The Farmer’s Carry
What it is:
Carry heavy objects from point A to point B. Rest. Repeat.
What it does:
Basically works all of the muscles of the upper body. The arms, shoulders, and traps must isometrically contract to keep the weight up. Grip strength is challenged. Resistive forces from the core must be applied to prevent abdominal flexion (bending forwards at the waist) and lumbar flexion (bending backwards). The obliques are also challenged with maintaining an upright posture. The legs must work hard to keep moving, and the added weight makes it a great cardiovascular conditioning exercise.
How to do it:
Start with two identical dumbbells on the floor beside your feet. Pick them up and draw your shoulder blades back and down – maintain this posture throughout the movement. Walk in a straight line, holding the weights by your side, for 40 to 50 yards. If you have limited space, you can make a few u-turns to make the distance. Don’t swing the weights and try to maintain a high chest through the walk. Don’t forget to breathe. If the weight starts to slip, avoid any quick adjustment. With heavier weight this could cause a muscle tear of the biceps or forearm, which I’m guessing is not something you want. Three to four circuits of these at the end of your workout is plenty to make you hate life.
Variations:
For added challenge, you can use uneven dumbbells and then switch hands halfway through. This will increase the resistive forces that your core has to produce to maintain an upright posture, which is what it was designed to do in the first place.
For a real butt kicker, drop the weights, turn around and sprint the distance as soon as you complete your initial route. Try not to throw up a lung.
I’d love for you guys to try this and post the load that you used in the comments section!
