Weighted vests, or weight exercise vests, are weight training implements that you can use during strength training to build strength and power. Although not found in many commercial fitness gyms, they are commonly available in athletic weight training rooms and for you to purchase for home use. They can vary in price, but typically cost about $50 to $100.
Weighted Vests
Weighted vests are vests are pieces of strength training equipment that you pull over your head and strap around your waist. According to Power Systems, they are meant to be worn while you're completing strength and power exercises. Weights can be added and taken off the vest to alter the amount of resistance the equipment provides.
Uses
To build strength and power, exercises must be completed with enough resistance to overload your muscle groups, according to Georgia State University's Department of Kinesiology and Health. Weighted vests are similar to barbells or dumbbells in that they add to the resistance of an exercise. Perform Better states that they're used for various sports training, general physical fitness and rehabilitation. For example, firefighters use them to build strength and endurance climbing stairs.
Exercises
Common exercises that can be completed with a weighted vest include push-ups, pull-ups, box jumps, step-ups, calf raises, squats, dips and for short sprint intervals. You can also use weighted vested while jogging, jumping rope and running up stairs. Those who have ankle, knee or hip joints may want to avoid high impact activities with a weighted vest, as wearing them during high impact activities can damage joint structures.
Benefits
With the weighted vest secured tightly around your torso, the added weight of the vest adds to your overall total body weight, which your muscle groups must account for. According to Perform Better, the main benefit of a weighted vest is that it provides added resistance needed to overload your muscles without adversely affecting your mechanics and posture. Completing movements while holding weights, such dumbbells or medicine balls, in your hands, can potentially alter your balance and the way that your body is being pulled. A 2004 Occupational Therapy journal review article from Dr. Laurette Olson discussed the utilization of weighted vests for therapy purposes. Because weighted vests increase the amount of resistance into your spine and hips, they are specifically used by physical therapists to prevent bone density loss in clients.
Key to Effectiveness
As when using any weighted implement, the weighted vest must provide an adequate amount of resistance in order to cause muscle development. Wearing a weighted vest that doesn't have enough weight attached to it won't provide enough of a stimulus for muscle strength or power. An overly heavy vest may adversely affect your exercise technique. Georgia State University's Department of Kinesiology and Health stresses the importance of weight being at the appropriate intensity, so for the weighted vest to provide an adequate stimulus to create muscle overload, adjust the weight with each exercise so that you're completing the desired number of repetitions.
Considerations
Before using a weighted vest to increase intensity, first practice exercises using only your body weight. Completing movements with added resistance before you have build up adequate strength and mastered the correct coordination of each movement can be dangerous.
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