Weighted Vest Weight Loss: Do Weighted Vests Help You Burn Fat?

A weighted vest is a piece of equipment that is worn on the body and contains weight, usually metal pellets or sand-filled bags. It’s used to add extra resistance to your workout during cardio or strength training, increasing the intensity of the workout. So what does this have to do with losing weight? Can wearing a weighted vest help you get rid of stubborn bodyfat?

There are a thousand different weight loss methods all over the internet. They all claim to give you the greatest results, with the least amount of effort, in the shortest amount of time. And about 99% of them will get you absolutely nowhere. When you begin to actually learn about how your body works, and what’s happening in your body when you eat, diet, jog, lift weights, etc., you’ll realize that losing weight is actually pretty simple. Expend more energy than you consume, in other words – burn more calories than you eat.

A weighted vest can help you expend more calories. Let’s take a look at exactly how it works.

Weighted Vests: What Are They and How Do They Work

As we mentioned above, a weighted vest is worn on the body and is used to make your exercise routine more effective. Most are designed in a fashion similar to a lifejacket, but there are plenty of functions and features to choose from.

The Aduro Sport Weight Vest is made of soft neoprene material, has reflective striping, and is available in a variety of weight classes, the lowest being available for under $30.

The CAP Barbell Weight Vest is fully adjustable – you can add or remove weight – and can hold up to 150lbs.

Ultimately, all weighted vests share the same goal—add extra weight to the body in order to make workouts more challenging.

Because of the added weight, your body is forced to work harder than it would if you were to exercise without it. As a result, you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. This same principle is how very overweight people are able to lose a lot of weight at the onset of a fitness regimen. Their body is forced to work much harder to simply walk or jog due to the extra weight they carry. As they begin to lose some weight, losing more becomes difficult as their effort level is reduced due to the decrease in bodyweight.

Related Reading: Top 10 Weighted Vests Comparison Chart

Do Weighted Vests Help You Lose Weight?

Wearing a weighted vest helps you burn more calories as compared to when you exercise without wearing one.

We already know that we lose weight when we burn more calories than we consume. Our body gets its fuel from the food we eat and it stores any extra as bodyfat for use when it runs out of fuel. When we burn more calories than we consume, the body is forced to burn that stored bodyfat, thus resulting in weight loss.

Wearing weighted vests can help speed up this process. The extra weight added to your overall body weight will increase the effort needed to perform your exercise routine. The more effort the body exerts while working out, the more calories are burned.

Full Disclosure: The following is from another article, Best Weighted Vests for Running, we just love the analogy!  You’ve probably heard of or seen the show “The Biggest Loser” right? The contestants on the show are somehow able to lose double-digit pounds in just a week or two. So how do they do it? Most of those people weigh over 200 pounds, some over even 300, let’s call the average 250. So how much do you weigh? Imagine putting on a vest that brought your total weight up to 250 pounds. How much harder would your legs have to work to stand up, your core to keep yourself stable, you’d probably struggle just to walk!

Physics 101 – “Work” is calculated by multiplying Force times Distance. The Force is applied by your muscles working to move your weight and the Distance is how much you move.

The more weight you carry, the harder your body has to work, and that translates to more calories burned. Click To Tweet This is also why as you start to lose weight and get in better shape, it becomes increasingly difficult to see more results. The less you weigh, the less work your body is performing. Here’s where the weight vest comes in handy. When you add more weight back into the equation, you start burning more calories again!

Calories In – Calories Out

So yes, weighted vests can help you lose weight, but having a more productive workout isn’t necessarily a greenlight to just eat whatever you want.

We know we have to use more calories than we eat to lose weight, but those 300 you burned through during your workout can be added right back into the equation with say, one large donut. It’s much easier to keep your caloric deficit in check by watching what you eat rather than trying to exercise it all away. There’s a saying that anyone into health and fitness knows all too well: You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

See our latest review – the MIR Pro Weight Vest – or check out our top rated vest at STE, the RUNFast/max Adjustable Weight Vest

Other Benefits of Using Weighted Vests

In addition to speeding up weight loss, wearing weight vests also offer plenty of other benefits.

Musculoskeletal

Wearing a weighted vest not only makes your muscles stronger, but it also helps stimulate cells to produce new bone material. Resistance training stimulates your entire musculoskeletal system resulting in not only bigger, stronger muscles, but increased bone mass, and stronger ligaments and tendons as well. Not only will muscle size increase, your entire body will become stronger and healthier.

Cardiovascular

Much like what it does for your muscles and bones, the added weight also forces the cardiovascular system to work harder. This improves the strength of your heart and lungs. For most people, the point of cardio is to burn calories to lose weight. But it also improves your cardiovascular system (hence the name). Cardio gets your heart rate up, works your lungs, and kicks your metabolism into overdrive. Adding resistance to your cardio workout with a weighted vest only enhances the effect.

Who Can Use Weighted Vests?

Generally speaking, anyone can use a weighted vest to take their training to the next level, but it’s always important to take the necessary precautions to avoid injury. When it comes to exercise, an out-of-shape body has the highest chance of getting injured. Remember to take it slow. You know your body best, don’t force it to do something it isn’t ready for, start small and work your way up. An injury will only keep your fitness goals that much farther out of reach.

Conclusion

Wearing a weighted vest offers a lot of benefits in terms of the metabolic, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems. Adding extra weight to your body forces it to work harder which results in more calories burned. So do weighted vests help you burn fat? When you add one into your cardio routine, you’ll quickly notice how much harder you’re pushing yourself. You’ll also quickly notice how much better you’re looking.