Monday, June 27, 2011

One-Armed Farmer's Walk (aka "The Suitcase Carry")


So, the past couple of weeks I've been "a travelin' man" and that usually means my regular training takes a hit. I don't mind - sometimes the break is exactly what I need and it forces me to be creative and train things I usually neglect.

Armed with little but a 28kg kettlebell, I revisited some great exercises that certainly deserve time and effort. One of those exercises, is a one-armed farmer's walk, also known as the "suitcase carry". If you've never spent time with this one, do - I think you'll find it surprisingly difficult to carry a weight unilaterally that you would carry comfortably with two-handed farmer's walks. Farmer's walks with a pair of 28kg bells would not be a big deal, for example, but carrying a single 28kg bell, without the twin to balance the load, is a treat.

A little lean is fine if the weight gets heavy, but don't go crazy with it

Related Posts & Resources:
The Secret Of Loaded Carries by Dan John (t-nation article)

 Everything's Over My Head - From The Ground Up - Carried Away ($39.95) DVD by Dan John.
It it straight-forward and to the point - if you train, you will probably enjoy it. If you enjoy people talking about anatomy, you probably won't.

Dad Strength Part II: "If You Had To Choose One Exercise..." (Squat Rx post)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I do this 5 or 6 times a year; 24kg for about 3.5 miles, switch hands every 30 paces. Harder in the summer because my sweat makes my grip difficult.

Boris said...

Bill,
That's impressive! I've done some pretty long farmer's w. a pair of 24kg bells, but probably not three+ miles!