weighted training clothing?

[sasquatchnaruto]

is it a good idea, do you do it? if you like the idea where did you get yours?

I have been toying with the idea for a while and just wanted everyone elses opinion

 

[jkn75]

I use weighted training gear. It will depend on what your price range is because you can find a weight vest for $100-$150 and up or something more specialized like Pro Power Gear.

Pro power gear is nice because with the 10 lb vest you can still do rolls and falls because the weights are soft. Good luck.

 

[Thesemindz]

I've been considering this for some time, are the benefits noticable or negligible? Is there a marked increase in speed and strength? What about body development?

-Rob

 

[Drac]

is it a good idea, do you do it? if you like the idea where did you get yours.

Check out the classified section in the back of Black Belt magazine..They are forever advertising a weighted vest...

 

[jkn75]

When you take the gear off, you definitely feel faster. My legs got a lot stronger because I did a lot of form work. It definitely made life easier when testing time rolled around.

The traditional weight vest can be hard on your lower back. Depending on the vest (40-50 lbs) start with half the weight for a couple of weeks and then increase the weight every two weeks until you hit the max weight of the vest.

The Pro Power gear has the weight more evenly distributed but only goes up to 30 lbs. You can add a traditional vest with 10 lbs, it's a lot easier on your back.

 

[loki09789]

Your tricking your nervous system to over stymulate. There are neural benefits because you can consciously access that higher level of neural response after regular use of this type of overloading.

I would say that either adding the weighted stuff for 25 to 50% of a regular work out only maybe 2 days a week max with resting days in between would be the way to do it without risking injury. If you try to do it everyday/everywork out for the whole thing, your going to risk repetitive stress injuries and fatigue (which increases the degrade of form and technique) induced mistakes/injuries.

A simple and economical way to do this is to simply get a backpack (properly worn) and load it with your stuff (books, keys....) and carry that around during the regular day. Even doing some low to no impact calesthenics (push ups, lunges, squats, pull ups, dips.....) shifting the pack from in front to on the back as needed would be fine (with reasonable load). The wt. is kept close to the core of the body, so it is less likely to cause injury in the nature of a 'tennis elbow' way that ankle/wrist wts can do to users.

As mentioned before, lower back compression from the load can cause problems. make sure that you are recovering AND doing excercises that will improve that abdominal/lower back strength to support the extra wt.

Don't over do it! Even if it 'feels fine' or 'doesn't feel like it is working' stay to the rest/work cycle. With the lower back, if your always 'feeling' it then your working it too hard and you will 'always feel it' because of the injury.