Farmers Walk and Squats

cdahl383

Started working out recently in my basement and decided to add some other exercises other than the usual upper body ones I've been doing for years. I did a few sets of farmers walks and then a few sets of squats just using dumbbells. Holy crap! My legs are killing me now! No wonder farmers are so strong, haha!

Anyone know any other good exercises like these using dumbbells that I could add into my routine?

Mokey41

Being a farmer I just have to ask what a farmers walk is?

cdahl383

It's basically just picking up two heavy dumbbells or anything heavy that you can grab and walking. You can lift heavier stuff over a shorter distance or lift moderately for longer distance. It sounds like a ridiculously simple exercise but it actually works out a ton of muscles in your legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms, as well as lots of stabilizer muscles. It also improves your grip.

ironmonkeystyle

lateral squats;
dumb bell swings;
sumo squat / dumb bell swing;
squat + press

SuzieZimm

I like this one for a double whammy: stepping either forward or sideways up onto a step (the higher the step, the more challenging!), while at the same time doing some arm set, like bicep curls, etc. You can really feel the muscles working if you step up and let yourself down slowly.

I don't know how to add photos, but if you Google image search "bench step up exercises", those are all the basic idea. It's slow and sustained, but man does it get me panting after ten reps on each side!

dan95130

Try calf raises. Stand upright holding dumbbells then raise up onto the balls of your feet. Do a set with your feet at a 45 degree angle then another set with your feet parallel. You won't need a lot of weight to start.
Leg workouts always kick my butt.

JKDLady

For the farmer's walk, you can also walk on the balls of your feet. Excellent for the calf muscles.

helpfit101

dead-lift
dumbbell step-ups
lunge

cdahl383

Cool, thanks for all the ideas!

Stage14

Dumbells step ups get me every time because they seem so easy. You can vary the weight or the height for more challenge.

MyOwnSunshine

If your ceilings are high enough, try Waiters Carries -- like Farmers Carries except you hold the dumbbells over your head and walk around. Great for the shoulders and upper back.

cdahl383

I'd have to be careful as my ceiling is a little under 7 feet.

james6998

Being a farmer I just have to ask what a farmers walk is?

This is my buddy and hes a farmer also. Not to mention my mentor, We did farmers walks with bales of hay in each hand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Ernst

PikaKnight

search bodybuilding.com's exercise database. They have a bunch of exercises and you can narrow by equipment.


Some ideas, though -

Goblet Squats
Plie/Sumo Squats
Squats with dumbbells at side
Lunges
Reverse lunges
Bulgarian squats
Split squats
Shoulder Press
Standing Triceps Extensions
Curls/Hammer Curls
Cleans
Iron Crosses
Deadlifts
Single leg (w/ optional single arm) Deadlifts


.....and there are even more if you have an adjustable bench available.

Cherimoose

Good topic. Dumbbells are great.

I'll do farmer's walks with a pinch grip, which is holding the plate of the dumbbell between your thumb & fingers, instead of holding the handle like normal people do. :-) Works best with dumbbells that have a thin plate. Very good grip & forearm workout.

I'll do bent-over rows with a pinch grip too.

Let's see.. what else do i do..

- Goblet lunges
- Side lunges (a butt kicker)
- Lunges with 2 different weights (trains lateral stability)
- Single-leg squat + bicep curl + shoulder press (balance & coordination)
- Turkish get-ups. If you do these without putting your hand on the floor, it is much harder!

marianb2001

Bumping for later - Thanks for all the ideas. I just grabbed my husband's dumbells today to see if I could even lift them. I am starting with 5lbs on each dumbell. Is that too little/light? I am just starting.

cdahl383

Being a farmer I just have to ask what a farmers walk is?

This is my buddy and hes a farmer also. Not to mention my mentor, We did farmers walks with bales of hay in each hand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Ernst

Wow, you're buddy is a pretty impressive dude! That's pretty cool!

cdahl383

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

I have hex dumbbells so the pinch grip idea probably wont work too well with those, but I do have a set of adjustable dumbbbells as well with a few plates so I could give that a try sometime as well.

My goal is to try and come up with a lot of different exercises and not just fall into the same old routine and get bored like I have done in the past. If I can try a new exercise every week and then rotate between several of them throughout the month, not only will my body not get used to the exercises, but I wont lose interest either.

I took the stairs up to my desk today at work like I always do, except today it was horrible, my legs are still sore from the squats last night, and I only did them with some lighter dumbbells. Goes to show you how out of shape my lower body is. So I'll definitely need to work on my legs some more.

cdahl383

Bumping for later - Thanks for all the ideas. I just grabbed my husband's dumbells today to see if I could even lift them. I am starting with 5lbs on each dumbell. Is that too little/light? I am just starting.

It depends on what kind of exercise you're doing. For bicep curls maybe not but for chest press yes that's probably way too light. I've always tried to stick between 6-12 reps. If I can't do at least 6 reps with good form then its too heavy. If I can do 12 or more reps with good form then its probably too light. Once you find the happy medium then you have a good baseline to start with and you can work from there. I always log all of my lifts as well by date/exercise/weight/reps, etc. I typically do 3 sets for each exercise as well with a 30-60 second break in between.