The Incredible Benefits of the Farmer’s Walk Exercise
Farmer’s holds and walks are excellent exercises to improve overall body, back, shoulder, and grip strength. However, the best thing about this exercise is that it integrates all your muscles to boost your overall power.
How to Do the Farmer’s Hold and Walk
When performing this exercise, it is essential to keep the weights as still as possible to maximize the effect. This is because the primary goal is to develop stability. If the weights move around, you will lose stability by creating momentum.
When you lift the weight, first squeeze the bar or plate to create irradiation, a reflex that goes all the way to your mid-back muscles, strengthening every muscle in between. I prefer to use a plate as it really challenges the grip much more than a dumbbell.
Secondly, when holding the weight, keep your lats tight. Don’t let the weight pull your shoulder joints; instead, think about flexing your lats to ensure your shoulder joints stay packed tight. Another critical point is to pull your elbows toward your ribs. Doing this will make you feel your back muscles even more.
Thirdly, now that the shoulders and back muscles are activated squeeze your glutes. When you squeeze and hold the glutes tight, you will feel your abs and core reciprocate and start to stabilize. To add more intensity, you can also contract your quads!
Now, hold that position and squeeze every muscle you can for about 10-15 seconds. To make the exercise even more challenging, you can add walking, step-ups, quarter squats, knee lifts, etc. Farmer’s holds are an excellent exercise to connect all the muscles with tension to perform at a higher level.
Benefits of Famers Holds
Incorporating Farmer’s Holds and Walks into your regular workout routine can offer many benefits.
Firstly, they naturally involve both the upper and lower body, making them an incredibly effective total body exercise. It integrates the back and shoulders strength. This is important because the back muscles are mainly involved in all your pressing movements with your chest and shoulders. So, the stronger your lats and back, the stronger your presses will be.
Secondly, the Farmer’s Hold builds glute and core strength—the core forms by activating the glutes. If you squeeze your glutes tight and hold, you will feel your abs isometrically contract, and that integration forms the core. So as your glutes, abs, and core are working and bracing together to become stronger. And it produces the foundation for good posture.
Thirdly, TUT. Farmer’s Holds and Walks are great for producing Time Under Tension (TUT). When doing TUT, it not only strengthens muscles but tendons too! That is why after you do this exercise, your muscles feel stronger and faster instantly. Strengthening tendons are a little different than strengthening muscles. Tendons become stronger from weight-bearing activities with increased loads. Running is not an effective way to improve tendon strength and power. Slow eccentric, isometric movements work best.
Fourthly, this exercise is excellent for strengthening posture. As I said previously said in number three about tendons, the static hold and load affect the ligaments and tendons of the spine. So therefore, your posture will be stronger, more erect, and correct.
Fifthly, it will give you incredible grip strength. Holding the plate or dumbbell for an extended period will make you grip it harder. Again, this effect is called irradiation.
And sixthly, they help build strength and muscular endurance for your shoulders, back, arms, and whole body.
The Farmer’s Hold and Walks are challenging because of stability and balance. And when you move, even though it is slow, your muscles must figure out how to stabilize and move. This is another added benefit. Your muscles must coordinate and synchronize to do the exercise, something important in general movement and athletics.
Due to the static nature of Farmer’s Holds and Walks, they are low impact and will reduce strain on joints, allowing muscles and tendons to become stronger. In addition, unlike many other forms of conditioning, they don’t negatively affect your nervous system. It actually supercharges it! Furthermore, they prevent overtraining and reduce the risk of injury
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The Incredible Benefits of the Farmer’s Walk Exercise
Farmer’s holds and walks are excellent exercises to improve overall body, back, shoulder, and grip strength. However, the best thing about this exercise is that it integrates all your muscles to boost your overall power.
How to Do the Farmer’s Hold and Walk
When performing this exercise, it is essential to keep the weights as still as possible to maximize the effect. This is because the primary goal is to develop stability. If the weights move around, you will lose stability by creating momentum.
When you lift the weight, first squeeze the bar or plate to create irradiation, a reflex that goes all the way to your mid-back muscles, strengthening every muscle in between. I prefer to use a plate as it really challenges the grip much more than a dumbbell.
Secondly, when holding the weight, keep your lats tight. Don’t let the weight pull your shoulder joints; instead, think about flexing your lats to ensure your shoulder joints stay packed tight. Another critical point is to pull your elbows toward your ribs. Doing this will make you feel your back muscles even more.
Thirdly, now that the shoulders and back muscles are activated squeeze your glutes. When you squeeze and hold the glutes tight, you will feel your abs and core reciprocate and start to stabilize. To add more intensity, you can also contract your quads!
Now, hold that position and squeeze every muscle you can for about 10-15 seconds. To make the exercise even more challenging, you can add walking, step-ups, quarter squats, knee lifts, etc. Farmer’s holds are an excellent exercise to connect all the muscles with tension to perform at a higher level.
Benefits of Famers Holds
Incorporating Farmer’s Holds and Walks into your regular workout routine can offer many benefits.
Firstly, they naturally involve both the upper and lower body, making them an incredibly effective total body exercise. It integrates the back and shoulders strength. This is important because the back muscles are mainly involved in all your pressing movements with your chest and shoulders. So, the stronger your lats and back, the stronger your presses will be.
Secondly, the Farmer’s Hold builds glute and core strength—the core forms by activating the glutes. If you squeeze your glutes tight and hold, you will feel your abs isometrically contract, and that integration forms the core. So as your glutes, abs, and core are working and bracing together to become stronger. And it produces the foundation for good posture.
Thirdly, TUT. Farmer’s Holds and Walks are great for producing Time Under Tension (TUT). When doing TUT, it not only strengthens muscles but tendons too! That is why after you do this exercise, your muscles feel stronger and faster instantly. Strengthening tendons are a little different than strengthening muscles. Tendons become stronger from weight-bearing activities with increased loads. Running is not an effective way to improve tendon strength and power. Slow eccentric, isometric movements work best.
Fourthly, this exercise is excellent for strengthening posture. As I said previously said in number three about tendons, the static hold and load affect the ligaments and tendons of the spine. So therefore, your posture will be stronger, more erect, and correct.
Fifthly, it will give you incredible grip strength. Holding the plate or dumbbell for an extended period will make you grip it harder. Again, this effect is called irradiation.
And sixthly, they help build strength and muscular endurance for your shoulders, back, arms, and whole body.
The Farmer’s Hold and Walks are challenging because of stability and balance. And when you move, even though it is slow, your muscles must figure out how to stabilize and move. This is another added benefit. Your muscles must coordinate and synchronize to do the exercise, something important in general movement and athletics.
Due to the static nature of Farmer’s Holds and Walks, they are low impact and will reduce strain on joints, allowing muscles and tendons to become stronger. In addition, unlike many other forms of conditioning, they don’t negatively affect your nervous system. It actually supercharges it! Furthermore, they prevent overtraining and reduce the risk of injury