A weight vest is a vest, similar to a bullet-proof vest in appearance, that wraps the entire torso and is filled with weights. It is meant to allow some flexibility while still providing resistance and, most importantly, more weight to carry in a workout, which makes the workout more strenuous.
Overall Benefits
1. In almost any workout, a weight vest will increase the intensity of the workout. The Vest creates the effect of mass evenly distributed over the body’s core to create resistance. By adding weight to the core, you can engage in any movement with the additional resistance of the weights. This is body weight training at its best. Use the vest for sports performance training, tactical training for fire, police, and military, general fitness, and overall health, weight loss, and prevention of osteoporosis.
Benefits to Osteoporosis
2. It has been shown in clinical trials that the use of a weight vest can positively impact people with osteoporosis. Because the weight vest increases the intensity of a workout, people suffering from or prone to osteoporosis can do a very low intensity workout with the vest and get more benefit to bone density .
Long Term Benefits
3. Because most weight vests have removable weights, people can increase the intensity of their workout as their strength improves simply by adding more weight. This is beneficial because it does not necessitate the learning of newer, more complex workouts to increase intensity.
Uses of a Weight Vest
4. Because of how little a weight vest restricts movement, it can be applied to most exercises. It has been shown to increase the intensity of cardiovascular, aerobic, anaerobic, and core exercises, as well as many more. It is also beneficial simply to wear the vest when walking or otherwise not working out, because you will burn more calories with it on.
Safety
5. Weight vests have never been shown to be dangerous in any way as long as they are used correctly. Because of their shape, the weight put in the vest is supported by the entire skeleton of the user’s torso, which eliminates dangers caused by an imbalance of weighting or other harmful stresses to the user’s bones.
Fitness Town is a supplier of 5 top-brands of weighted vests: Hyper Wear, TKO, Go Fit, 360 Athletics and All Pro. It’s nice to have choices, isn’t it?
I wear a weighted vest (The Walkvest-16#) during my power walks and exercise program. I can definitely feel the exertion difference and I know I am burning extra calories and adding to my workout. And because I am a small woman, the extra weighted workload helps me build bone density to avoid osteoporosis.