Using a weighted vest to increase your load during walking can benefit your heart, muscles and bone health.
However, it is not necessarily advantageous for everyone. Wearing a weighted vest can exacerbate certain health problems, such as arthritis, joint pain or equilibrium problems, explains Kristen M. Beavers, PHD, MPH, Associate Professor of Health and Science of Exercise at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
So be eliminated by your health care provider before trying to walk with a weighted vest if you have one of these conditions. In addition, ask your doctor first if you have heart disease, uncontrolled blood pressure, diabetes, chest pain or shortness of breath.
Here are the potential advantages of using a weighted vest.
1. Walking with a balanced vest improves cardiovascular endurance
Wearing a weighted vest during exercise can improve the cardiorepiratory shape (your body’s capacity to provide and use oxygen during exercise). In a study on women with obesity, those who wore a weighted vest during a circuit training session three times a week for eight weeks increased their VO2 max (a measure of the cardiorepiratory form) by almost 13%. Meanwhile, those who worked without vest saw an increase of 9.4%.
While the study used circuit training instead of walking, the results probably apply to the two forms of exercise. “The additional load on your body forces your muscles to work harder and therefore to use more oxygen, so your heart rate will increase quickly to provide this oxygen,” explains Dr. Wooldridge. This can improve the effectiveness of your heart and the ability of the lungs to provide your muscles with oxygen over time, she adds.
Larger cardiorepiratory shape allows you not only to work longer, but this can also reduce your risk of chronic health problems such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension) and type 2 diabetes.
2. Walking with a weighted vest reinforces the basic force
Walking with an additional charge recruits the nucleus, which includes the muscles of the abdomen, lower back and basin. These muscles are committed to keeping you stable and balanced when you walk with a balanced vest, explains Dr. Woolridge.
Strengthening the basic strength can help you do daily activities and sports more easily, helping you avoid pain and injuries.
However, a weighted vest should not act as your only basic exercise. “Studies have shown that you will not get a significant improvement in your basic strength by walking alone in a vest,” said Woolridge. Indeed, a weighted vest is not isolates the muscles of the heart like other exercises. For this reason, Woolridge advises to incorporate additional basic work into your routine, such as boards and crackles.
3. Walking with a weighted vest can increase bone density
Wearing a weighted vest during daily activities can stimulate bone formation and reduce bone degradation, according to a study in the elderly with obesity. This can make weighted vests particularly useful for people with or at risk of developing osteoporosis (a condition that makes bones become weak and brittle), such as menopausal women, the elderly, people with medical conditions such as renal diseases or liver diseases, and those that use drugs that interfere with the bone reduction process (such as corticosteroids).
The load -bearing exercises, such as walking or walking with a weighted vest, place a force on the bones which stimulates the production of cells forming bone.
However, Woolridge stresses that the benefits of walking with a weighted vest are mainly cardiovascular. In addition, research on bone density is still emerging and weighted vests should not be used to treat the low bone density, adds Dr. Beavers.
4. Walking with a weighted vest can help lose weight
Wearing a weighted vest during daily activities can help weight loss – and research suggests that heavier vests are more effective than light. In a randomized clinical trial, adults with obesity that wore a heavy weighted vest (around 11% of the subject’s body weight) for eight hours a day for three weeks lost 3 additional pounds and 4% more fat, compared to those who wore a lighter vest (about 1% of the subject’s body weight).
Since your body must work harder to move and spend more energy (burn more calories), which can contribute to fat loss, explain the authors of the study.
An older study in menopausal women had similar results: women who wore a weighted vest walking for 30 minutes a day three days a week for six weeks lost much more fat than women who did not wear a weighted vest while walking (8.4% against 2.4%).
A significant warning here, as Woolridge explains, is that the weight loss effect is generally low. When combined with other forms of exercise and healthy nutrition, additional calorie burn with a weighted vest could support weight loss, she says.
5. Walking with a weighted vest can develop muscles
Research on people performing a circuit has revealed that those who wore a weighted vest added more muscle mass at the end of eight weeks than those who trained without additional weight. Researchers say that the additional charge probably encourages the body to produce proteins that contribute to muscle growth.
The increase in muscles can facilitate participation in sports and daily activities, helps protect the joints from injury and improve balance. It can also help you burn more calories throughout the day, which can contribute to weight loss.
There is a warning: a weighted vest does not work all the muscles and does not replace traditional strength training in force. Woolridge advises participating in resistance training at least twice a week.
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