You’ve probably seen them; those people running with a weighted vest as they seem to zip right past you. Or, perhaps you’ve noticed those grunting dudes at the gym with large vests on them. It might seem like an extreme measure for professional athletes, but they can work wonders for amateur as well.
While they aren’t the coolest looking piece of workout gear that ever existed, they do provide people with more benefits than you may have realized.
If you’re considering taking a leap into higher fitness levels, you should first understand what benefits you can expect from using one. The following are just a few of the ways that you can actually improve your efforts while playing sports, working out, or lifting weights.
Main Benefits
It’s Highly Beneficial For Improving Your Metabolism
Because using a weighted vest can help you to burn more calories through even the simplest form of exercise, it’s highly beneficial for people who are hoping to lose weight from working out. When you use it in exercises that require explosive movements or cardio, it can help you to break out that sweat and burn the fat that you’ve been hoping to burn.
It’s Great For Building Endurance
If you’re an athlete who is training for a marathon or triathlon, using such a vest during your training sessions is highly beneficial for helping you to build up the stamina that you need for your race. Because your body will get used to running with the weighted vest, when it’s time to run without it, you’re going to discover how light you feel and how easy it is to keep on going. Building up endurance can even be beneficial for training for your sport, whether it’s soccer, football, or basketball. Stamina in any kind of activity is always a good idea.
Increase Your Overall Strength
You don’t even need to have big goals to be able to wear a weighted vest. Maybe your end goal is simply to become stronger in your everyday life. In this case, you can use your vest to run errands. If you just want to walk around with the vest on, you can actually be reaping the benefits of building up strength, without even noticing it.
If You’re Looking To Tone Your Body
A vest can be helpful to wear when you’re starting to do strength training. Whether you’re hoping to lift weights or simply use your own body weight for strength training, a weighted vest can be beneficial. If you don’t want to lift weights but you want to get quick results from squats, pushups, burpees, etc., a vest can help you to see toned muscles faster. This is especially beneficial for people who don’t like to lift weights but who want to get better legs, booty, and body overall. If you do want to lift weights, a weighted vest can enhance your efforts and help you to see a difference even sooner than you would by simply lifting weights. It will also make it easier to lift more weight when you stop using the vest.
It Can Help You To Improve Your Skill In Your Sport
If you play a sport that requires agility and strength, using a vest can help you to get better. It forces you to do your transitions with purpose and pay attention to your body’s movements. Whether you’re hoping to get better at jumps in basketball or transition quicker in soccer, practicing with a weighted vest can be very beneficial for the athlete who hopes to improve their skill and become better at heir game.
Tips on Using a Vest
Before you rush out to buy the first vest you see, make sure to consider some things. You’re going to want to make sure to find one that fits you well. A vest that bounces all over the place is not comfortable and one that fits too snugly is not safe for you.
You also want to consider how much weight can be used and whether you can increase the weights used in the vest. In some cases, your sport or activity will require you to build up to more weight, so consider this before buying a vest.
Conclusion
Are you ready to improve your game or efforts in your workout? If you want to see a difference in your stamina or endurance, as well as skill and agility, a weighted vest may be all that you need. The benefits to using one are multiple, but just make sure that you are able to use one safely.
Find one that fits well and if you can, look for an option that has been designed for what you need it for. If you happen to have any health issues, speak to your doctor about whether it’s safe for you to use one. Happy exercising!
