength sports competitions, athletes usually use specific equipment to facilitate the carrying of the load and to avoid injury.

Regardless of the equipment used, the movement does not change. The goal of the exercise is to lift the weights and walk while carrying them. Your posture is essential to avoid injuries.

In the starting position, stand with your hands on the arms outstretched along the body with the weights gripped firmly in both hands.

Start walking with these tips:

• keep the straight back,
• Contract your abdominal belt,
• Curl your chest and pectoral muscles,
• keep your head upright,
• direct your gaze forward.

Your goal is not to cover the distance as quickly as possible, at the expense of posture. You should aim to be stable, so that you can move at a decent speed.

Throughout the exercise, be sure to stay as upright as possible and engage your abs and your buttocks.

What weight should I use?

The most common mistake made by athletes, whether they are beginners or experienced, is to try to use loads that are much too heavy.

As with all the exercises in your weight-training programYou will need to take it slowly. For your first few workouts, use loads weighing between 30 and 50 % of your body weight.

For example, if you weigh 80 kilos, each dumbbell should be between 24 and 40 kilos. With 40 kilos in each hand, you will see that the exercise will already be very difficult!

With each session, you can increase this weight. The strongest men in the world are able to raise more than 1.5 times their own weight over long distances.

But weight is not the only thing you can improve. In addition to the loads used, you can also aim to improve the distance covered or lengthen the time of effort.

Finally, be sure to take rest period sufficient time between sets to recover properly.

Farmer walk: the muscles involved

The farmer walk makes you work all the muscles of the body. It is one of the few bodybuilding exercises that can boast such a result.

Arms, shoulders and back

When you perform the farmer walk, the upper body is particularly solicited.

This is particularly true of biceps and tricepsThey are contracted to hold the weights in your hands.

The forearm are not to be outdone, in that they allow you to keep the load on while you move. As such, the farmer walk is an ideal exercise to increase your grip strength (grip).

The muscles of the shoulders and back muscles (deltoids and trapezius) are also active throughout the exercise. They work together to keep your shoulders back.

The abdominals

The abdominal strap (rectus, oblique and transversus muscles) plays a fundamental role when you perform the farmer's walk. It is essential to engage them to stabilize yourself and adopt the right posture.

Otherwise, you may lean forward and strain your back. This could cause lower back pain.

Done correctly, the farmer walk is therefore an excellent movement for the muscle strengthening of your abs.

The lower body

During the farmer's walk, the work of the lower body is not negligible.

By definition, the simple act of walking with weights puts a lot of stress on your legs, especially your quadricepsyour hamstringsyour buttocks and your calves.

This functional exercise can be integrated into your lower body training (the famous leg day), in addition to the traditional squats, thigh press or deadlift.

The benefits of the Farmer's Walk

The benefits of farmer walk are numerous.

As you can see, this exercise can definitely help you gain muscle and improve your physical condition general.

By doing it regularly, you will be able to burn calories and eliminate fat.

In summary, whether you want to do a dry or a wet weight gain It can be interesting to master this movement to reach your goal.

If you don't know which weight training program to start with, I invite you to use this quiz to find the one that suits you best.

Overall, the farmer's walk is a good way to progress in strength training.

In addition to developing your muscles, this exercise also works the cardio.

As mentioned, the farmer's walk is a functional movement. This means that its benefits are tangible in everyday life, whether it's carrying bags of groceries on the way home from the supermarket or moving heavy furniture during a move.

The different variations of this exercise

In its most classic version, the farmer's walk is practiced with the arms at the sides of the body, with a load on each arm.

But there are several variations of the farmer walk.

The first, known as the suitcase walkThis is a one-handed weight-bearing exercise, which involves carrying weight in only one hand.

Of course, remember to alternate sides equally. If you walk 30 meters with a dumbbell in your right hand, do the same with your left hand on the way back.

Another variant is the overhead farmer walk.

For this version of the farmer's walk, you will have to carry the load over your head with your arms outstretched.

Well known to CrossFit practitioners, this exercise can be performed with both arms or unilaterally. The overhead farmer walk increases the gain of your abdominal belt and intensifies the work of the shoulders.

Finally, you have the option of moving by stabilizing the kettlebell on your shoulder with your elbow bent at 90 degrees.

Conclusion

The farmer walk is a full body exercise that is conducive to muscle development of your whole body. In the gym, at home or outdoors, it is easy to perform and does not require any particular technical mastery. Just make sure you adopt the right posture and sheath your abdominal belt during the move. To gain mass, to lose weight, to gain strength or to maintain yourself, it is in your best interest to incorporate this underestimated movement in your your training plan.