Exercise Physiology and Walking with Weights
Exercise physiology is a concept that most people grasp intuitively, but few grasp intellectually. While it might be common knowledge that training helps develop your muscles and increases your cardiovascular reserves, understanding why that is the case is necessary so you can manipulate the principles of exercise physiology to accomplish your physique and weight management goals. Walking with weights is an excellent example of putting the principles of exercise physiology to work for you, allowing you to lose weight steadily while dieting.
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Exercise as a Stimulus
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Exercise does not produce larger and stronger muscles by itself--exercise is only the stimulus that allows for adaptation to occur. Your body does not normally want to add additional muscle to your frame, as muscular tissue costs additional calories to maintain. However, where you "teach" your body that additional muscle is necessary to "survive" the rigors of training, it will have no choice but to adapt.
Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands
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The principle law of adaptation is called SAID--the law of Specific Adaption to Imposed Demands. In essence, SAID says that the body will only adapt to the minimum possible amount to overcome any particular challenge. Additionally, once your body adapts, it will continually look for more efficient ways to perform the task at hand. The principle of SAID explains why you will need to challenge your body constantly to new and greater heights if you want to continue improving physically.
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Muscle Development
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Muscle is not developed during training. On the contrary, muscle tissue is actually being broken down when you train, as your body is in a state called catabolism--where more muscle fibers are being destroyed than are currently being created. Gaining muscle takes place where the training stimulus ends. With proper nutrition (plenty of protein and carbs), your body will quickly return to a state of anabolism--the state where more muscle fibers are being repaired than are being broken down.
Walking with Weights
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Walking with weights is beneficial because it forces your body to adapt to a more-challenging training stimulus, thus invoking the principle of SAID. Walking with increasingly heavier weights can allow your fixed duration workout to continue remaining effective for fat loss long after your body would have adapted had you not been carrying weight. You need not impose a massive load to force the body to adapt--beginning with 2.5 lb. dumbbells and increasing weight over the course of a few weeks (or months) is sufficient to elicit continued progress.
Walking with Weights and Calories Burned
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All other things being equal, if you compare the calories burned between a 200-lb. person and a 150-lb. person during an hour of walking, the 200-lb. person will always burn more calories. This is simply because it costs more calories to move the additional 50 lbs. of mass. This illustrates another reason why walking with weights is effective--you will burn more calories performing the same workout. Walking without weights becomes less effective over time as you lose pounds. Increasing the load carried can neutralize the impact of dropping fat--keeping your workouts fresh and effective throughout the course of your diet.
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