Think of it as a bulletproof vest that protects you from an out of shape body instead of bullets. Admittedly, no Kevlar is present with this particular fitness enhancing product, but it does go a long way toward helping you upgrade the intensity of even the most basic of workouts. Weighted vests allow you to add and subtract the weight burden during the course of a workout, something that might seem insignificant until looked at in finer detail. Adding a heavier burden to the exercise at hand means that your body has no option but to burn more calories than it otherwise would: supporting more weight means the body needs to work harder to carry you through to the regimen’s completion. This is why overweight and obese individuals lose more calories during the course of an identical workout than those who are closer to their target weight.
You can put it on and take it off like any other vest in order to carry an inflated amount of weight, adding up to a trimmer waistline and overall better conditioning. You could always go the route of gorging yourself with fattening foods in order to make workouts burn more calories, but this would be counterproductive. Doing so should be strongly discouraged for anyone seeking to actually attain a substantial reduction in unwanted fat deposits. Instead, you can just fool your body into thinking it weighs more than it does during your workout!
Total Trainer home gyms, though greatly beneficial in and of themselves, will have their impact enhanced mightily when a weighted vest is used in conjunction with them. When partnered with a vest loaded with a weight that you can handle, the cardio and resistance training these machines grant will be the equivalent of a declaration of war on excessive body fat. This equipment’s substantial impact on your body will be boosted by the inclusion of a 10, 20, or even 40 lb. weighted vest. Whether you are churning out pull-ups on its handlebars or honing in on the lower body courtesy of the Squat Board, your heart will receive more work and your body required to generate more force for the successful completion of these exercises. As good of a product as the Total Trainer is, it will be made all the better when a weighted vest is recruited as its partner in fitness crime.
Weighted vests provide a more efficient and healthy way to compound the calories expended per each ounce of effort. Depending on how strenuous you want your Total Trainer session to be, you can wear a weighted vest clocking in at anywhere between the 10 to 40 lb. range they are usually offered in. The additional pounds can be added or subtracted from this vest simply by removing the objects inserted to vary it up: bags of sand or small metal weights are placed inside the vest to provide the resistance that makes your body push harder. This means you can uncover the weight that feels right for you while not having to keep the poundage static from one set to another. Weighted vests are not an all or nothing venture: you can adjust the resistance as you see fit. Weighted vests’ personalization will function right alongside the Total Trainer’s personalization capabilities, which offers up to 12 levels of resistance. In this sense, they are as equally customizable as Trainers: the two give their users the ability to work toward sound, realistic goals at their own pace, not a rushed one that increases the risk of overload.
Your torso is going to carry much of this added load, which is great news for those who value the development of solidified abs and a strengthened core. There are other small weights that can be attached to other parts of the body for more specific strengthening work, but weighted vests are going to be the best option for those seeking six pack abs or, at a minimum, a more defined abdomen area.
As long as your form does not become stilted and out of balance, there should be no issues resulting from using a weighted vest while working out. Your exercises will appear much easier when first performing them with a weighted vest then again without one, as elevating the intensity level will merely cause the quality of your workouts to increase, bumping up their upside. Expand your fitness horizons today by mixing in a weighted vest alongside your Total Trainer routines.