The weighted vest is one of the most versatile fitness tools out there. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or a fitness beginner, using a weighted vest can take your workouts to a whole new level. Weight vests are in high demand for fitness pros and athletes because of their ability to add resistance to any exercise, helping build strength, endurance, and power while increasing caloric burn. This post will explore the best weighted vest workouts for everyone, from beginners to advanced athletes. Use this resource to get the most out of your weighted vest and ensure that no matter where you are in your fitness journey, there is always a challenge in store for you!
Weighted Vest Workouts: What to Expect
Benefits
Adding a weighted vest to your workout comes with several valuable benefits. The added weight increases the resistance, thus building strength and power in your key muscle groups. This increased resistance also improves your stamina and endurance by forcing your cardiovascular system, i.e., your heart and blood vessels, to work harder.
Using a weighted vest is also a great way to supercharge fat loss because it makes your body exert more effort and burn more energy. Finally, a weighted vest engages your core muscles, making them work harder to stabilize your body and maintain your balance as you move, ultimately improving your overall core strength.
Challenges
Unsurprisingly, with these weighted benefits come challenges to working out with them. For one, your sessions will feel significantly more difficult, and the extra weight may lead you to hit muscle fatigue faster than usual. Your body will go through an adaptation period, especially if you’re new to using a weighted vest. You might experience increased muscle soreness after your workouts, so pay attention to how your body responds and allow sufficient recovery time between sessions.
A well-designed weight vest should become one with your body and allow for a full range of movement (Aion’s does this 😉). However, many of the weighted vests on the market will actually affect your balance and coordination, making your movements feel different. If you don’t watch out for your form or posture, you might increase your risk of injury. Lastly, the increased intensity of a weighted vest workout will demand greater mental focus. You need this focus to concentrate on proper form and technique to prevent injury and achieve the most out of your sessions.
Key Adjustments
To get the most benefits out of your weighted vest workouts and to overcome the challenges, you must make a few necessary adjustments.
- Select the weighted vest that fits your body and your purpose. We recommend you choose a weight vest with a fractional load of 3-5% of your body weight. Even seasoned athletes will struggle when using a weighted vest for the first time. It’s a common misconception that you have to have an extremely heavy weight vest to get results. In fact, heavier weight vests generally lead to poor form, injury, and overloading the body.
- Always focus on your form. Your weighted vest may challenge your balance and posture. If you don’t correct your form, your exercises may instead harm your body. While performing your movements, make sure that your movement is smooth and controlled. It is particularly important that you properly engage your core to support your spine and avoid lower back strain.
- You may need to modify your reps and sets. The increased challenge from your weighted vest may cause you to fail to complete the same number of reps or sets as you would without the vest. It’s okay to reduce your reps or sets at first. Focus on quality over quantity, and gradually increase as your body adapts.
Now that you’re all warmed up let’s get right into the best weighted vest workouts for different fitness levels. **Please consult a doctor and a certified personal trainer before trying these workouts.**
Beginner Weighted Vest Workouts
This is for those who are just starting out with a weighted vest. Ease into the extra resistance with these beginner-friendly exercises. Pay attention to how your body reacts and increase the reps and sets accordingly.
1. Squats
Using your body and your vest’s added weight, target your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. The weighted vest will increase the intensity without overwhelming your form.
To do it, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and squat down as if sitting in a chair. Drive through your heels to stand back up. Do this at 10-12 reps in 3 sets to start.
2. Push-Ups
Weighted vests add resistance to your push-ups, increasing upper body strength by targeting your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.
In a plank position, lower your chest toward the ground and press back up. Your hands must be positioned slightly wider than shoulder-width, and always keep your elbows close to your body as you do your movements. With a weighted vest, 8-10 reps in 3 sets should be a good place to start.
3. Step-Ups
This is a great low-impact exercise that builds leg strength and improves balance, the results of which you can elevate with a weighted vest. You can use any sturdy bench or solid steps for this exercise.
