How to do a Farmer's Walk
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Farmer's Walk
Farmer's Walk Handles
Workouts with Farmer's Walk
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Farmer's Walk is a compound exercise that primarily targets your forearms, shoulders, and core. By holding heavy weights in each hand and walking a set distance, you can develop strong grip strength, functional stability, and overall body conditioning. This exercise mimics real-world activities, making it highly effective for improving functional strength and endurance.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart between the pair of resistance apparatus’
- Brace your core to maintain a neutral spine
- Hinge your hips backward and flex your knees slightly to extend arms and grip the resistance apparatus’ with an overhand grip, palms facing in.
- Extend your legs back to an upright position.
- Begin to walk forward taking short strides while keeping your hips underneath your shoulders.
- Walk for an allotted distance or time.
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Generate My PlanAlternative Exercises to Farmer's Walk
1. Palms-Up Dumbbell Wrist Curl
87.6 mSCORESWAPPED 271 TIMESAn isolation exercise targeting the forearms. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength, or building muscle mass in your forearms.
2. Palms-Down Dumbbell Wrist Curl
87.4 mSCORESWAPPED 268 TIMESPalms Down Dumbbell Wrist Curls is an isolation exercise that hits your forearms. By securing your forearm against the pad, you ensure that only your wrist is able to perform the movement. Using a dumbbell allows you to target each side independently, as well as adding a bit more instability to the exercise.
3. Kettlebell Single Arm Farmer Walk
40.3 mSCORESWAPPED 254 TIMESA functional exercise focusing on grip strength, core stability, and unilateral strength. This exercise engages the entire body, particularly the core and forearm muscles. Unlike the standard variation, by holding the weight in one hand, you drastically increase the need to recruit your core for stability.
- Beginner
- Forearms
- Kettlebells
4. Plate Pinch
38.5 mSCORESWAPPED 192 TIMESA grip strength exercise involving holding weight plates between the fingers and thumb. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength.
5. Palms-Down Barbell Wrist Curl
69.9 mSCORESWAPPED 177 TIMESPalms Down Barbell Wrist Curl is an isolation exercise that targets the forearm. By positioning your forearm against a bench or other flat surface, you restrict any motion to your wrist. The use of a barbell helps to add some stability to the movement, as well as allowing you to perform the exercise with both sides moving a single weight.
6. Farmer's Carry
51 mSCORESWAPPED 164 TIMESA functional exercise focusing on grip strength, core stability, and overall strength endurance. This exercise engages the entire body, particularly the forearms, core, and upper back muscles, while also improving posture and stability.
- Intermediate
- Forearms
- Farmer's Walk Handles
7. Single Arm Farmer Walk
36 mSCORESWAPPED 155 TIMESThis exercise is a unilateral variation of the Farmer’s Walk. Like the standard Farmer’s Walk this exercise focuses on grip strength, core stability, and overall strength endurance. In addition, by holding the weight in a single hand, you drastically increase the demand for recruiting your core for stability.
8. Palms-Up Barbell Wrist Curl
68.4 mSCORESWAPPED 154 TIMESAn isolation exercise targeting the forearms. This is a great exercise for improving grip strength, or building muscle mass in your forearms.
9. Cable Wrist Curl
53 mSCORESWAPPED 106 TIMESTargets the forearm flexors, improving grip strength and forearm muscle development. Using a cable machine adds a consistent resistance throughout the movement, providing a more effective workout than free weights.
- Beginner
- Forearms
- Rope Cable
- Flat Bench
- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
10. Handle Band Reverse Curl
28.9 mSCORESWAPPED 83 TIMESThis exercise is a variation on the standard curl. Like the standard curl, this exercise primarily targets your biceps, however there is a much greater need to recruit your forearms due to the reverse grip. The use of a handle band increases the resistance as you progress through the movement.
- Beginner
- Forearms
- Handle Bands