Top 3 Benefits of the Farmers Walk: Why Every Older Adult Should Do Them
Jackie & Jeremy
If you’re someone over the age of 60 you should be doing farmers walks. They not only improve grip strength, but they also have the potential to help you live longer.
Benefits of The Farmers Walk:
#1 Help You Live Longer
According to a study conducted by Dr.Richard W Bohannon from Campbell University, “They determined that grip strength was a more powerful predictor of cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 1.17) than systolic blood pressure. They also found grip strength to be associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.16), myocardial infarction (hazard ratio 1.07), and stroke (hazard ratio 1.09)” (Bohannon, Richard W. “Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults.” Clinical interventions in aging vol. 14 1681-1691. 1 Oct. 2019, doi:10.2147/CIA.S194543). Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. This study is stating that systolic blood pressure is not as valuable of a predictor when determining death related to cardiovascular disease. The weaker your grip the higher your chances are of a cardiovascular related death.
Regardless of your gender or age, as long as you’re able to walk you can slowly start doing farmers walks. Buy two 5 pound kettlebells on amazon and find a place in your house to walk in a straight line for a total of 15-30 seconds. Once you get stronger you can slowly increase the weight, the frequency in which you do farmers walks, and even the distance.
#2 Improves Posture
Modern day humans tend to be anterior chain (muscle groups in the front of the body) dominant from sitting, texting, and typing. When performing the farmers walk you retract your shoulders, keep your chest high, and your neck in a neutral position. By performing the movement this way you’re engaging your posterior chain (muscle groups in the back of the body). You’ll be utilizing muscles you’ve never used before as seen in the infographic below:
Properly engaging the right muscles in the farmers walk will not only improve posture, but it will also improve overall stability throughout your body.
#3 Full Body Workout
If you’re someone who is chewed for time, the farmers walk is a perfect exercise to do multiple times throughout the day if you want to build a solid physique. Isolation exercises are a good way to build a physique if you want to develop specific muscles, but the only problem is that they’re very time consuming and not as functional as a farmers walk. The farmers walk can develop:
core stabilization
Abs and obliques
Toned/big forearms depending on your goals
Toned/big trap muscles
How to Perform a Farmer's Walk
1. Select Your Weights: Choose a pair of heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, or other weights that challenge your grip and overall strength.
2. Position Your Grip: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, grasp the weights firmly, and let them hang at your sides.
3. Maintain Proper Posture: Keep your shoulders back, chest up, and core engaged.
4. Walk Steadily: Move forward with controlled steps, maintaining an upright posture and ensuring the weights remain stable.
5. Duration and Distance: Start with shorter distances or times and gradually increase as your strength and endurance improve.
Bohannon, Richard W. “Grip Strength: An Indispensable Biomarker For Older Adults.” Clinical interventions in aging vol. 14 1681-1691. 1 Oct. 2019, doi:10.2147/CIA.S194543