Hi Coach,
I know you have written several articles on the benefits of farmers walks, but whats your take on using straps if the goal is only upper body hypertrophy and not grip strength. For example, if i strap on some 100lbs dumbbells, i can usually get close to 90 a second walk before failing, but if i dont use the straps i can barely get over 20 seconds. Would using the straps significantly increase potential for upper body hypertrophy? Thanks Coach
Ed
Interesting question, and I hope CT chimes in. I think FW’s are more of a metabolic, total body exercise and grip plays a big role in their overall effectiveness. I don’t think hypertrophy is a major goal of FW’s, so my own thoughts are that adding straps would not be the way to go.
Why not do both? Do what you can without and then throw on the straps and finish up. They’re are several exercises that can train grip (deadlifts) but when your grip prevents you from achieving your training goal then it’s usually time to use straps.
In your case it sounds like you have a good reason for using them; however, I’d encourage you to do both.
That is exactly what I did… 4-5 sets without straps then 2 overload sets with straps