- Of all the different brands of weighted vests sold, most fall into three categories. Solid vests only have one weight, so you may have to buy more than one over time, but with weights sewn into them, they may be a bit more durable and comfortable. Full-length adjustable vests allow you to add and subtract weight, because you will want to start with only 10 percent of your body weight. Because of their length, they may hamper some types of jumping and climbing motions. Short adjustable vests are worn just around the shoulders and chest, so they allow for a greater range of movement, but they can take longer to get used to because the weight is above your center of gravity.
- Many professionals who must take periodic tests to show their fitness use weighted vests during training. They are popular with firefighters and with police, forest rangers and soldiers undergoing initial training. Many athletes, including bodybuilders, runners, mountain climbers and basketball players, will use them to temporarily increase their weight and increase their strength so that their performance will increase with the vest off. Some deep-sea divers use weighted vests to help them sink, but they are more likely to use weighted belts. Using a weighted vest is one of the easiest ways to increase resistance during calisthenic exercise.
- Many therapists have advocated the use of weighted vests. Autistic children are often made to wear weighted vests to improve their functioning, but a 2009 study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders suggests no significant improvement from using the vests. Geriatric patients are often asked to wear the vests to improve lower body strength, but a 2000 study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed no significant improvement from using the vests. The most promising therapeutic use is for increasing bone mineral density in those at higher risk for developing osteoporosis; a five-year gerontological study conducted in 2000 showed significant increases in bone density when people wore the vests daily. The longer vests seem to improve posture as well.
- If your goal is to increase your performance during a specific activity, just wear the vest during the activity. If you are trying to improve posture or increase bone density, passive use for several hours a day during normal activity is recommended.
