Weighted vests are having a second. They’re touted as a easy technique to increase strength, construct bone, and make on a regular basis motion extra “efficient.” “Ought to I put on a weighted vest whereas I stroll?” is likely one of the commonest questions I hear in my position as an osteoporosis energy coach.
Weighted vests have develop into a preferred “hack” within the wellness world, typically promoted as a simple technique to construct bone density, energy, or endurance. A number of the voices most loudly touting their advantages are additionally benefitting indirectly from their sale — so it’s necessary to separate advertising claims from research-backed actuality.
Once I began digging into the science, I needed to know what the proof truly says. Do weighted vests stay as much as the hype, or are they simply one other shiny device within the wellness toolbox?
How Did We Get Right here? Why Weighted Vests Turned So Common
As with most health traits, a number of high-profile influencers began touting them for every little thing from bone-building to weight reduction and — bam! — they have been immediately in every single place. Check out a vest promoter’s social media feed and also you’ll seemingly see a number of research cited as “proof” that weighted vests are research-backed.
These people declare what they’re saying is evidence-based, after which checklist a number of research. As a result of these research embrace the phrases “weighted vest(s),” you’re taking them at their phrase. In any case, they’re “consultants,” and also you assume they’ve truly learn the analysis they’re citing. Sadly, simply because a examine used weighted vests doesn’t imply the analysis helps the influencer’s claims.
There additionally appears to be a reasonably predictable checklist of references that get recycled. It makes you marvel in the event that they’re all copying the identical citations.
What Does the Analysis on Weighted Vests Truly Say?
Listed below are a number of of essentially the most generally cited research — and what they really inform us about weighted vests.
Lengthy-term Train Utilizing Weighted Vests Prevents Hip Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Girls (Snow, 2000)
Who: 18 postmenopausal ladies (9 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 5-year examine, 32 weeks per yr, 3 occasions per week
What: Contributors wore a weighted vest throughout a 60-minute class together with strolling or gentle stretching, 35 minutes of lower-body resistance and impression coaching (stepping, squats, lunges, toe raises, leaping), and a settle down.
Outcomes: Exercisers prevented hip bone loss; controls misplaced bone.
TL;DR: This examine — an extension of a 9-month trial (Shaw, 1998) — included extra leaping. Strolling was solely used within the heat up and funky down. The vest was worn throughout resistance coaching, not throughout impression work. Due to the combined protocol and small pattern dimension, we will’t draw conclusions about carrying a weighted vest whereas strolling. The intervention prevented bone loss however didn’t construct bone.
Results of Train Coaching with Weighted Vests on Bone Turnover and Isokinetic Power in Postmenopausal Girls (Klentrou, 2007)
Who: 16 postmenopausal ladies (7 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 12 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: The train group did a 65 minute class. This included a heat up, 20 minutes of strolling with the weighted vest, quarter-hour of decrease physique strengthening with the weighted vest (squats, lunges, leg lifts, calf raises), 5 minutes of again and core train, quarter-hour of stability workouts, and a settle down.
Outcomes: The train group gained energy and improved physique composition. There have been no vital modifications in bone turnover markers.
TL;DR: Contributors did stroll with a weighted vest, however in addition they did resistance coaching whereas carrying it. Due to the combined protocol, it’s inconceivable to attract conclusions about strolling with a weighted vest alone. Regardless, this intervention didn’t construct bone.
Results of train on bone density, stability, and self-efficacy in older ladies
(Jessup, 2003)
Who: 18 postmenopausal ladies (9 management, 9 intervention)
How lengthy: 32 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: Train contributors took 60- to 90-minute courses that included a heat up, machine-based resistance coaching, 30-45 minutes of strolling and stair climbing, stability workouts, and a settle down. The examine additionally included calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
Outcomes: There have been statistically vital will increase in bone density on the femoral neck and lumbar backbone within the train group. Non-exercisers misplaced bone.
TL;DR: Weighted vests have been used throughout strolling and stair climbing — however the protocol additionally included resistance coaching and supplementation. The enhancements can’t be attributed to weighted-vest strolling alone.
A comparability between the consequences of the strolling train with and with out weighted vests on bone resorption and health-related bodily health within the working ladies
(Tantiwiboonchai, 2011)
Who: 48 ladies aged 30–60 (24 weighted vest, 24 no vest)
How lengthy: 12 weeks, 3 occasions per week
What: Each teams walked on a treadmill for half-hour at a time. The burden vest load progressively progressed from 2% to eight% of the participant’s physique weight.
Outcomes: Each teams decreased bone-loss markers and gained leg energy. No variations between teams.
TL;DR: This was the one direct comparability of strolling with versus with out a weighted vest — and the vest provided no further profit.
What About Weighted Vests for Stopping Muscle and Bone Loss throughout Weight Loss?
Some research had contributors put on weighted vests for 8–10 hours per day throughout dietary weight reduction. Even with that excessive protocol, weighted vests didn’t stop muscle or bone loss (Normandin, 2018; Beavers, 2025). Many contributors additionally reported again ache — not stunning given the lengthy put on time.
So, What Are Weighted Vests Good For?
In any case that, you could be questioning whether or not there’s any purpose to put on one in any respect.
Whereas weighted vests aren’t the bone-building magic some declare, the analysis does counsel they are often useful in particular contexts:
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Stability and stability: In a 9-month examine of postmenopausal ladies, those that carried out lower-body energy and energy workouts whereas carrying a weighted vest improved stability and decreased fall threat (Shaw & Snow, 1998).
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Practical mobility: An 8-week trial discovered that including a ten% body-weight vest to a practical stability and energy program improved single-leg stance and mobility in older adults (Tune, 2022).
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Mountain climbing and backpack coaching: Adjustable vests assist your physique progressively adapt to heavier hundreds.
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Grip or wrist limitations: For anybody who can’t safely maintain dumbbells, a vest can add load with out straining the arms or wrists.
Like every health device, context is every little thing.
Key Takeaways
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There’s no proof that strolling with a weighted vest builds bone.
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Most research examine an train group to a non-exercise group — and train will at all times outperform doing nothing.
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Lowering bone loss will not be the identical as constructing bone. The one modalities persistently proven to construct bone are progressive resistance training and impact training.
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The one direct comparability of strolling with vs. with no weighted vest discovered no distinction in bone-health markers.
Weighted vests can completely have their place — particularly for hikers coaching for elevation achieve or for individuals with grip limitations that make conventional lifting tough. They could additionally improve sure stability or stability workouts. However like most wellness traits, a number of the loudest promoters additionally revenue from their sale, and plenty of of their claims merely aren’t supported by analysis.
That doesn’t imply a weighted vest has no worth; it simply means its advantages are sometimes overstated. The bottom line is understanding what the proof truly exhibits — and utilizing that to information your selections. —Karin
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