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SOME EXERCISES ARE so simple, you might not realize that you’re actually doing something that will build strength and muscle. The most obvious example of this might be the farmer’s walk (also called the farmer’s carry), which requires you to walk with a heavy load in each hand for a pre-determined distance or time. You’ve actually performed the exercise every time you’ve hauled weights from a rack in the gym—and when you consider just how often you haul groceries and other things around in your day-to-day life, it’s an action that’s just about as common (and essential) as anything can be.
To really focus and reap the training benefits of the farmer’s carry, however, there’s much more to the move than just gripping the weights and walking. Especially once you consider how effective the exercise can be for your grip strength, posture and core—let alone how important it is for fitness races like Hyrox—you shouldn’t settle for anything other than perfect form.
Let Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. and senior editor Brett Williams, NASM guide you through the move’s subtleties, saving you from the bad habits that are keeping you from unlocking your fitness potential. While farmer’s walks and other loaded carries look like such simple moves, your positioning is essential to make sure you’re getting the most out of the exercise. Let’s break down everything you need to know.
How to Do the Farmer’s Walk/Carry
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Grip a weight’s handle tightly in each hand, with your arms extended by your sides. Squeeze your forearms to keep the weights level; continue for as long as possible.
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Squeeze your shoulder blades so your lats are activated, your abs to keep your rib cage tight, and glutes so your pelvis is in a neutral position. Look at the floor slightly ahead of you to keep your neck in a neutral position.
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Walk forward with one foot in front of the other, keeping your posture upright by maintaining tension. Continue squeezing the weight handles.
Use these next-level form tips from Samuel to master the move.
Organize Your Torso
Eb says: Don’t just start walking the moment you pick up the dumbbells. Instead, get your torso organized. The farmer’s carry can really hone your posture, but only if you make sure your posture is tight before you start moving.
So take your body through a three-step process before you move: Squeeze your glutes to shift your pelvis into neutral. Tighten your abs, because they should always be tight. And tighten your shoulder blades. Maintain this total-body tension as you move and don’t lose it.
Never Slump or Slouch
Eb says: Once you organize your body, fight for that tension and continually “check in” with your body positioning to make sure you’re maintaining it. It’s incredibly easy to get sloppy with your posture, especially as you fatigue, and people often fall into one of two traps.
Some let their shoulder blades come apart and slump forward. Others try to overcompensate and arch their backs excessively. Guard against both things by constantly talking to yourself as you walk: “Shoulders back, abs tight, glutes squeezed.”
Strong Grip
Eb says: One of the best ways to train your grip is to grip heavy things. So take advantage of the fact that you’re doing that when you’re doing the farmer’s walk, and really tightly grip the dumbbells (or kettlebells).
Don’t just grip the bells, though, either; focus on keeping them fully level. By doing that, you’ll work your forearms in a balanced fashion that’ll translate to better movement and manipulation of the weight in other exercises, like biceps curls and dumbbell rows.
Benefits of the Farmer’s Walk/Carry
Like other loaded carries, the farmer’s carry is a simple, functional expression of strength. Since you’re hauling a heavy load, your forearm muscles will be taxed, and you’ll develop grip strength, which is important for everything from your other heavyweight exercises to accomplishing everyday tasks to longevity.
You’re also taxing your shoulders (specifically, your rotator cuffs), upper back muscles, and core more than you’d expect, especially as you continue holding the weight—and your posture—while you walk.
What Makes a Farmer’s Walk/Carry
There are lots of variations of loaded carries, which are distinct from each other mostly due to the placement of load. You can use a wide range of implements to perform the farmer’s carry, including dumbbells, kettlebells, yolks, trap bars, barbells, and even everyday items like bags—but the main distinction from other variations is that you are holding weights in each hand at your sides.
How to Add the Farmer’s Walk/Carry to Your Workout
You can use the farmer’s carry for different purposes in your training, as a warmup, as a strength-focused movement (heavier loads), and as a finisher. As a warmup, opt for a lighter weight and walk for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, for two to three minutes total. As a finisher, level up the load and walk for four rounds of 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off.
Want to master even more moves? Check out our entire Form Check series.
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