Menopause Monday | Weighted Vests vs Walking with Weights

I used to offer a Walking with Weights class back in Portland. We met in Mt Tabor Park, my absolute favorite. We'd walk up and down hills while lifting 3-5 lb weights doing a variety of exercises. It was a great workout! 
​

Mt Tabor Park. Please note there are no fires nor is Portland "war ravaged" as the Liar in Chief spews. (Credit Ashley Anderson, Travel Portland)

Since weighted vests are trending these days, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on why I would opt for walking with weights (plus a small backpack), vs a weighted vest.

If you google "weighted vests"  you'll find lots of claims and promotions. I always take those with a grain of salt, since many of them are "tested and researched" by the manufacturers that make them. 🙄 These vests fit snuggly to your body. You can add varying amounts of weight to them, which increase the effort to your walk, and even your every day activities. Sounds good. Any little tweaks folks can add to their day that burns a few more calories, and adds a weighted load to your bones, the better. 

Vests are more expensive than hand weights. Women generally work up to wearing a 10-12 pound weighted vest. Vests can cost anywhere from $25 to $100+. You can buy a new pair of 5 lb hand weights (dumbbells) for around $15. Hit your favorite charity store, and you'll find them for a screaming deal. 

When I head out for my walk, the last thing I want is to look like is an ICE agent or authoritarian douche bag. Give me a pair of good ol' hand weights any day. I can reap the benefits of the added weight while I walk, plus I can actually workout my arms. Side note: they would probably make pretty good weapons in a dark alley. 😉

Ok, why the backpack? Another trend these days is ruck sacking, i.e. walking with weighted material stuffed into a back pack. I like to mix it up by walking with hand weights + putting them in a backpack, depending on a few things. When we take Kelso, our English Mastiff, to campus for a walk, I take my hand weights, wear a little knapsack on my back, so I can drop the weights in the bag when it's my turn to walk the Dude. This could be a good option if you wanted to walk to your favorite coffee shop, or ride your bike to your favorite trail head, etc. Holding the weights and carrying them on your back provide different challenges to your regular walk.

I personally love walking with weights. They get my heart rate up more than walking without them. They don't weigh nearly as much as what I may lift at the gym, so I can do lots of reps, doing a variety of different upper body exercises. In fact here are a few of the exercises I may do along the way:

• bicep curls
• bicep curls with external rotation 
• over head presses
• tricep kick backs
• lateral flies
• a reach and pull across the midline of they body
• lunges*
• side squats *
• traveling plies *
• calf raises *

* you could just hold your weights in your hands at your sides, or combine them with some of the listed upper body exercises. 

Now if you don't want to use hand weights for actual exercises, but do want added weight to your walk, then I'd suggest you use a vest. Just walking with weights in your hands, with your arms bent the entire time can shorten your bicep muscles over time. This can lead to shoulder, bicep, elbow and hand pain.
​ 
What about ankle weights? I do NOT recommend walking with ankle weights. Wearing ankle weights doesn't mimic any type of real life activity. It can stress your ankle, knee and hip joints. If you want to use them for pilates or a Jane Fonda-esque workout, be my guest. If you want to maintain muscle mass, you'd be better off ditching the ankle weights and doing leg presses, lunges and squats with weights.

Wrist weights are generally light weight. While you could walk with them, and they'd free up your hands for holding a coffee, I'd still recommend hand weights. The dumbbells will require some grip strength, which can decline as we age. 

If you don't want to wear a vest, a backpack or carry dumbbells, but still want to get some upper body strength exercises into your walk, you could take along a fitness band. You can target your upper body with these tubing exercise bands, though you may need to anchor it to a lamp post or tree, and stand on it to do so, I would not recommend running with a vest, backpack or hand weights, but you can easily drape an exercise band over your shoulders if  you wanted to do running intervals between resistance band exercises.

These tips apply to all ages and genders. Carrying extra weight in your hands, in a vest, or on your back will increase the cardiovascular challenge to your regular walk. You may find you need to rest a bit along your standard route when you add extra weight. Remember, for menopausal women, we aren't looking to do long duration high intensity exercise. If you opt to walk with added weight, do take a break along the way if you find you are really taxed. Taking breaks to drop your heart rate, then resume after a 2-3 minute break or slowing down your walk is better. The break could be an opportunity to do some breathing exercises, stretches or Somatics. 

I hope this inspires you to try something new! Let me know how it goes!