Farmer’s Walk or catwalk? Sir David Beckham, known for his daily workouts and shredded physique, shows no signs of slowing down.
The ex-footballer, who regularly posts about his training regime, shared a video of himself doing a Farmers Walk under the watchful eye of his trainer, Bobby Rich, with his wife Victoria strutting behind him in heels.
The amusing post reminded me just how much I love this full-body strength exercise. If it’s good ebenough for the Beckhams, it’s definitely good enough for me.
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What is the Farmer’s Walk?
Simply put, the farmer’s walk is one of the most functional strength exercises you can do. Grab a heavy weight in each hand – think dumbbells, kettlebells, a trap bar, or even a sandbag – and walk a set distance or for a specified time, keeping your posture tall and your core braced.
Deceptively simple, it’s brutally effective and one of the few exercises that mirrors real-life movement (a.k.a. walking) while building strength, stability, and endurance all at once.
The farmer’s walk engages almost every major muscle group: forearms, grip, shoulders, traps, core, glutes, legs, and even the back and chest under heavier loads.
It strengthens your posterior chain, improves grip strength, and challenges your core stability while walking. And because it forces you to resist unwanted rotation, it’s an excellent anti-rotational exercise that protects the spine and improves posture.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Beyond strength, it also improves coordination, balance, and joint stability – think wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles – making it ideal for athletes and anyone looking to move more efficiently in daily life.
It can be used as a cardio finisher if you move lighter and faster, or a strength-endurance builder with heavy, slow carries. Basically, it’s functional fitness at its finest: building muscle, stability, and stamina simultaneously.
How to do the Farmer’s Walk exercise
Stand with feet hip-width apart between two dumbbells. Hinge at the hips and knees, keeping a flat back, to grab the handles. Brace your core, and extend your hips and knees to stand tall, keeping your shoulders down and back, with weights by your sides. Walk forward in small steps, keeping the weights as stable as possible.
You can load light and move fast for cardio benefits, or go slow and heavy to challenge strength, endurance, and grip. Variations include walking with a weight overhead, walking backwards, or even using uneven loads, holding just one weight on one side to add an extra challenge and to engage stabiliser muscles even more.
Why the Farmers Walk deserves a spot in your workout
Add this to your next session, and you’ll quickly see why it’s a favourite of the Beckhams, and why it should be in yours too. It’s perfect for improving posture under load and building functional strength for everyday tasks.
It’s also great for boosting athletic performance, too, because unlike machines that isolate muscles, the Farmers Walk teaches your body to move with weight efficiently, making it one of the most practical, all-in-one exercises in the gym, or, if you’re brave enough, outside.
At 50, Sir David says his fitness goals are to stay lean, strong, and pain-free, and the farmer’s walk is a simple, effective, and fun way to do just that.