I source information from the best names in the industry so that you don’t have t.! And I’m not talking about your Biggest Loser Trainers or whatever the latest jerk on Instagram is promoting, this is from the most respected strength & conditioning coaches in the world. The guys with in the trenches experience, A-list athletic clients and real life scientific evidence to back up their claims.
Oxygen Health & Fitness
Farmer’s Walks
A big reason they’re not used more often is because they’re too simple. Most people want the newest, hottest exercise, but that often means an easier movement. What often works better is to get back to basics and man up.
The key to success in the farmer’s walk is not in the walking, but how you walk with the weight.Everything starts with posture.
The temptation during the farmer’s walk is to adopt a head forward/rounded shoulder posture, but performing the exercise this way places stress on the neck and upper body. To make the move safer and more challenging, it’s important to work on improved positioning – a tall spine comes before too heavy a weight. Better to work with a conservative load and learn to control the downward pressure and build to a more substantial weight from there.
Keeping it lighter can have a similar effect on your cardiovascular system as a series of sprints while working on a completely different neural and loading demand. Aiming for longer distance will ramp up fat loss.
Keeping it heavy but brief turns this into a more strength-based, weight-bearing exercise. Your upper body will grow in relation to the weight you’re carrying and your grip strength will go up drastically. Heavier weights will also help improve your other lifts.
Done right, a farmer’s walk can make you a hell of a lot of stronger and leaner. Don’t underestimate the impact of this brutal but basic exercise.
Retract the shoulder blades
Retract the shoulder blades and perform a slight shrug of the shoulders. This will help you to avoid the weight pulling your shoulders down and out of the socket creating an unbalanced shoulder girdle.
Five by five
Jackson Calverley
After reluctantly starting Spartan Training Kiama in April, Jackson Calverley has improved out of sight in the past few months. He was a self confessed cardio person who enjoyed his running but not the effects it had on his physique or energy levels.
Since switching from aerobic based workouts to anaerobic based, high intensity style training there have been noticeable improvements in his muscle definition, posture, strength and work capacity. From a guy who couldn’t perform a couple of chin ups to someone who needs extra weight plates attached. He’s squatting deep, bench pressing well and sled pushing as quick as anyone I’ve seen. Great work Jackson keep it up!
