SPORT WALK

We’re often asked about the value of weighted training vests for Sport Walking and our response is always the same – it can have benefits but, equally, it all depends what you’re Sport Walking for and what other components you’re building into your routine.

Weighted vests, ‘tactical vests’, call them what you like, they’re now a feature of the fitness industry and for good reason. You can, supposedly, kill two birds with one stone – building fitness and strength at the same time. They’re also reputedly good for building bone density, so what’s not to like?

Well, as with all things, it all depends what your focus is on. In the context of Sport Walking specifically, if you’re Sport Walking predominantly for fitness then going down this route could work for you but it’s not just a simple way to turbo charge your workouts, there are additional factors to consider.

How will the additional weight affect your walking technique? How frequently should you wear one? What sort of weight should you be carrying and so on.

If your focus is more on challenge Sport Walking, then the strength work you do needs really to happen separately, so that you can give your full effort to your Sport Walking training when you’re out walking. So you see, it’s not simply a question of whether a weighted vest or a heavy backpack is good for Sport Walking, it’s all about the role it plays, how often it’s used and the amount of weight being carried.

What are the positive impacts of adding weight to your walks?

When you add weight to your walk, you’ll influence your workout in a number of ways:

• You may burn more calories, from the increased effort required as a result of carrying weight
• Your cardiovascular system will work harder because of the extra weight and so this can potentially lead to faster fitness gains compared to simply walking at the same pace without weight.
• As well as working your heart harder, you’re also, obviously, working your legs harder too, so this will bring leg strength benefits, although it should be said that this will be different to working your legs with weight training on a different day.
• Weight and resistance training is known to benefit bone density and so adding weight to your walking via a weighted vest or a weighted rucksack will help in this respect as well.

This all sounds pretty positive right? Well, yes! What’s important though is always to remember that everything you do, everything you add to the simple act of walking will, in some way, affect it and that’s what you really need to consider. You need to ask – how will the weight affect my walking?

You see, this is not about whether you should do strength work or not, whether you should use weights or not, it’s about whether adding weight when you walk is wholly positive from a Sport Walking perspective (this is not Crossfit).

The simple answer is that carrying a weighted vest or rucksack can be helpful in toning your muscles, in adding intensity, in building strength but for optimum Sport Walking benefits, it’s best to do this occasionally and in a very focused way.

The reason for this, is that adding weight will make it harder for you to maintain good form when you walk. It’ll also make it harder for you to hold a fast pace. So you’re gaining with one hand but losing with the other.

The pace you lose, is pace that is working your heart harder but this is compensated by the additional intensity from the weight. So in balance it’s probably an even result. The real issue is the impact weight has on your walking form.

It’s far harder to maintain a good pace and to hold good form when you’re carrying weight. Some weighted vests come in at 10-20kg, which will have a significant impact on your walking form. Lighter weights will have less impact but then with lighter weights, you may get fewer benefits.

So, as a regular key component of Sport Walking workouts for fitness or for challenge training, wearing a weighted vest or rucksack isn’t such a great idea but for occasional targeted sessions, where you want to add intensity, it can be a really valuable tool.

It’s better to add less weight, so it feels easier and you notice the impact of the weight less, than it is to add heavy weight and to be unable to walk strongly because of it. The real value of adding weight when you walk is in almost imperceptibly increasing the stress on your legs, the intensity you feel because you’ll feel able to maintain your normal work rate and maintain your good form. But, of course, because of the added weight, you’ll be adding intensity, adding stress to the legs in a manageable way. Lighter and faster is better than heavier and slower.

The most important thing is that you’re able to build rest and recovery into your schedule, so if you’re also doing weight training, which is a really valuable component for Sport Walking, you really don’t want to do too many weighted walk sessions. The extra load on your legs, if repeated too often, could be detrimental and lead to over training, which can really set you back.

So, perhaps, as with many things, the answer lies in moderation! Weighted walks can be a great tool but for Sport Walking, it’s best to use them in the same way you might use Fartlek or hill repeats. Use them tactically and not too often, so that you have more left for your other sessions.