I walked w/ a weighted vest for 30 days – what to avoid

Have you ever tried rucking or weighted walking? Share your experiences with us! 🙏

I walk stairs wearing a backpack with weights in it. I'm up to 30 pounds. I'm almost 70 yrs old.

I wear a 45 pound weighted vest twice a week for three miles at a time. It has had profound effects on my posture and balance. I absolutely love it.

Being fat is wild because I’m basically wearing two of these 24/7

Wow. I tried this last night adding 10 lbs to my typical 40 min walk and just wow. It really works the whole core! Slept like a log too. Definitely adding this to my rotation.

I got into rucking last year after listening to The Comfort Crisis(great book), and stuck with it pretty consistently since! 30lbs is A LOT to start out with! I'm up to 35 lbs now but I started with 10. I listen to audiobooks while I do it and it's very easily my most favorite habit that I've built for myself. What I love about it is that it's cardio + weight lifting built into one but it never gets TOO intense. I love it. Goruck makes great equipment as well. Their bags are indestructible and have compartments for the weights so they sit higher up on your back. But if anyone is looking to get into it, just start with a normal backpack and some water bottles, add more each time you go out and you'll be shocked at how good you feel afterwards.

Walking works, don’t let anyone else convince you it doesn’t. Just make sure you get a electrolyte drink, anti chaffing cream, good pair of shoes and your favourite music/podcast/book. 1 hour a day split in 2 sessions is good and if you walk a lot at work then that’s even better. The stairs in your home is your best friend, take it slow now.

I wear a 60lb vest and go on 5 mile walks. sometimes I also carry 30lb kettle bells. So, an additional 120lb. I'm 6'2 and currently 265lb. I used to be 440. This is my favorite workout as it's mind numbingly simple. You just put one foot in front of the other. Once all the weight is off I feel like a king. Despite my size it makes me feel like I weigh absolutely nothing lol. I'm excited for the new year as I spent an absurd amount of money on an industrial grade treadmill and had my first walk this morning right after waking up, right at home. So weather will never get me down now. I tried the gym, and a dozen other fitness plans, just can't get into it. People think I am insane walking with so much extra weight. 5 miles a day. But for me it's the one thing I can do without hating it. I just shut my mind off and walk. Most people force themselves to do a job they don't wanna work. This is way easier lol. No guidelines. No expectations. So split. No reps. It's just walking lol. Love it! Great video ^_^

Honestly, it reminds me of how I felt right after I had lost about 40 pounds. When that feeling was new, I remember thinking, "wow, walking is so much easier now" and looking at my little dog who weighs about 18 pounds, thinking, I used to walk around everyday with the equivalent of 2 of her weighing my body down. It's so funny to think of weight like that. So, hearing you say you were huffing and puffing and ravenous after a weighted walk, my thought was, that's what a normal walk feels like for so many people who are overweight. And how light you feel without the vest... that's what weightloss feels like lol

The hikes we did when I was in the military were definitely some of the hardest physical/mental challenges I have done. 25km over hilly terrain with a 100lbs on your back and a 10lb rifle slung around your neck really hits different. I will say though, once I went back to casual hiking with friends and family, a lot of people couldn’t keep up with me. I would breeze through some of the hardest rated hikes in my area

I have lost about 75 lbs on keto with lots more to go. I had an idea to do some exercise using the amount of weight that I have lost so far. But I didn't want to pay a couple hundred dollars for a weighted vest that I could add weight to as I went. So I am using a good travel backpack and adding water bottles filled with dry sand. They weigh 2 lbs each. I walk from my basement to the 2nd floor 10 times a day. Also do 100 squats. It feels like someone is pushing me up the stairs after I take it off. I definitely can't do it with 75 lbs yet. 50 lbs is incredibly difficult. I can't believe a year ago I had 75 lbs more on my body. No wonder I never wanted to go up and down stairs back then. It's a reminder every day how far I've come and how great I'm going to feel when I lose even more weight. Very powerful training!

I used to hike with a baby/toddler in a backpack carrier. I can't do that anymore, as my kids are in their 20's and their feet would drag on the ground. ☺️

This is interesting. I traveled for 2 months with my 1 year old who was around 20 lbs at the time. I used to walk everywhere with him strapped to me. I ate a lot more than I usually do. I was expecting to have gained weight during my travels, but ended up losing 5 lbs! Since then I have been considering a weighted vest, but now I am definitely getting one.

Love how honest and valuable your content is! Such clever hacks! Great to learn ways to maximize walking. Happy Holidays, Robin! Great video!

I'm so happy you were completely honest about the shoulders. That was my worry... weighted belt..I can dig it

I'm glad I saw your video because I was considering that type of vest, thank you for the tip.

I ran into your channel by "accident" (not really since I'm into living a healthy life) and I'm really enjoying it! Not only the content itself is good but the way you speak is so soothing and relaxing.

I've rucked with 20lbs and from that I can say that a 30lb vest is super impressive. I started because I was getting less out of the exercise walks that I was doing. Rucking was a way I was able to continue doing something that I enjoyed but still reap exercise benefits. Eventually I would like to up to 30lbs, but I will likely need to shorten the distance and build back up. A use a Kelty backpack with a waist support belt. FYI- water is 8lbs per gallon, and easy to ditch if I need to, I use water bottles duct taped in rows to evenly distribute the load.

I’ve been doing this for many years now. I used to have a vest in a similar form to yours I recommend a more military style vest like a flak jacket. They bounce around less, the weight feels more evenly spread about and are generally more comfortable. Good vid. Spread the word. 👍

Another cool fitness video. Thanks! Rice is a good, inexpensive way to add weight to anything. I use it in sock poi for wrist/arm/shoulder work.