Dufisthenics

My buddy IronLoo is a HUGE fan of farmer walks.  A farmer walk is when you are basically carrying a heavy object in each hand and walk with it, like a farmer would lug something. Lou has encouraged me to try them as he has seen tremendous overall power/strength gains since incorporating them into his Stone Park routine.

  As you can see from the picture on the right, Lou is starting to develop a Hulk-like physique with huge traps, mostly from farmer walking.

Well my gym does not have conventional farmer walk handles, it does have an olympic hex bar.  A hex bar allows you to load up either side with big plates and stand centered in the middle of the load instead of behind or in front of it as with a conventional bar.  It also has a parallel grip which is easier to hold than a normal bar.

After eyeballing the opening in the hex bar I determined it would be suitable for walking around inside of.  I realize it was not as challenging as a conventional farmers walk where you need to keep the “logs” balanced front to rear as well, but the hex bar was a good place to start.

My walking run was about 20 feet long.  I started conservative with 225 pounds.  I walked back and forth a couple times for a total of roughly 80 feet.  It felt awkward but manageable.  Being able to be centered with the weight definitely made the initial lift off the floor more comfortable than a normal deadlift.

When I jumped to 315 pounds I just did one up and back as grip was starting to be an issue.  When I maxed out at 365 pounds I only got just past the 20 foot turn around before I had to drop it, regrip and then finish.  Walking with that much weight is a new experience for my body meaning more than likely tomorrow I will be feeling soreness and aches in new and exciting ways.

I liked doing the farmers and hope to try to keep them in the rotation of my overall fitness routine.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

60 second wall handstand normal hand placement

Seated dumbbell shrugs 70lbs x 10 reps

60 second wall handstand fingers in placement

Seated dumbbell shrugs 85lbs x 10 reps

60 second wall handstand fingers out placement

Hex bar farmers walk – 225lbs x 80 feet, 315lbs x 40 feet, 335lbs x 40 feet, 365lbs x 40 feet (with drop and regrip halfway)

4 minutes A2G holds