Weighted Vest Bodyweight Workouts
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Use A Weighted Vest To Get More Results In Less Time With Your Bodyweight Workouts
Using a weighted vest for your bodyweight workouts is a great way to build lean muscle in less time. I usually strap on my weighted vest for a few months out of the year when I want to push myself more and when I want to increase my lean muscle density. Not all weighted vests are the same however. I have paid for a couple of them over the past few years and if you get a weighted vest that is poorly made or hard to keep on then it eliminates the benefits of using one. You can use a weighted vest with nearly all bodyweight exercises to build muscle except for certain ab exercises. I will get into what weighted vest I am currently using and give you a little workout at the end of this post. Determining the right weight of the vest is crucial as well.
The Weight And Type Of A Weighted Vest
Determining how heavy you want your weighted vest should be the first step. My first weighted vest was a 20lb Reebok vest that was difficult to strap on and keep on. I was surprised that just 20 lbs strapped to my upper body did make the exercises and workouts much harder and got me good results. But after a while I needed to up the weight to get more results in less time. So I found a 40lb weighted vest and it kicks my but every time. I highly doubt I will be increasing the weight anytime soon. I sometimes will do a workout alternating between both the 20lb and 40lb weighted vest but it gets to be a pain switching between them. I would not recommend getting the 20lb Reebok weighted vest.
My Favorite Bodyweight Exercises With A Weighted Vest
Like I said at the beginning of this post, you can do basically any type of bodyweight exercises with a weighted vest. My favorite bodyweight exercises using a weighted vest are the big three. Push ups, pull ups, and squats. By focusing on these three main muscle groups using a weighted vest you are doing two very important things to increase lean muscle density. First, you are focusing in on the three main muscle groups on your body which are vital to actually being able to gain and keep newly formed muscle. Secondly, you are evenly distributing your muscle gains throughout your body. This will reduce and basically eliminate the top heavy look that some guys get who focus on their upper body and not on their lower body. Having evenly proportioned muscle on your body looks way better then bulky or centralized muscle gains. I also like using a weighted vest for ab planks. Using a 40 lb weighted vest while doing ab planks is brutal and it shrinks my 2 minutes of normal bodyweight ab planks to a minute or less and gets more results. Do not start doing ab planks with a 40lb weighted vest until you have a solid core and have tried it with a lesser weight. No need to be a hero and get yourself injured.
Here Is A Quick Weighted Vest Workout You Can Do
Once you strap on a weighted vest with any bodyweight exercises you will notice how much more challenging they are. So to keep this simple, do a circuit of push ups, pull ups, squats, and planks. For example do 10 push ups, followed by 5 pull ups, followed by 10 squats, followed by 30 second planks. repeat this for 10-15 minutes. The added weight you have on your body will kick your butt during this little workout.
Obviously you don’t need a weighted vest to get in a quality workout. However, if you are looking to increase you intensity and get quicker results, a weighted vest is a great option.
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