so i’m in love with the farmers walk. but recently i’ve been running into trouble. the gym i am at only has dumb bells up to 90 pounds. i tried using easy curl bars but this was precarious will not work. i got up to 140 in each hand but i had to focus more on balance than the actual exercise.
does anyone know of similar exercices or a way around this? sorry i know this is odd but i am curious.
thanks
chris
http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/./1/.1115970356950.NT047.jpg
Not sure if it’ll help but I found that the tricep bar is pretty decent for Farmers Walks - fairly similar to the real implements and they give more walking space than dumbells.
Overcoming balance difficulties is one of the challenges of this exercise. Don’t be too concerned, unless you can’t make it more than a few feet, in which case you should lower the weight.
Coach Davies’ Renegade Training http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459589 includes the Whelbarrow/Farmers Walk as a brutal intermission, during which I found myself carting low weights around the gym as the length of time stipulated in the program was so challenging. So lengthening the time of your walk should take care of the weight issue for quite some time.
If you’re brutally strong, have exceeded your gym’s weight range and have a bucket handy then doing the farmers with an EZ bar is an option - just turn it into a one-arm dedlift with farmers walk. (From memory this exercise has appeared on T-Nation as a video but I haven’t been able to find it.) Start with a one-arm deadlift and get walking. Put the weight down. Turn around. Deadlift. Walk etc.
Hope this helps.
Not exactly the same but have you tried to walk while pinch gripping two plates?
Put two plates together with the smooth side out, grab them with thumb on one side, fingers on the other. Lift and walk.
What you need is a set of handles that can be attached to a barbell, as seen in this link
http://www.defrancostraining.com/pics/pics_hs-male.htm#farmers-walk
I guess you could get a metal shop to make something up.
tricep bar is genius
Man i really want to build my own gym
There is a bar called “trap-bar” which could do the job perfectly.
Youll probably have to do this at home but using to heavy suitcases might work.
RE: The heavy suitcase Idea
I tried this and for the most part it worked great the only problem is what to use for weight in the suticase, I used sandbags, and got up to about a 100 lbs in each bag. Not real heavy but challanging. The suitcases I used were called “pelican cases” They are super re-inforced suit cases that are made out of hard plastic.
Good luck
Will42
Try this. This is what your looking for:
Just grab two very heavy weights and walk with them. Don’t be a pussy!!!
Brute Strength has great farmers handles and shipping is included in their pricing…
[quote]Original_Demon wrote:
Just grab two very heavy weights and walk with them. Don’t be a pussy!!!
[/quote]
they’re not heavy enough, thats the problem…how’s that reading comprehension going for ya? haha 
[quote]chris05 wrote:
does anyone know of similar exercices or a way around this? sorry i know this is odd but i am curious.
[/quote]
Hey Chris, you may try overhead barbell walk. It was introduced by Coach Davies’ “Back to Basics” article at 2003.
Geek boy
The following exercise may be a bit different, but try the “Waterbury Walk” for variety:
[quote]
To perform the Waterbury walk, go to the power rack in your gym and kick out the Body-for-Lifer who, for some unknown reason, is in there doing kickbacks. Next, move the hooks (barbell supports) to the front of the power rack (the outside) and set them at a level just below your knees. You may also be able to use the safety supports depending on the type of equipment you have.
Load a bar with approximately 65% of your raw deadlift 1RM. (“Raw” means using no belts, suits, straps, or wraps.) Place the bar on the floor directly in front of the power rack about two full steps away from the hooks. Assume a shoulder-width stance with your grip outside of your legs. Use a symmetrical pronated grip (palms facing you), not the mixed powerlifter’s grip.
Deadlift the weight up and once you reach lockout, take two steps forward, reset your stance, and lower the bar onto the hooks. As soon as you release muscular tension, re-lift the load, take two steps backward, stop, reset your stance, and lower to the ground. That’s the first rep. Without resting, repeat for the prescribed number of reps. If you don’t have access to a power rack you can set the bar on a bench.[/quote]
What I do for farmers (until I can get plate loadable handles)
I cut some PVC pipe to about 6" lengths - use different diameters - I’ve got 2 and 2.5". So cut 2 lengths of each. Then get some aircraft cable - 2 6 ft. lengths should do. Fasten the ends together - use 2 fasteners on each - so now you have 2 continuous cables (like a band). Put one end of the loop through your PVC pipe so that equal lengths are hanging out of each end. Then put the cable around your dumbell - the cable will be around the db handle. Lift and enjoy. Start with the 2" handles, then you can easily swap in 2.5", 3", etc…
If you need a picture let me know.
EZ Curl bars with olympic sleeves. I got 2 at wal mart for like 20 dollars.
Sand bags. Load them up to whatever weight you need. You can easily loop a piece of rope around it for handles. This is good also because if you drop them on your foot, no problem.
Remember too that not every farmers walk has to be suitcase style. I like doing Thick Bar Deadlift Carries also. Or with a rock, sandbag or barrel.
I’ve been using a trap bar in each hand, turned on its side. I’ve got the maga hex bar from BFS (BFS sucks…this is the only quality thing they sell). It’s a little ghetto but you can load it with way more weight than you will ever need. The balance of the bars is pretty good too. I get the real handles this fall, but for now, this will have to do.
Hey Chris,
I made a couple of farmers walk devices out of galvanized pipe and chains.
I used 1 and 1/2 inch pipe about 18 inches long (they have precut sections at home depot) and put end caps on them to keep the chains on.
Then got a 4 two foot length of chain. Hook the end together and there you go.
I use two olympic bars to hold the wieght.I"m good to go.
Total cost about 20 bucks
There was a site called J.V. Askems the cable man.Then go to tight wad training implements hoe to make them.
I made a pair and they work real good.
It cost me about 30 bucks for the stuff and my time.I also have the ones that are in the Defranco article from brute strength with the dual handles and the work real well but cost quite a bit more.