The humble walk has gained a trendy new accessory: the weighted vest. Historically used by CrossFitters and soldiers-in-training, these devices strap right on to your chest to add—you guessed it—extra weight. And recently, everyone from JoJo Siwa to everyday fitfluencers seems to be talking about how using a weighted vest for walking can max out the benefits of your daily steps
But does slipping a few extra pounds onto your torso really make your walks all that much better? Well, this is one TikTok trend that fitness experts say is pretty damn safe—and comes with some legit benefits.
A weighted vest can crank up the intensity of your walk, fire up different muscles, and boost balance and posture.
Walking with a weighted vest is much like wearing a rucksack (a weighted backpack), except that a vest more evenly distributes the weight between your chest and back, rather than putting it all behind you. Either way, you’ll elevate your morning constitutional in a few ways. “It’s upping the intensity of your walking game,” exercise physiologist Rachelle Reed, PhD, tells SELF. She explains that walking with a weighted vest could help to improve your aerobic fitness by increasing the challenge for your heart and lungs while also strengthening your muscles and bones more than your typical low-key stroll would.
In fact, one small 2006 study found that the bone health benefits of walking with a weighted vest were similar to what you could get out of jogging (at least when the vest was as heavy as 20% of your body weight). Another earlier study that followed older women for five years found that those who regularly wore weighted vests (and also did jumping exercises separately) maintained their bone density in their hips, while those who didn’t experienced a decrease over time.
Schlepping around that extra weight puts more load on all the normal muscles that help you walk, like your glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and core. And thanks to the vest’s positioning, your shoulders and traps will also work extra too—so when you first start using one, those muscles might actually feel a little sore to the touch, Dr. Reed says.
This challenge to your core can have some added perks for your posture. “It’s going to force you to use better form for you to carry that load over time,” Dr. Reed points out, since those postural muscles have to fire up to hold the extra weight without letting you tip over. Steve Stonehouse, NASM-CPT, director of training and experience for Body Fit Training, tells SELF that after getting his body used to supporting that extra weight, his posture automatically improves after he takes it off.
