What’s All the Hype About Weighted Vests?
You’ve probably been seeing people wearing what looks like tactical gear during workouts, rucks, or even walks around the park.
Overhyped or Legit?
Spoilers…The weighted vest has exploded in popularity for good reason.
This isn’t just another fitness gimmick.
Whether you’re a busy professional trying to squeeze in an efficient workout, or someone looking to future-proof your health, the weighted vest can unlock a whole new dimension of training. In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness (2024) found significant benefits across muscle strength, cardiovascular health, fat loss, and even bone density in those who trained with a weighted vest.
What Is a Weighted Vest, and Why Is It So Powerful?
The Weighted Vest distribute extra resistance across your torso, forcing your body to work harder with every movement. Whether it’s walking, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, or stair climbing, adding a weighted vest turns up the intensity.
Unlike traditional gym equipment, a vest is hands-free, mobile, and extremely versatile. You can use it doing anything from basic daily activities to performing more complex Calisthenics movements.
But check this out... It’s not just about intensity. The added resistance from a vest causes unique physiological responses that traditional bodyweight or light resistance training might not offer.
Below are five powerful, research-backed benefits of using a weighted vest.
- Increase in muscle mass
- Better heart health
- Fat loss
- Increased bone density
- Build functional strength
Let’s break it down.
Increase in muscle mass
If you go to the gym often, it may seem obvious that lifting extra weights will help with hypertrophy and overall muscle strengthening. However, for a lot of people who prefer to brisk walk, and perform bodyweight exercises, it is much harder to gain muscle after a certain level.
Sure you can opt to spam reps and instead of doing 30 Push Ups, you aim to do 40. That’s volume. Which is critical for hypertrophy as well. But the muscle gain from performing these much more reps might start to seem not worth it.
It is more effective to perform 8-12 reps of weighted Push Ups at a higher intensity per rep for muscle gain. Putting on a Weighted Vest when you perform bodyweight or Calisthenics exercises intensifies every rep, stimulating muscle growth.
This study shows that using a weighted vest will result in significantly higher muscle gain than when you only train with your bodyweight.
There are many reasons as to why one should build muscle, especially as we age. You can find it in this article here.
Improved Heart Health
Cardio is important. Yep, it sucks and its tiring, but you need it… Well at least a little bit of it. But I’m going to tell you how it can suck less in a while.
Hearth health is essential for longevity. Heart diseases is the leading cause of deaths in the world.
I’m about to scare you with this FACT: About 34 people die from heart related illness every minute in the world.
These numbers, the medical bills, suffering, can all be reduced with exercise. And using the weighted vest makes it much more effective for cardiovascular training.
The research shows that walking with a weighted vest increases cardiovascular load and oxygen consumption. In the study, participants saw significant improvements in VO2 max (a marker of aerobic fitness), as well as blood pressure control.
How it helps your heart:
- Elevates heart rate even at low intensity exercises (like walking or hiking)
- Burns more calories in the same amount of time
Like I mentioned before, cardio doesn’t have to suck so much.
Busy professionals who don’t have time for hour-long cardio sessions can now get heart benefits in shorter bursts of effort, simply by wearing the vest during daily activities.
Adding a weighted vest to your movements adds that cardiovascular component, or if not, intensifies it to give you a bigger kick. Fundamentally, you are not changing your workout neither do you have to consciously think about exerting more effort. Your body just subconsciously adapts by using more effort.
Accelerate Fat loss
When it comes to fat loss, let’s not overcomplicate things.
Calories Out > Calories In = Fat loss
And vice-versa for fat gain.
So how to we maximize our ‘Calories Out’?
Let’s use this formula: Intensity per rep X Number of reps = Calories out
So we can either do more of the same exercise, which will take more time, OR we can train smarter and increase the intensity of our workout.
Adding a weighted vest to your workouts (or even your walk to get coffee) increases the intensity per rep. Meaning for the same distance your walk, you are actually burning more calories.
