[Onscreen text:
The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center
Why use a weighted vest when exercising?]

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Chris Kolba:
Weighted vests have become really popular. A couple years back, I think rucking got real popular where you're basically just wearing a weighted type of vest or backpack and basically going for walks with it. 

[Onscreen text:
Chris Kolba, PhD, PT, CSCS
Physical Therapist
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Chris Kolba:
So I think it really is important and can be very beneficial in terms of just increasing heart rate, blood pressure, metabolic response, so you get that cardio effect. I think it's great for also stress relief. It's great for building some strength in the legs. So again, you have more impact from the weight of the vest on your body. So it can have some positive effect on bone loading, and I think it's a great way to increase a challenge if you've already been walking for a period of time and you kind of built up a certain amount of mileage and a certain amount of tolerance, and you want to kind of maybe add a new dimension to that walking.
So, sometimes with walking, again, or even with running, to get the desired effect or more of an effect, you have to walk longer, walk faster, run farther. Adding a weighted vest can stay at the same pace, maybe even decrease the distance initially and increase the effect of improving circulation, enhancing strength, improving possibly even weight loss effects. From that perspective, if you're using it to work out, maybe doing resistance training circuits, it's still going to have a metabolic effect, but it's going to be targeted a little bit more towards the muscles because you're actually putting more load on the body in addition to whatever you might be doing. So if you're doing lunges holding 5-pound dumbbells, you add the weighted vest well, you have to add that weight to the amount of work that the muscles are doing. Also, by having the weight on a weighted vest on your shoulders per se, or even on your back, it does tend to force you to have to stay a little bit more upright. So, one of the other benefits of rucking or wearing a weighted vest is that improved posture, and then that also improves the strength and endurance of those postural muscles to support you in the rest of your day.

[Onscreen text:
The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center

For more information, visit health.osu.edu]

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