How To Do Farmers Walk At Home (5 Ways)
The farmer's walk or farmer's carry is a great exercise to train grip and core strength for strength athletes and gym-goers. As a strongman exercise, there is normally a specific set of strongman training equipment for this exercise called farmer's walk handles. Many gyms will not have access to this piece of equipment but it does not mean that you cannot still perform the farmer's walk at home or in your gym.
So how do you do farmers walk at home? Farmers walk can be done with a variety of alternative ways at home or in the gym. 4 ways you can perform the farmers walk are with dumbbells, kettlebells, loaded barbells, trap/hex bar, or with the Travelling Farmers Walk Handles by Spud Inc, which is loaded with Olympic discs.
In this article, you will learn:
- Why it is still worth doing the farmers walk exercise
- How you can perform it without the specific relevant equipment
- How to programme farmers walk
- What you need to take into consideration.
Why Do Farmers Walk?
Even if you do not have the farmer’s walk handles, it is still worth training even if you are not a strongman competitor. There are not many exercises like the farmers walk where it challenges your maximal strength and strength endurance on your lower body strength as well as your grip strength. Your whole body is engaged and works together during this exercise.
The main benefits of doing farmers walks are:
- Develops core strength and stability
- Increases grip strength
- Strengths upper back
- Improves postural strength
- Enhances work capacity
As this is such a versatile exercise that can be used for different goals, it is suitable for bodybuilders, strongman competitors, strength athletes, and other sports athletes.
5 Ways To Do Farmers Walk
There are so many alternative ways of performing the farmers walk through improvising with different pieces of equipment. Here are the 5 other ways of doing the farmers walk:
- Farmers Walk With Dumbbells
- Farmers Walk With Kettlebells
- Farmers Walk With Barbells
- Farmers Walk With A Trap/Hex Bar
- Farmers Walk With Travelling Farmers Walk Handles
Farmers Walk With Dumbbells
The simplest and most accessible way to do farmer’s walk is to perform them with a pair of dumbbells that you can perform as heavy as possible. Performing farmers walk with dumbbells is going to be much simpler than with the traditional farmers walk handles. This is because there is less capacity for oscillation from the actually handles as they are normally long.
What you will need to execute the farmers walk with dumbbells are:
- A pair of dumbbells
- 20 - 30 yards/ 20 - 25 meters/ 60 - 90 feet of walking space
- One or two benches to rest the dumbbells (optional)
Depending on how heavy the dumbbells are, it is useful to use a bench of some sort to rest the dumbbells as it may be difficult to deadlift the dumbbells off the floor if it is too heavy. The problem with using dumbbells for farmers walks is that it is limited to the pair that is available in the gym or at home.
Farmers Walk With Kettlebells
Performing farmers walk with kettlebells is going to be somewhat easier than when you’re using the dumbbells due to the nature of the shape of them. You are going to find that the thicker the grip of the kettlebells, the harder it is.
What you will need to execute the farmers walk with kettlebells are:
- A pair of kettlebells
- 20 - 30 yards/ 20 - 25 meters/ 60 - 90 feet of walking space
- One or two benches to rest the kettlebells (optional)
In a similar fashion to the farmers walk with dumbbells, you can rest the kettlebells on benches first before you grab onto them and perform the farmers walk. The problems with using kettlebells for farmers walks are that it is limited to the pair that is available in the gym or at home and that they do not provide the capacity for the weights to oscillate and challenge your strength.
Farmers Walk With Barbells
Using a pair of regular barbells that are loaded is going to be much harder than using traditional farmers walk handles. This is because of the nature of the shape of the barbell where there is not a handle frame for holding onto the bar. This provides more opportunities for the barbell to oscillate in more freedoms of movement.
What you will need to execute the farmers walk with loaded barbells are:
- A pair of barbells
- Weight plates
- 20 - 30 yards/ 20 - 25 meters/ 60 - 90 feet of walking space
You will need to deadlift the barbells off the ground in order to perform them so the amount you may want to load may be less than when compared with traditional farmers walk handles. You do not need to deadlift the bars up as low of a position as traditional farmers walk handles.
Farmers Walk With A Trap/Hex Bar
Using a trap or hex bar will be much easier than using barbells or traditional farmers walk handles. This is because both arms are holding onto a singular frame so there is more balance and less chance of independent oscillations of each side.
What you will need to execute the farmers walk with a trap/hex bar are:
- A trap/hex bar
- Weight plates
- 20 - 30 yards/ 20 - 25 meters/ 60 - 90 feet of walking space
The distance that you deadlift the bar off the floor depends on the type of trap or hex bar. Some will have an elevated handle frame and some will not. When using trap or hex bars for farmers walks, it is important to take into consideration the space that the bar takes up.
Farmers Walk With Travelling Farmers Walk Handles
Spud Inc has come up with a much more convenient way of performing farmers walks at any place of training so long as there are Olympic size weight plates (2-inch holes). They have come up with a very versatile piece of equipment called the Travelling Farmers Walk Handles. It is compact in size and can be transported easily, and can also be used for other exercises. It is simply a pair of strap frames that are looped through the desired number of plates and are used as handles for performing farmers walk.
What you will need to execute the farmers walk with traveling farmers walk handles are:
- Traveling farmers walk handles
- Weight plates
- 20 - 30 yards/ 20 - 25 meters/ 60 - 90 feet of walking space
The great thing about using this method is that you can load quite a decent amount of weight whilst taking up very little space. This method makes farmers walks much are accessible and has a higher potential of loading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xr42Z5Sks&feature=emb_title
How To Program Farmers Walk
Programming farmers walks are very simple. You can progress through volume (total distance traveled) and intensity (load you lift). Here is a sample program for training farmers walks:
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Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Conclusion
The farmers walk exercise is an accessible exercise once you figure out how you can perform this exercise with the equipment that you have. What you need to figure out is what you really want to gain from this exercise. If it is purely grip-strength that you want, you can get away with using the dumbbell, kettlebell, and trap/hex bar method. If you want your whole body to be challenged more, you may want to consider the Travelling Farmers Walk Handles and the barbell method more.