Weighted Vests: Help or Harm?

The fitness world is buzzing about weighted vests, but do they deserve the hype? As I see people strapping on these trendy accessories for walks, workouts, and even casual strolls through the neighborhood, I can't help but question whether the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.

Weighted vests certainly offer compelling advantages – they transform simple activities like walking into strength-training opportunities, potentially increasing calorie burn, building muscle, and even improving bone density. For specific training scenarios (like my son's DIY version for soccer preparation), they serve a clear purpose. The added resistance engages stabilizing muscles and gives your cardiovascular system an extra challenge.

However, my personal trainer brain can't ignore the concerning downsides. Adding weight to your frame increases strain on joints already bearing your body weight – precisely the opposite of what doctors recommend for knee and hip pain. The compression effect on the spine particularly troubles me, potentially exacerbating existing posture problems or creating new ones. For those with back issues, joint pain, or chronic injuries, weighted vests likely introduce unnecessary risks that overshadow any potential benefits.

Before jumping on this trend, consider starting with minimal weight and being extremely mindful of your form and existing physical conditions. I'd love to hear your experiences – have weighted vests transformed your fitness routine or caused unexpected problems? Text me at 913-392-2877 or email info@spandexandwine.com with your thoughts. Your feedback might help fellow listeners decide whether to embrace or avoid this controversial fitness accessory.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Weighted Vest Introduction
• 1:37 Benefits of Weighted Vests
• 3:17 Potential Risks and Concerns
• 5:34 Personal Reflections and Audience Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine podcast. It's me Robin, your host, and I promised in my newsletter on Wednesday that I was going to talk about a specific trend in fitness that I have not been able to get on board with, and it's popping up everywhere in social media, in ads. I see people walking down the street, I see them in the gym and I'm like, okay, what is all the hype about? Does it really help or does it do more harm than good? And what I'm talking about are weighted vests. I mean, I can see and I'm going to go through some of the positives and the negatives, but I haven't been able to get on board with it because I just see it as compressing your spine.

Speaker 1: 0:46

I know that there's a place for it. It's great for special, specific training, and I know when my son was at home and I think he was doing like a hike or something like that, or he was getting ready for soccer, maybe it was college tryouts, I don't even know, but anyway he would use a weighted vest. He actually made his own. He made little sandbags and then he put them in duct tape and I think he just shoved them in a backpack, or maybe he made some kind of vest, I don't know Like why wasn't I concerned at that point? I don't know, but you know, I'm sure you have seen them everywhere too. You see people in their stories and in their posts on Facebook taking a picture as they're outside, you know, in nature, with their vest on, and maybe you've wondered the exact same thing as me. And, yeah, I do think that they can boost a workout because, basically, when you put it on, you are adding extra resistance to everything that you do, so your body has to work harder, so therefore, your body would burn more calories. So if weight loss is your goal, that would be a great thing, and it can help build muscle and endurance. It's especially like in your legs and your core and your back, and I've also read about it helping to improve bone density, which is huge as we age, and it'll help you get your heart rate up more, so giving your heart and lungs a better workout. Some things that I read said that it helps with posture and balance because you're engaging stabilizing muscles, but I'm like I'm not sure because I feel like form is huge, so it really takes something as simple as walking and turning it into strength training, which is great, like if you can add on to your walk. I think that's amazing, and some people use it for workouts. So, yes, you would get some added weight with that. But again, I worry a little bit about form and how that can affect your.

Speaker 1: 2:50

Basically your spine is my biggest thing that I am worried about, and I know that they are not for everyone. Like I said, in specific instances I can see how they can really really help, really really help, and I think that there are risks, though, if you're not using it correctly, and adding extra weight can also add strain, so, like on your joints, it adds more pain to your knees and your hips and your low back. I mean, think about when someone is overweight. One of the first things that the doctor will tell you to do is you need to lose weight so your knees will feel better, your hips will feel better. So if you're adding weight to that I don't know it's temporary, yes, you can take it off 100%. Understand that. It's not something that you're living with all of the time, but I think you're putting yourself at higher risk for overuse injuries also if you go too heavy or if you go too long.

Speaker 1: 3:41

So I definitely think that it can add to posture problems. If your posture isn't great already, a weighted vest can just really make that worse, you know. And also, like you could get overheated with that. I think that that can happen quickly, although we're headed more into fall, so maybe that wouldn't be as big of a deal, but in the summertime definitely. So I think you have to. You would have to really research and find a vest that would fit, so there's no rubbing or bouncing, so it's not uneven and causing pain or wear and tear on the joints. Again, if you are working out with it the bending over, even just reaching down for a weight, something like that I worry about that. If you're just using it for walking, I would just caution you to make sure that you have good posture. It may not be a good time for you to take the dog for a walk with a weighted vest because you're going to have to tab your little baggie and pick up after your dog, so that may not be the best time.

Speaker 1: 4:47

If you already have back issues or joint pain or chronic injuries, I would not advise the weighted vest. If you want to try it out, then I would say definitely start with lightweight and go from there, just like with lifting weights. You know you want to make sure that your joints are ready for that, so start lower. For me personally, even with everything that I was reading, I just don't know if I would want to use that, and I think probably it's because in the past I've had a lot of hip pain. Thankfully that's not a huge issue anymore. I still have some back pain, so you know, I would hate to just make that worse and it just feels to me like that is exactly what would happen.

Speaker 1: 5:32

But I would love to hear from you. If you are someone that you absolutely love your weighted vest, I want to know, like, what do you love about it? Have you noticed if your spine feels more compressed? Or maybe it's just the opposite. Maybe when you take it off you're like, oh my gosh, I feel so much taller. I just feel like over time, if you did that every day or for too long, that could just have a negative effect.

Speaker 1: 5:59

But I would love, love, love to hear from you. You guys have my mobile or my text line 913-392-2877. Or you can always email me at info at spandexandwinecom. I would love to hear what you have to say If you think it's a great tool, or if you think it's something that causes pain, or if you've had an injury from it. Let me know, because I would be very interested in that it. Let me know because I would be very interested in that and I might do a little follow up on, you know, a couple weeks on, what you guys have to say. So please give me some content, message me, let me know what you're thinking. All right, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. I hope that you are happy and healthy in this moment and you carry that forward, pour something in your glass that makes you happy, and I will see you next time.