Farmer Walks

[EricT]

People that want to use offsets use them? They are for functinal core strength. An example of someone who might want to use this type of training specifically would be an MMA fighter. It's just another idea among many. It's not about the arms as much as it is about the unbalance.

[ChinPieceDave667]

Originally Posted by Eric3237

Crossfit gives some very good info, but I wouldn't go that far

Offsets are basically doing farmers walks with uneven loads with odd implements or at different levels. Like a sandbag in on hand and a kettleball in another. Really anything you can imagine. An example would be a heavy dumbell carried in regular farmer's walk fashion in one hand and a sandbag carried on the opposite shoulder. Or perhaps a dumbell in clean position. The weights don't need to match of course. In place of a sandbag and army backpack with heavy stuff in in will work.

I use to do these all the time. It's great for working your core. Also, if you just grab a barbell with one hand, at the side of your body, isn't that called a one sided suitcase carry or suitcase deadlifts.

You Tube

[Andrew.cook]

Originally Posted by Eric3237

People that want to use offsets use them? They are for functinal core strength. An example of someone who might want to use this type of training specifically would be an MMA fighter. It's just another idea among many. It's not about the arms as much as it is about the unbalance.

Huh, I suppose that I would assume that wrestling would be adequate training for these types of imbalances. I know a lot of MMA guys have gotten smart and train strongman. We have a couple UFC fighters that train with us from time to time.

In my experience the hardest core work is a very heavy yoke walk. It is much more taxing than farmers on the core. Even with the "balanced" weight, the weights shift, roll, swing and react to your stride. Farmers doesn't do this as much because the weight is still relatively near your own center of gravity. They may swing and sway a touch, but it tends to stay in rhythm with your own natural gait.

Yoke walks (chain yoke vid, similar to the setup I described in the "homeless" thread)

You Tube

As you can see every step sends the weight swinging. The next step must move you forward, compensate for that swing and causes another swing that you must compensate for. The Pillar of Pain acts the same way.

Suitcase deads are good too. In fact, I would rather see trainees doing these than side bends. The "target" is the same, but the suitcase dead will create a more natural circumstance for that work to occur.

[EricT]

What?

Are we going to debate every single simple idea I throw out? It doesn't matter what you think will happen or won't happen. It only matters what happens. In other words, I haven't done yoke walks, which is completely impractical suggestion for most I might add...but I won't criticize what I don't know about.

If I mention planks for the core can you please tell us what strongman equipment we need to replace them?

No, really, these are just ideas. People can try them or not try them and discover their value or lack of it for themselves. You are in a world where most consider core work crunches. Or maintain that you should never need anything but deads and squats. So arguing the superiority of offets, yokes, or any other supplementary core work is quite beside the point.

I do suitcase deads a lot.

[Andrew.cook]

Don't know that I was debating anything. Just throwing some suggestions out there. Frankly, I only do this because most people seem to think that they can't do strongman type lifts. Truth is that the ideas and set ups are pretty easy. Not impractical, just requires a change of thought. I believe this is what your average business guru might call a "paradigm shift."

If someone was not interested in bodybuilding, but wanted to look good, and someone wasn't interested in powerlifting, but wanted to be strong as an ox, and the same said person was looking to spend a minimal amount of time training, then yes, I think that strongman type work is the best answer. I think it is a good answer for athletes, I think it is a good answer for your average joe, for women, for young trainees, for old trainees and so on.

If your goals are more specific, then of course you have to train to support your goals.

I simply contributed my experience and my point of view. People can absolutely take it or leave it. My only real goal in brining it up is to point out that there is more to life than benching and squatting. If we are in a grocery store, and you are debating Chocolate and Vanilla pudding and I sneak in and say "Pistachio" it isn't an attack, debate or meant to offend.

[EricT]

It seemed to me like you were saying my idea is better than yours, quite simply. When both are pretty solid. If that wasn't your intention than I took it the wrong way. It seemed like you were debating the merits of offsets with some of your comments and I just didn't see the point.

[Andrew.cook]

No, not a debate, like you said, I have no experience with them and can't really comment at all. I was just bringing up what works for me.

I did mention that I was surprised that wrestling wasn't considered adequate core work for MMA folks, but that wasn't directed here nor there. Just thinking about how burnt out I would feel after wrestling another person fighting me and how I think that would tax my core (and everythign else) pretty badly. It was more of a personal observation than a critique of anything.

Nah, my ideas are not better, just different. I talk up strongman a lot because I know the impact it has had on my body, and I know that I was once a guy watching it on TV thinking "I wish I could do that." but with no real idea how. So I bring it up as another tool in the belt, not as a superior method (though to be honest, it has worked very well for me, and I appreciate the simultaneous training of endurance and strength... which isn't to say that you can't accomplish this in a gym, but I never really experienced it until strongman).

[EricT]

Just a misunderstanding.

With the wrestling thing you'd just separate things into different goal oriented days or sessions so skills training wouldn't necessarily have to come right before some other core work. But at the same time it's all about endurance so....in theory the training is tougher than the actual fight, if that makes sense.

Dave (Chinpiece) is the guy to speak on that stuff though

[Andrew.cook]

That makes sense I guess. I have virtually no experience with wrestling... you know, outside of my marriage

But my persception is that wrestling is hard freakin' work, and that in itself is brutal and difficult to recover from. I know that MMA guys are in amazing shape, but still, you have to recover from one workout before you can go into the next. So I'm curious how you mitigate this kind of all over work with something more gym oriented (targeted, compartmentalized, etc).

[EricT]

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