March 2024

Can Weight Vests Answer All Your Fitness Needs?

Weight vests (WV) getting some media attention. These are either fixed or adjustable velcro-fitted vests that presumably enhance one or more elements of fitness and wellness training. A deep-dive into the science of WV reveals some benefits worth considering.

For example, a study in Rheumatology International (Feb. 2013) compared 2 groups of postmenopausal women doing 30 min/day, 3 d/wk of treadmill walking with or without a WV (4-8% bodyweight). They found, after 6 weeks, that a partial tandem stance balance test improved among WV-wearers but not among the controls. They also had more fat decrease and muscle-mass increases than the controls. Both groups got similar bone synthesis and bone resorption effects.

A Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy (Feb. 2015) study found that a 6-month weight-bearing cardio program while wearing a WV for women with low bone mineral density(BMD) – osteopenia or osteoporosis – was feasible, with good adherence and low dropout rates. And it improved quadriceps strength and bone density at the femoral trochanter, where breaks tend to occur. Even dynamic balance improved.

Finally, a 32-week, thrice weekly/year jumping program done over a 5-year period while wearing a WV enhanced bone density at the hips more than those in the control group who didn’t wear a WV. Again, there was good adherence with no injuries. BMD increased at the femoral neck, hip trochanter, and total hip due to the intervention while the controls lost bone density at all sites. (Journals of Gerontology: Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, Sept. 2000)

So it might be time to IN-vest….

Balance Training Timing: Pre- or Post-Fatigue?

In the strength and conditioning world, there are many arguments as to when to implement specialized training such as balance. This is a topic we’ve covered here, here, and here, so it’s worth keeping an eye on our site for updates to this critical piece of fitness. Some contend that it’s best to train according to when one is most apt to hurt oneself while being active, that is, after one is somewhat fatigued. Others posit that it’s best to train the neuromuscular system, of which balance is a part, while it is fresh and unimpeded by metabolic and psychologic stressors that exercise fatigue brings. The research on this is scant but a Swiss study attempted to resolve the matter by having 3 groups of healthy, active participants train 2/wk on various balance devices – cushioned pads, air-filled disks, etc. – in various states of inputs – both eyes open, multi-tasked (tossing a ball), or eyes closed (obviously not playing catch with a ball!)

One group served as the controls and just did balance training (BT); another did BT followed by high-intensity training (BT+HIT) while another did HIT first followed by BT (HIT+BT). The hypothesis was that HIT+BT would adapt by improving balance while fatigued and that the BT and the BT+HIT groups would improve balance in a rested state but not in a fatigued state.

Sometimes science does not prove the obvious. In this case, the BT and BT+HIT groups fared well in the rested states, as expected, but the HIT+BT group did not fare as well in either state: “balance training under fatigue results in diminished improvements in postural sway compared with balance training in an unfatigued state, both when tested in the unfatigued and in fatigued states.” So do balance drills safely, rested, most of the time.                      

JSCR Feb. 2024

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