Wearable weights benefits: Types and side effects

You may start your day with planks, lunges or squats to strengthen your body. But you can do more and gain more by exercising with wearable weights. Working out with wearable weights for the ankles, wrists and torso can be an effective way to increase your body strength. All you need to do is wrap your ankles or wrists with flexible straps that weigh a few pounds. For the torso, there are weighted vests with an adjustable weight. There are benefits of wearable weights, but you need to be careful to avoid injuries. You may also wonder if you should wear them throughout the day or only while working out. Let’s find out.

What are wearable weights?

Wearable weights are workout gear that can be worn on your body to add some weight in order to make workouts tougher. These can take the form of wrist weights, ankle weights, and weighted vests. “They are meant to add resistance to strength training, and can also be used while running, walking or doing different bodyweight exercises,” says physiotherapist and fitness expert Dr Aijaz Ashai.
Wearable weights increase muscle and calorie burn, but it is important to use them the right way to avoid hurting yourself. This method usually involves gradually increasing the load from lighter weights as your strength improves.

What are the benefits of wearing ankle weights?

Some of the benefits of ankle weights include –

• Extra-resistance: They are optional plate weights added to your legs, which makes walking, running or leg lifts more difficult.
• Strength training: You can use your ankle weights in strength training to help you build muscle in the legs and glutes by adding extra resistance into your workouts. A 2022 study published in the International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health showed that wearing ankle weights allowed older adults to strengthen their lower body.
• Enhanced endurance: Over time, your body will adjust to the additional load and benefit from improved cardiovascular fitness and overall endurance.
• Calorie burn: With added resistance, calorie burn can be further realised during a workout.

What are the benefits of wearing wrist weights?

Here are some of the benefits –

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• More resistance: That extra weight your arms support increases the challenge of walking, jogging or implementing any strength training moves.
• Increased muscle tone: During a 2016 study published in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, participants were made to wear wrist and ankle weights while doing daily activities for 20 minutes three times a week. The wearable weights helped to increase their amount of muscle.
• Tones arms: Wrist weights add resistance to the movements, and that can help to build muscle for toning your arms, shoulders, and upper body.
• More calories burned: An increased workload due to heavy gear can make your body burn more calories, which may assist in weight loss or help you maintain a lower weight.

What are the benefits of a weighted vest?

Here are some reasons why you should wear a weighted vest –

• Boosted resistance: The extra load does not strain your hands or ankles, but increases the difficulty of your exercises, turning movements such as walking, running, and bodyweight routines harder to execute.
• Real muscle strength training: Since a weighted vest means having extra load while moving, it can help to build and improve the upper body, core and leg strength.
• Weight loss: Working out with a waisted vest may help with weight loss. Weighted vest can be used safely by well-functioning older adults with obesity for weight loss, as per research published in the Journal of Frailty & Aging in 2019.
• Stronger abs: It can make your ab (core) muscles stronger.

What are the side effects of using wearable weights?

“While wearable weights can be useful for adding resistance during workouts, wearing them continuously might lead to discomfort, strain, or injury,” says Dr Ashai. It’s best to use them during specific training sessions rather than throughout the day. If you are considering wearable weights for daily wear, make sure to start slowly. Otherwise you may have the following problems –

• There can be higher stress on your joints that can arise due to excess weight bearing.
• Postural issues can be caused by wearing weights on just one side.
• Using them for long periods can cause general fatigue in such a way that proper form during activities becomes hard.
• The tugging or friction of the weights may cause irritation or rashes on your skin.
• You would be not able to move about freely while wearing weights.
  There can be an exaggerated increase in heart rate due to the weight given to the body.

Exercises you can do with wearable weights

You can do exercises of your choice, but just add wearable weights to your workout –

1. Walking lunges

“Use ankle weights 1 to 2 kg each for added resistance,” says the expert.

• Step forward, and lower your hips until both your knees are bent at 90 degrees.
• Then you alternate legs for 10 to 15 reps.

2. Weighted squats

• Use wrist weights (1 to 2 kg) or even a weighted vest (2 to 6 kg) and stand with shoulder width spaced feet.
• Stoop down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, and then return to standing for 10 to 15 reps.

3. Deadlifts

• Wearing a weighted vest (4 to 9 kg), stand with your mid-foot under the barbell.
• Bend and get hold of the bar with a shoulder-width grip.
• Bend your knees, lift your chest up and straighten your lower back.
• Stand up with the barbell, lower your torso down, stand up then do 10 to 12 reps.

4. Plank with arm raises

• Building some stability, use wrist weights (1 kg) and lie in a plank position.
• Alternate lifting of each arm and hold briefly for 6 to 10 repetitions on each arm.

Wearable weights are portable and can easily be incorporated into your daily workout routine. But don’t add a lot of weight, and avoid wearing them throughout the day.