Furthermore, the additional load forces your muscles to work harder, boosts your metabolism post-workout, and increases EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), often called the "afterburn effect."
Meaning, you burn more calories even when your are not working out.
If you’re looking to shed fat without more time spent exercising, the weighted vest is your shortcut.
Increase Bone Density
One of the most underrated benefits of wearing a weighted vest is its ability to improve bone mineral density, especially in older populations and post-menopausal women.
Why this is important:
Bone related diseases such as osteoporosis, can lower your overall quality of life. It increases your risk of fracture and causes persistent pains in your body. This unnecessarily racks up medical bills and causes a lot of distress.
The study highlighted the positive osteogenic effects of wearing a vest during walking and light aerobic exercises. This makes it a non-invasive and drug-free solution to prevent osteoporosis.
Who benefits most:
- Women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond
- Older adults looking to remain strong and mobile
- Anyone recovering from injury and trying to rebuild skeletal strength
Think of it as strength training for your skeleton, without needing to pick up a single dumbbell. You can reap a tonne of benefits for your joints and bones just by walking with a weighted vest.
Build Real-World, Functional Strength
While machines isolate muscles, weighted calisthenics with a vest builds strength you can actually use.
You’re not just working individual muscles, you’re training your body as a whole unit. Calisthenics exercises are full of compound movements that translate to your all sports. The balance, stability, and coordination developed while training with a vest are applicable to daily life.
It trains your body to:
- Move better under load
- Improve posture and core control
- Develop power, agility, and joint stability
Whether you're carrying groceries, climbing stairs, or chasing your kids at the park, this is strength that shows up in your everyday life. I have a Calisthenics student who is a mom and has no problem lifting her kids up to her shoulders to entertain them. What better reason to train Calisthenics?
Who Should Use a Weighted Vest?
Weighted vests aren’t just for elite athletes. In fact, they are way more beneficial for regular people who want efficient workouts with maximum results.
Perfect for:
- Busy professionals who want to save time
- Home fitness enthusiasts
- Busy parents who want need to stay home
- Runners and hikers
- Older adults looking for safer strength training
Who should be cautious?
- People with back or joint injuries (consult a physio)
- Beginners (start light and build up)
How to Start Training with a Weighted Vest
1. Start Light Begin with 5-10% of your bodyweight and progress gradually.
2. Use It in Daily Tasks Wear it during walks, chores, or climbing stairs.
3. Add It to Bodyweight Exercises Progressive overload works even in calisthenics. Use the vest for push-ups, squats, lunges, dips, and pull-ups.
Psst… I have a free Weighted Calisthenics workout program in under 45 mins that many have benefited from. I’ll leave a link here.
4. Prioritize Form Focus on maintaining good form before increasing weight.
5. Make It Routine Consistency beats intensity. 15-20 mins/day with a vest is better than 1 intense session per week.
Why Calichimps Is Your Best Starting Point
At Calichimps, we design high-performance weighted vests made for real-world training. Whether you're working out at home, outdoors, or squeezing in 10 minutes between meetings, our gear is made to move with you.
We believe in minimalist equipment, maximal results.
Our weighted vest:
- Distributes weight evenly
- Non-restrictive design for mobility
- Anti-chafe, breathable materials
- Adjustable weight for progression
- Premium quality and highly durable
Final Thoughts: Why the Weighted Vest Is Worth It
From better strength and heart health to improved fat loss and bone density, training with a weighted vest is one of the most efficient, science-backed upgrades you can make to your fitness.
It's small. It's portable. It's powerful.
Whether you're short on time or looking for a game-changer, this one piece of gear could revolutionize your entire fitness approach.
Ready to elevate your training? 👉 [Get Your Calichimps Weighted Vest Now] — Limited stock available.
Sources:
- Lee, E.J. et al. (2024). The effects of weighted vest training: A systematic review. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X24000662