Is running with a weighted vest effective in improving your physical activity? You've been training for a while, but want to take your workouts up a notch. You might want to lose weight faster. Or become stronger, more enduring.
There's a simple way to take your workout from average to highly effective: the weight vest. What should you know about running with a weighted vest? You must understand the main advantages as well as the rules to follow in order to use this type of accessory properly, in complete safety for your body and your health.
We are therefore going to present you with a model of weighted vest ideal for your training sessions, as well as all our advice for optimizing your sessions and your equipment!
What are the benefits of running with a weighted vest?
Increases strength and endurance
Whether weight training or cardio, the weight vest has many advantages. For starters, carrying extra weight during physical exercise requires more strength and oxygen, while expending your energy stores.
It works with any exercise: the more weight you use, the more muscles have to adapt to that load, which buildsstrength and muscular endurance. Running with a weighted vest allows all athletes to push their limits.
If you can run 5km with this load on your back, imagine the feeling of ease you will feel the next time you run 5km empty!
You step out of your comfort zone with the aim of becoming much more efficientand maximizing the energy use of your muscles.
Adjusts as you progress
CrossFitis based on functional movements, constantly varying and performed at high intensity. This is because human bodies eventually adapt to specific movements over a period of time, whether those movements are positive or negative. But if the human body adapts too much, it also ends up stagnating.
Running with a weighted vest allows you to perform variations for which our body is not prepared, and therefore prevent the growth of your muscle tissue from remaining at the dead weight.
This unconventional exercise method is an ideal way to progress over the long term, which is why it is regularly used in weight training and cardio programs. Discover for example here the benefits of skipping rope.
Cardiovascular Benefits
Running with a weighted vest also has many benefits for your cardiovascular system. Because of the extra resistance, he has to work harder to boost the action of your lungs and the oxygen supply to your muscles.
Your energy metabolism, which can be seen as the sum of all these factors, then becomes more efficient during exercise.
The additional load can improve various running performance: lower lactate threshold, improved running time to exhaustion, improved vertical speed when climbing stairs, etc.
Musculoskeletal benefits
In addition to making your muscles stronger, running with a weight vest during your workouts will increase the resistance of your bones
Indeed, this additional load can lead to an increase in bone mass by stimulating cells called osteoblasts: they are stimulated to deposit new bone material in response to the imposed loads to your skeleton.
To simplify, the bones become stronger and denser to support the additional weight imposed by the weighted vest.
What is the right equipment for running with a weighted vest?
Characteristics of the weighted vest
Running in a weighted vest is one thing. Running comfortably so you can focus on your performance is another. The weighted vest puts extra pressure on your body and skin.
Aware of this problem, Fitness Super-Humain offers the Military Weighted Vest 50KG™ Load. Designed in Oxfort fabric, it is a strong and comfortable vest that allows you to stay 100% focused in your training. It is equipped with a Velcro support system, and the size adapts to all morphologies.
The vest will therefore be able to follow you for many years, adapting to your physical transformations, with challenges such as losing belly fat in a month that you can find here. Resistant up to 50kg load with 12 pockets for loading weights, the seams are designed to stand the test of time and weight.
You can thus easily train your whole body and above all adapt the weights according to your needs, as you progress. You can happily exceed your limits with this weight training accessoryinherited from the American military.
To improve your running performance, you can combine your outings with full-body muscle strengthening sessions: abs, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc.
The rest of the equipment
You will understand: running with a weighted vest is very effective, but it also puts additional stress on your muscles and your skeleton. You should therefore wear sturdy running shoes, that hold your ankles well.
If you run indoors, outdoors or in the forest, also take running shoes with soles that are suitable for the running surface. Also favor models that cushion things and the impacts of running. Read more about it: Need insoles for running?
This type of physical exercise is quite hard on your joints, so it is a question of limiting the impact of this sport in the long term.
What are the tips for running with a weighted vest?
Suitable for running or bodybuilding
Running in a weighted vest isn't just for running. You can also take your weight vest with you to the gym, or use it on the elliptical if you prefer to train indoors.
If you wear a weight vest during a strengthening exercise, you are working against gravity at a higher intensity.Your muscles then have to work harder to compensate for this denser gravity
When it comes to cardio exercises with a weighted vest, wearing this type of accessory can help you burn more calories during a cardio workout . For example, some athletes wear their vests during boxing classes or on gym machines like stairs.
Frequency of use
When using a weighted vest for the first time, you should start with caution. If you're running every day right now, don't wear the weight vest every day too.
You can for examplerun with the weighted vestevery other day. Also, don't wear it for long periods of time: try to keep the vest on for periods of an hour to an hour and a half, no more.
Take the time to position the weighted vest correctly on your shoulders and back so that it doesn't chafe. You will also avoid potential injuries and muscle impacts in the event that the vest is incorrectly positioned. An article that may interest you: Weighted vest: How to gain muscle and strength?
If you're wondering if you're strong enough to handle the extra weight of the vest, try sitting or squatting. You should be able to do this, and feel that you would be able to support even more weight. If these simple movements are already difficult, you should lighten the load.
In the specific case of running
When you go for a run with a weight vest, make sure your lower limbs are strong and well supported. You need strong ankles, feet and knees to absorb the weight you will be carrying and to stabilize you as you learn to balance yourself with the vest.
If you are preparing for a running event, we recommend that you do not use the vest until two to three weeks before the event. Your body will need this time to recover.
Don't worry, it won't hurt your performance. If you're a long-time runner, you understand the ten percent rule: you shouldn't increase your mileage by more than 10% each week. We also invite you to read: How to lose weight faster in your cardio sessions?
The same applies to the vest. You should not increase your weight by more than 10% each week. So if you start with 10 kg, do not increase more than 1 kg each week.
In summary: Running with a weighted vest
Running with a weighted vest, especially if you favor versatile models like the Military Weighted Vest from Super-Human Fitness, can significantly improve your physical performance.
It's a great way to increase your strength while getting cardiovascular and musculoskeletal benefits. Combine this accessory with quality sports equipment to support your joints in the face of this additional load.
And best of all, whether you're using a weighted vest for strength training or cardio, running in a weighted vest will build and strengthen muscles throughout your entire body for smooth progression!
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