How to choose the right training vest - weight vest?
The weight vest allows us to improve our training results and strengthen our condition.
With a vest, you can make much more efficient use of your training time no matter what sport you do.
Weighted vest allows us to improve our performance and strengthen our condition. Thanks to such a vest, first of all, we can use our training time much more efficiently, regardless of what sport we do.
✅ Advantages of training in a weight vest
Weighted vest is used by both professional athletes and amateurs who want to get the maximum benefit from their training. Improves body performance in almost any sport ? in running, team sports, climbing and combat sports.
Vests are also often used by people who want to lose weight. Even a simple walk with a load will burn more calories than walking without a load.
The main purpose of training with a weighted vest is to increase the load on the muscles when performing typical movements - muscles adopting to greater resistance and fatigue become stronger and more durable. It allows us to reduce our training time and overcome our natural strength and endurance barriers.
Some sports and even exercises require extra load to ensure continuous training progress or to overcome training stagnation.
People who regularly train in the vests notice significant improvements in strength, endurance and dynamics after just a few weeks of training.
✅Opinions on weight vests
You can find different opinions on the use of weight vests, some can't imagine an efficient workout without their use while others believe that their use is dangerous for the joints. Do they actually harm? Absolutely not.
Proper use of weight vests is completely safe for joints and health.
However, it should be remembered that the vest, just like any other load, must be adapted to the exercise performed and the current fitness preparation.
A common mistake made by beginners in weight training is to use too much load which can lead to injury.
Below are the suggested loads depending on the application and level of proficiency.
See our full range of weight vests >>
✅ What to look for when choosing a vest?
The weight vest should have a proper cut and be adjustable in length and weight.
The weight must adhere to the body, and the outfit must not restrict movement.
The traditional way to adjust the vest to the body is to use Velcro straps. Thanks to them, it will not bump against the body and will stay in place even when we perform dynamic exercises.
The material of the vest should be sweat-resistant and not irritate the skin.
✅What and how the weight vest should be filled with?
An insert system is used to adjust the weight of the vest. For the sake of convenience, the weight should be divided into more weights so that the total weight of the instrument can be easily and quickly adjusted to the current need.
The greater the number of load inserts, the more precisely we will be able to regulate its weight.
There are 2 types of fillers found in weight vests.
- Loose load in the form of steel balls
- The advantage of this type of filling is its flexibility. Inserts filled with steel balls are slightly softer than steel castings so that (especially with smaller weight options) they adapt better to the shape of the body. This may be relevant for exercises performed on the ground (such as crawling).
- The disadvantage of this solution is that for larger weight options (e.g. in vests from 30 to 40 kg) the weight of a single insert is about 2.5 - 3 kg so each insertion or removal of a single insert will change the total weight of the vest by such a weight.
- Load in the form of iron castings
The advantage of this type of load in training vests is greater precision in adjusting the weight.
Each insert is about 1 kg so you can adjust the load on the vest in 1 kg increments.
This high precision of weight adjustment can be important in specialized exercises or when you want to gently increase the training load. Cast iron is also more resistant to possible damage which can be important for certain types of activities during which the vest will be exposed to impacts.
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