Anyone out there who weighted vest during walks/ runs? Pros and cons?

Runfree20
Runfree20 Posts: 1 Member
edited July 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone out there who weighted vest during walks/ runs? Pros and cons?

Answers

  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 662 Member
    I use them in my backyard sometimes and for walks. Would not advise it for runs though I've seen some do so. The pros are it's added weight, you want a vest where the weight is distributed evenly.
    The cons are it's added weight, it places stress on the knees, the hips, the ankles the feet, your tendons, and everything else. If you have bad knees I'm not sure I would do it.
  • albertaro
    albertaro Posts: 9 Member
    Mine looks like a bomb vest so I do not wear it outside. It's also warm. I would only walk in it, not run. I got mine for spine health so wearing it around the house does it's job.
  • oMassaBicho
    oMassaBicho Posts: 1 Member
    I walk with it every day that i go to the gym. Im used to walk 30min. When i was not using the vest in the last 10 min of the walk my traps were completly blocked. Now with the vest i dont feel any pain when walking (plus it trains the traps for the long run). I dont advise running with it
    I have a vest with 15kg
  • stegeem
    stegeem Posts: 165 Member
    I have one but haven’t wore it in a few months because it’s cold and I wear a coat outside.
  • Hobartlemagne
    Hobartlemagne Posts: 603 Member
    edited July 23
    I saw a guy on a paved trail blow past me on a bike while wearing one that you could put barbell plates on.
    It was just a 25lb but still...
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,248 Member
    Walking is fine with a pack however I prefer farmers walks carrying either dumbbells or kettlebells. Better for core, shoulders and almost everything except chest.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    I don't think it really has a lot of benefits. You can look at https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs how much the calories change if your weight is whatever the weight of the vest is. Disadvantage I see: you might have a less good posture, cramp your shoulders or neck trying to do the same.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,872 Member
    edited July 24
    I was just out this morning doing a 45-min 2.5 mile walk with a 25 pound plate in a backpack. There are lots of benefits imo. It's more aerobic and core/strength building than simply walking. Rucking with added weight is a nice progression from walking.

    Agree with Tom that farmer's carries are great (for strength and grip in particular), but that's for short bursts with heavy weight, not a long walk/run with lighter weight.

    Like anything else, you need to progress. Start light, do it a few times. Make sure the weight isn't bouncing around, and ideally on your upper back area. This is especially true if you're jogging.

    I've had trouble getting accurate calorie estimates. I've seen wildly varying estimates from saying it's the same as if you weigh X pounds more, to saying it's 2x-3x the calories from walking. It's clearly going to vary based on the weight as a % of your own bodyweight, which some sites with their broad estimates ignore.

    I found a study from the US military and it talked about calorie burn at various pack sizes with the average soldier weights provided. I extrapolated from that and count calories as follows:

    If X is the weight, and Y% is X/bodyweight:

    Walking * (1+2*Y%)

    So e.g. if you add 10% of bw, then you'll burn about 20% more calories rucking (walking) than regular walking.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,248 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    I was just out this morning doing a 45-min 2.5 mile walk with a 25 pound plate in a backpack. There are lots of benefits imo. It's more aerobic and core/strength building than simply walking. Rucking with added weight is a nice progression from walking.

    Agree with Tom that farmer's carries are great (for strength and grip in particular), but that's for short bursts with heavy weight, not a long walk/run with lighter weight.

    Like anything else, you need to progress. Start light, do it a few times. Make sure the weight isn't bouncing around, and ideally on your upper back area. This is especially true if you're jogging.

    I've had trouble getting accurate calorie estimates. I've seen wildly varying estimates from saying it's the same as if you weigh X pounds more, to saying it's 2x-3x the calories from walking. It's clearly going to vary based on the weight as a % of your own bodyweight, which some sites with their broad estimates ignore.

    I found a study from the US military and it talked about calorie burn at various pack sizes with the average soldier weights provided. I extrapolated from that and count calories as follows:

    If X is the weight, and Y% is X/bodyweight:

    Walking * (1+2*Y%)

    So e.g. if you add 10% of bw, then you'll burn about 20% more calories rucking (walking) than regular walking.
    That’s a misconception with farmers walks. They don’t have to be super heavy, people see these YouTube videos of guys walking with 300 pounds and that isn’t necessary at all. Long walks with 30 pounds each side is plenty. There are two ways to do farmers walks short walks, heavy or long walks with lighter, with the latter being more usable and easier on the body
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    Haven't, but I have seen it recommended for maintaining bone strength.

    I have been considering getting a 10 lb weight of some kind and taking it on walks after I am down another 10 lb. (Right now I feel like I still have a built-in weighted vest.)
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,248 Member
    KareninCanada wrote: »
    Haven't, but I have seen it recommended for maintaining bone strength.

    I have been considering getting a 10 lb weight of some kind and taking it on walks after I am down another 10 lb. (Right now I feel like I still have a built-in weighted vest.)

    That extra 10 lb weight will help you burn off that 10 lbs of fat faster
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,872 Member
    KareninCanada wrote: »
    Haven't, but I have seen it recommended for maintaining bone strength.

    I have been considering getting a 10 lb weight of some kind and taking it on walks after I am down another 10 lb. (Right now I feel like I still have a built-in weighted vest.)
    Fill a gallon of milk container with water. That's 8.34 pounds. Put in backpack. Profit.

  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    Fill a gallon of milk container with water. That's 8.34 pounds. Put in backpack. Profit.

    True! 😁 Or maybe I can borrow a baby - when I used to tote around a 20-lb 8 month old all the time, I was practically melting. 😆

  • pony4us
    pony4us Posts: 165 Member
    I'm just curious...for years the advice was to lose weight to help your knees and hips. the line was that losing even 5-10 pounds would help keep them healthy. So why would you add weight now when walking or especially when jogging or running. Wouldn't that put more pressure on your joins and lead to more wear and tear. I remember back in the day when everyone was wearing angle weights, until it was found that was not a good idea, will this turn out to be the same?
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,872 Member
    edited August 1
    pony4us wrote: »
    I'm just curious...for years the advice was to lose weight to help your knees and hips. the line was that losing even 5-10 pounds would help keep them healthy. So why would you add weight now when walking or especially when jogging or running. Wouldn't that put more pressure on your joins and lead to more wear and tear. I remember back in the day when everyone was wearing angle weights, until it was found that was not a good idea, will this turn out to be the same?
    Jogging with ankle weights changes your gait, which puts more stress down your whole chain.

    Walking with a weight on our back is more natural, and humans have been doing it for thousands of years. There's also a world of difference between doing a 20-60 minute weighted walk a few times per week with 10%-20% of added weight, versus carrying a similar amount of excess weight 24/7, plus all the other health issues that brings. And then we consider the benefits of weighted walks, that it improves your cardio, improves your core and strength, burns more calories which can help with fat loss, and potentially builds muscle and improves bone density.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,700 Member
    edited August 1
    I trained for my Camino de Santiago by packing a backpack with the weight I anticipated carrying on the Camino. I’d wear it around town several miles a day.

    Pros: Gave me a great feel for what I’d be carrying, how the pack fit, comfort level etc (Amazon pack F- plus unzipped itself and spilled everything the first time out, pack fitted at REI A+++).

    Gave me a decent bump in my walking workouts, good training, but I had whittled my necessities down to about 15 pounds, so it wasn’t any great shakes.

    Con’s: My Camino? April 2020. 😭 Hasn’t happened yet. At least I got refunded for everything. 👍🏻

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