With a weighted vest, you turn what was supposed to be a simple walk into a full workout. Within the same timeframe, and over the same distance, you triple your results and take a massive leap towards your fitness goals.
In this blog, we will discuss all the benefits of walking with your weighted vest, and why this may actually be the most effective way for you to get fitter, finer and better.
1. You Burn More Calories
Walking with a weighted vest is an immensely effective way to burn calories, especially if you do not (or cannot) engage in high-intensity exercise like lifting weights.Studies have actually confirmed this: depending on the weight and intensity, walking with a weighted vest has been shown to increase the number of calories you burn significantly.
A survey showed that, on average, participants burned 5.7 calories a minute while walking without any weighted vest. When wearing a weighted vest equal to 15% of their body weight, they burned an average of 6.3 calories per minute walking under the same circumstances.
Why Does it Work?
- The added weight of the vest increases the level of resistance, which in turn makes your muscles and cardiovascular system work harder.
- The additional effort your body puts into carrying the weight increases energy expenditure and burns calories quickly.
2. It Is Great for Your Cardiovascular Health
Walking with a weighted vest greatly improves cardiovascular health, and this is very important. With the additional weight of the vest, your body needs to supply more oxygen to your working muscles, which causes your heart rate to increase.- As you continue to walk with the vest, your cardiovascular system adapts to keep up, strengthening your heart and lungs.
- If you’re looking to improve your cardiovascular endurance (i.e., better stamina for running, sports, or even daily activities like hiking), wearing a vest regularly during walks can be a good way to do so without overtaxing your joints.
3. It Enhances Muscular Strength & Endurance
Walking in a weighted vest is an effective way to strengthen many vital muscles in your body. Even without the vest, walking involves many muscles, including those in your legs (quads, hamstrings, calves), glutes, and core.
When you add a weighted vest, the extra weight increases the load on these muscles and forces them to work harder to push your body forward and stabilize itself simultaneously. Over time, this leads to greater muscle strength and endurance.
- If you’re already doing strength training or looking to improve lower-body and core strength, you do not necessarily have to go through traditional weightlifting.
- With a weighted vest, you have the extra assistance needed to stimulate a satisfactory rate of muscle growth and endurance.
4. It Improves Bone Density
Your bones will naturally decline with age, but walking with a weighted vest can slow the rate of decline and even reverse some of the loss. When bones are placed under stress, they grow and become stronger.
The added weight of your weighted vest provides that additional stress the bones need, and promotes bone remodeling. Remodeling is how bones grow: old tissue is broken down, and new stronger bone tissue is created.
Walking with a weighted vest provides a healthy increase in mechanical load upon the body, which basically nudges your bones to do some extra hard work. That is often all that is needed for the bones to grow denser and stronger.
Therefore, a weighted vest can be particularly beneficial for older adults and/or those at risk of osteoporosis because it helps improve overall skeletal strength.
5. It Helps Your Balance and Posture
Walking with a weighted vest is one sure way to obtain and maintain good posture. With the extra weight of the vest, your body has to work harder to stabilize itself, and just like with bone tissue, muscles also become firmer and stronger when placed under pressure.- As you walk, the stabilizing muscles in your core, shoulders, and back are stimulated and engaged to maintain proper alignment and posture.
- If you have any muscle imbalances or tend to slouch, walking with the vest can help activate muscles that are often neglected.
Walking with your weighted vest should be an important part of your exercise routine, especially if you have posture issues, balance problems, or are just looking to improve your core strength and stability.
- It helps develop the muscles required for keeping the body upright and balanced in both everyday life and athletic activities.
6. Increased Efficiency in Daily Movements
By wearing a weighted vest and going out on a walk, you’re essentially training your body for functional, real-world movements. When you train with extra weight, your body adapts, and performing these activities without the weight becomes significantly less strenuous.
- The extra load makes daily tasks like lifting groceries, climbing stairs, or walking long distances easier.
The awesome thing about using a weighted vest is that the results are usually not the same for everyone. These are some of the the general benefits of walking, but this activity may also benefit you in some ways that are particular and specific to you. That is where ZelusFitness comes in.
Getting a Weighted Vest
ZelusFitness provides a mulitute of weighted vests for people of different shapes, sizes and heights. You can easily find a list of Zelus Weighted Vests for beginners, vests for women, and even vests specially made for walking.
- These vests are made of durable neoprene rubber fabric: built to last.
- They are also comfortable. The shoulder straps are cushioned with soft foam, and they are designed so that the weight is equally distributed accross your torso.
- They come with adjustable elastic straps and reflective stripes to fit you perfectly and keep you safe even in bad weather