Farmer’s walks are one of the best functional exercises you can add to any workout. All you need is a heavy pair of kettlebells or dumbbells and space to walk. And while simple in practice, the execution of it is much more difficult. That’s why trainer Chandler Marchman decided to take the movement on for a 30-day challenge, shared to his YouTube channel, with a simple goal in mind: Carry the pair of kettlebells for half a mile every day, using weights ranging from 37 pounds to 97 pounds per hand.
Rather than completing the distance in one continuous carry, Marchman worked his way through multiple sets, taking each carry to failure before resting for about 30 seconds and picking the weights back up. Depending on the weight, it would take anywhere from four to 18 sets to complete the half-mile route. Ultimately, he wanted to see what changes would occur when he consistently exposed his body to farmer’s walks and after 30 days, the positive results certainly compounded.
Benefits of Doing Farmer’s Walks Every Day
Aesthetic Improvements to Physique
“From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I almost immediately noticed that my forearms, shoulders, traps, lats, and even my hands increased in size, vascularity, and muscularity. I attribute this to the simple fact that I placed a tremendous amount of time under tension on all those muscle groups when doing the farmer’s walks as much as I did,” Marchman explained.
Better Grip Strength
After spending 30 days repeatedly carrying heavy kettlebells to failure, Marchman found that his grip strength improved to the point that he could handle longer, higher-volume kettlebell complexes along with high volume sets of pullups. Grip strength has been associated with longevity, with research suggesting that weaker grip strength is linked to a higher risk of adverse health outcomes.
Corrected Posture and Back Pain
A farmer’s walk is one of the best functional movements for counteracting the physical toll of spending long periods of time sitting, and Marchman experienced those benefits firsthand. He says his posture improved “dramatically” during the 30 days, while the upper- and lower-back pain and stiffness he commonly experienced virtually disappeared.
Better Sleep
“There was a greater sense of total body fatigue and exhaustion from doing this challenge that led to some of the best sleep I’ve ever had,” Marchman said. “I’m not saying that the farmer’s walks were directly responsible for better sleep, because I’m sure there were other elements that factored into it as well. But I definitely noticed that I fell asleep faster and slept harder from the fatigue that this workout caused.”
Leaned Out
Because of his relatively short 30-second rest periods between sets, he accumulated a significant amount of work while completing the half-mile distance. As a result, Marchman implemented a bit of cardio conditioning into his routine without realizing it, which helped him lean out.
Boosted Mental Toughness
“Inevitably when taking it to failure, you’ll reach a point during the set where extreme fatigue in your hands, forearms, shoulders, and traps occurs that makes you want to
put down the weights. The thing is, even when you start to feel this fatigue, you’ve got way more in the tank before you reach absolute failure—so it has a way of testing your grit and overall mental toughness,” he added.
Sources
- Chandler Marchman via YouTube: How Doing Farmers Walks Every Day For 30 Days Will Change Your Body
- Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2019
