walking with weights

Yeah, usually I walk with about 120lbs (60 in each hand.)
Can't do it for more than a minute or so, but I'm getting better!

Can't be too bad for you: http://youtu.be/PEmx8aWpEWI

:-D

Hand weights yes, ankle weights no. Carrying extra weight and maybe doing some bicep curls while you walk is fine but ankle weights put too much stress on your knee and hip joints which will lead to injury. If you want extra weight, carry it.

^^^ This

I tried some wrist weights for about two weeks when jogging got too easy... And, three years later, I still have tennis elbow and I curse my stupidity every time I work out.

There is not much benefit to walking with hand weights. You will get little to no significant strength improvement (the only thing you will really become better at is walking with weights).

The question is: why would one want to do it?

1) "Strength training": as I mentioned before--no real improvement; the weight is too light, too many reps, not working to failure.

2) Increase cardio intensity: some people need to increase intensity, but cannot/do not want to increase speed. If you on on a treadmill, it is much more effective to walk at an incline than to walk with weights.

But say you are outside and can't control the incline--the increase in intensity that comes with doing arm work while walking comes from SWINGING THE ARMS--not from the weight per se. In other words, just walking carrying hand weights does almost nothing. Swinging the arms so that the thumbs reach the height of your shoulders DOES increase cardiac intensity, but for weights of 3lbs and lower, there is little difference between swinging the arms with weights and swinging them without. For 5 lb weights, the weight itself starts to add additional intensity, but it becomes much harder to sustain the arm swing.

3) Increasing the intensity by increasing the total weight you are hauling around. This is the argument used by those wearing weight vests or backpacks. And the answer is, yes, you can increase intensity by carrying extra weight. However, your need to add on more than a few pounds to have and effect and you are increasing the impact on your joints (just as if you were overweight). So I am back to: what's the point.

Hills and increasing speed are much more effective at increasing cardio intensity than carrying weights. If someone was unable to walk any hills and unable to totally opposed to running, there can be some benefit to walking with a weight vest or with poles, or an exaggerated arm swing.

But when you look at the physiology, there are much more effective ways to either burn more calories or increase upper-body strength than trying to walk with weights.

If you want to walk with weights buying a weighted vest would be your best bet.

Otherwise, a farmer's walk (dumbells or special barbell) is a good way to do it that really gives you a full body workout.