We’re big fans of Tom’s Guide’s Farmer’s Walk, but have you ever taken part in a treadmill farmer’s walk? If you want to work your muscles harder and add aerobic interval training to your full-body workout, add a treadmill. please.
The Farmer’s Walk exercise works well with any strength and conditioning program and simply involves walking with weights. This movement may help build stamina, improve cardiovascular health, and strengthen muscle groups throughout the body.
Below, we’ll explain how to do the treadmill farmer’s walk, its benefits, common mistakes, and variations we recommend you try. All you need is a set of dumbbells, a good kettlebell, or some groceries.
Treadmill Farmers Walk: Benefits
This movement affects your shoulders (deltoids), arms, back, chest, core, hip flexors, glutes, and legs. There aren’t many muscles that are inactive when you’re walking with weights, so just walking with a kettlebell (or something similar) in each hand is sufficient.
So what happens when you add a treadmill to your proceedings? A treadmill adds an element of control to your farmer’s walk, allowing you to adjust speed, interval training, and incline and incline settings. If space is limited, you can also walk longer distances and take longer, making it a great option for at-home workouts.
The treadmill also allows you to target your muscles in a different way. On inclines, the hamstrings play a bigger role, along with muscles in the posterior chain such as the lower back, glutes, and calves. When going downhill, the knee extensors and quadriceps become more dominant, along with the stabilizer muscles that control the descent. Depending on the capabilities of your treadmill, you can almost recreate hiking while holding weights.
If you haven’t tried this exercise before, beginners may prefer to scale to lighter weights and walk faster for increased cardio or lift heavier for strength training .
Treadmill or not, the Farmer’s Walk pretty much fits the definition of functional training and compound exercise. This means training many muscles at once and strengthening movement patterns and posture to perform everyday activities such as walking while carrying objects. For example, bags and groceries. And if you enjoy isometric and isotonic exercise, you can get both during the Farmer’s Walk. The shoulders and core are activated without lengthening or contracting (isometric contractions), and the legs propel the body’s movement (isotonic contractions).
Recently I did a farmhouse walk every day for a week – this is what happened.
How to do the treadmill farmer’s walk
Here’s how:
- Stand on a treadmill and hold two kettlebells (or similar) in each hand.
- Tighten your core and lower your shoulders to create a strong pillar with your body.
- Set the up or down rate (if you have one) depending on your preference.
- Aim for 2 to 4 miles per hour and begin walking in a controlled manner, keeping your back tight and your stomach tight.
Farmer’s Walk: Common Mistakes
push the pelvis
Rounding your upper back and tucking your pelvis down are common mistakes when struggling with loads. In this case, we recommend focusing on losing weight and keeping your spine long. Imagine someone pulling a string from the top of your head as you walk.
patted shoulder
Because the Farmer’s Walk trains your shoulder muscles and tests your forearm and grip strength, your shoulders may start to round as these muscles begin to fatigue. This is known as internal rotation. A sedentary lifestyle also promotes internal rotation, which can lead to tight chest muscles and weak back muscles. Lower your shoulders and open your chest to encourage good posture when walking with weights.
Too tilted
If you enjoy unilateral training (bearing your weight on one side), it can be hard to resist the temptation to lean to one side as you get tired. Stabilize your lower back and resist rotation and lateral bending to avoid dragging the weight of your weight-bearing side. Keep your chest up and reduce weight if necessary.
Farmer’s Walk: Variations to try
Please, try it.
Incline Treadmill Farmers Walk
Get on the incline on the treadmill and start climbing uphill. Avoid leaning forward too much and push your core up so your legs are on fire. This variation strengthens your hamstrings and gets your heart rate up, while building muscle strength and burning calories.
Decline Treadmill Farmers Walk
Alternatively, choose a decline to switch your focus to your quadriceps and preload your body. Your body has to work hard to control the descent to activate stabilizing muscles such as your core, hip flexors, and glutes. Avoid leaning forward and move in a controlled manner.
backward treadmill farmer’s walk
For an added challenge, try turning around or walking backwards while carrying weights. Walking backwards activates your glutes, increasing joint stability and reducing pressure on your knees. You can also do this up and down if you feel confident.
Single Arm Kettlebell Treadmill Farmers Walk
Walking with weights on one side (one side) improves your coordination and balance, strengthening both sides of your body independently. If you choose this method, avoid leaning forward too much and choose a weight that both sides of your body can handle.
verdict
As we age, building strong, healthy bones, joints, and muscles is paramount to combating age-related symptoms such as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy. Farmer’s Walk challenges and strengthens your bones and muscles. When stress is placed on bones, they respond by adding mass. This is called bone load.
To program a Treadmill Farmer’s Walk, select the number of steps or set the distance and time. If your goal is to try a few sets and accumulate time or distance, take breaks to recover and reset. If working with a partner, work on a “go, go” basis, adding farmer’s holds (holding weights in a stationary standing position) for those who don’t use the treadmill. You can practice moving between isometric (stationary) and isotonic (moving) exercises while building muscle strength throughout your entire body.
