Mail Online journalist Samantha Rae has spoken to Dr Bradley Elliott, Senior Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Westminster, to find out if weighted vests can help people gain more muscle and become stronger.
After seeing presenter Davina MaCall talking about how she wears a weighted vest around the house to help keep her toned, journalist Samantha Rae decided to embark on a challenge to find out if this workout method really worked. To investigate, she wore the vest for three weeks and sought out help from experts to find out more about the process.
In her search for answers, she reached out to Dr Elliott who shared his knowledge on muscle mass to explain how weighted vests can make people stronger.
She also visited the University to try out the VO2max test before and after the three weeks to see if the vest can also improve cardiovascular fitness. To take the test Samantha was wired up to a computer and ran on a treadmill while wearing a heart rate monitor.
Talking about whether or not the vest worked, Dr Elliott said: “One of the great things about walking with a weighted vest or bag is that you're working lots of muscles. So all the muscles in your legs, back, chest, shoulders, abdominals - it's a multi-muscle effort. You're using a bit of everything, all the time.”
He added: “We know that aerobic style exercise like walking is good for you. We also know that strength training is good for you. I like the combination of both of them together. So it's not just strength training and it's not just walking, it's a bit of both, which I think is brilliant.”
Dr Elliott’s contributions to the article helps with the Good Health and Well-being (3) development goal of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted by the University of Westminster to help make the University a more sustainable, responsible and inclusive place to live, work and study.
Read the full article on the Mail Online.
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