Walkers....adding weights

carriej522

What are the benefits to adding weights when walking? I've been walking daily and thought about adding weights. What type of weights do you use?

NorthCascades

Sometimes I use a backpack. Benefits are being able to spend the night, or change clothes if the conditions change, like put on a jacket if it gets cold.

spiriteagle99

A backpack or vest with weights is better than hand or ankle weights. The extra weight takes more energy to move. When I was training for backpacking, I carried extra water and clothes in my daypack. Ankle weights can lead to torn tendons. Momentum is not always your friend.

cwolfman13

Don't use hand or ankle weights...if you want to walk with extra weight, use a backpack. I used to do a lot of backpacking and the biggest benefit of doing this was that it got me conditioned for backpacking season and carrying a load over miles...beyond that, you'll burn a few extra calories, but nothing major.

tulips_and_tea

I walk a lot and I agree with the others: maybe a well-fitting back pack if necessary (long hikes; training for long hikes, etc.) but otherwise I wouldn't recommend adding weights.

Finding hills or even stairs on your walks would be better for conditioning and small calorie burn boost.

fitoverfortymom

There are weighted vests you can buy, but a backpack filled with water would also do the trick.

DoubleUbea

Do not use ankle weights.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=ankle+weights+problems

huntersvonnegut

I wear a weighted vest. It's great for walking and body weight exercises.

NorthCascades

The formula for walking calories is:

Calories per mile = (weight in pounds) / 3

Plug in your weight, add in whatever weight you're carrying, decide if it's worth it. But as an example, carrying 60 extra pounds gets you 20 more calories per mile.

Personally, I go to the gym and lift to get stronger. I rode a bike for enjoyment and to burn calories. I walk mostly just for enjoyment (or transportation). The marginal difference in calories doesn't justify the unpleasantness of carrying extra weight for me.

estherdragonbat

NorthCascades wrote: »

The formula for walking calories is:

Calories per mile = (weight in pounds) / 3

Plug in your weight, add in whatever weight you're carrying, decide if it's worth it. But as an example, carrying 60 extra pounds gets you 20 more calories per mile.

Personally, I go to the gym and lift to get stronger. I rode a bike for enjoyment and to burn calories. I walk mostly just for enjoyment (or transportation). The marginal difference in calories doesn't justify the unpleasantness of carrying extra weight for me.

I kind of did a weighted walk a few days ago that I'm still recovering from. I don't drive; walking is my preferred cardio and I use a bundle buggy for stuff that's too much to carry. Well, I decided it was time to get some heavier dumbbells, so I walked 45 minutes to the fitness store and bought a pair of 30s plus a 10lb pilates ball and some lifting gloves, loaded it all into the buggy and started back.

Unfortunately, I hit some uneven pavement and the cart tipped back and scraped my shins. NOT a good thing since I've got some circulation issues that make my lower legs more prone to infection if I break the skin. Thankfully, not this time! I made it home with the pilates ball in a reusable bag on my arm, my new lifting gloves on my hands to make pushing the buggy less painful, and a buggy that needed trashing because I shredded the tire on one of the front wheels. Also, it tipped a few more times. But my triceps got a good workout, among other parts.

Next time, I think I need to figure out the cost of a cab ride home and determine whether that's going to be more or less than the $50 flat charge the store tacks on for all deliveries...