To do step-ups with a weighted vest properly, take a step up with one foot, press through the heel, and bring the other foot up to stand tall. Step down and repeat on the other side. Three sets of 8-10 reps per leg should be ideal for first-time weighted vest users.
4. Walking Lunges
Do this exercise with your weighted vest to strengthen your quads, glutes, and hamstrings while improving stability and coordination.
To do it, take a big step forward and lower your back knee toward the ground, keeping your front knee above your ankle. Push back up and step forward with the other leg. Try to do 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg with your weighted vest on.
Intermediate Weighted Vest Workouts
Once you’ve mastered using your weighted vest on the basics, it’s time to increase the challenge. Intermediate-level workouts combine more dynamic movements with increased reps and sets to push your limits.
1. Jump Squats
This takes the squat to the next level by adding the element of explosive power, further improving leg strength and endurance. Begin by performing a regular squat, but as you come up, explode into a jump. Land softly and immediately go into the next squat. For starters, do 3 sets of 10-12 reps with your weighted vest.
2. Burpees
Kick your weighted vest experience up another notch with burpees, a full-body, high-intensity exercise that boosts cardiovascular fitness and burns tons of calories. And, of course, the weighted vest makes them even more challenging and more impactful.
To do burpees, drop into a squat, place your hands on the floor, kick your legs back into a plank, perform a push-up, jump your feet back to your hands, and jump up. While wearing your weighted vest, try to do 8-10 reps in 3 sets first.
3. Plank with Shoulder Taps
This exercise strengthens your core, shoulders, and stabilizer muscles. The added resistance from your weighted vest forces your core to work even harder to stay balanced.
Start in a high plank position while keeping your hips stable. Lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder. Alternate sides while maintaining core stability. With a weighted vest, try to do 3 sets of 20 taps per side to start.
4. Mountain Climbers
This exercise is great for improving core strength, agility, and cardio endurance. With a weighted vest on, you can further add intensity and resistance. To do mountain climbers, begin in a high plank position and alternate driving your knees toward your chest as quickly as possible. Try to do 3 sets at 30 seconds each while wearing your weighted vest.
Advanced Weighted Vest Workouts
When intermediate-level exercises become too easy for you and your weighted vest, you can ramp things up with these complex, multi-joint exercises:
1. Weighted Vest Sprints
Performing sprints while wearing a weighted vest drastically improves speed, power, and cardiovascular endurance. To do it properly, start with a 30-second sprint, then rest for 30-60 seconds. Repeat. Do 5-10 sprints, increasing gradually.
2. Plyometric Push-Ups
This exercise incorporates explosive power to a regular push-up, improving upper body power and muscle endurance. The extra weight from your vest makes the movement even more explosive and impactful.
To do this, perform a regular push-up, but as you press up, push off the ground explosively so your hands leave the floor. With a weighted vest on, do 3 sets of 6-8 reps.
3. Bulgarian Split Squats
This exercise targets the quads, glutes, and hamstrings and helps improve balance and unilateral strength. When you use a weighted vest with this exercise, you turn it into a serious lower-body strength builder.
To perform it, stand with one leg on a bench behind you (or use a TRX if you have one) and squat down until your front leg is at a 90-degree angle. Make sure that your knee stays over your ankle and doesn’t drive forward past your toes. Then, drive back up, pushing through your front heel. Do 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg to start.
4. Pull-Ups
Pull-ups with a weighted vest build incredible upper body strength, targeting your muscles on the back, shoulders, and arms. Choose your preferred pull-up grip, either palms facing toward you or away from you. Pull your chest up to the bar, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower back down with control. When using a weighted vest, try to do 3 sets of 6-8 reps first.
Versatile Workouts You Can Do with the Aion Weighted Vest
Not all weighted vests are created equal, so we can’t recommend all of the below workouts for all weighted vests. The Aion weighted vest is designed with fractional weight, heat capture, and a compression fit to provide Dynamic Resistance™ that adapts to all kinds of workouts, maximizing results without compromising comfort or mobility. Whether your focus is strength, cardio, flexibility, or sports-specific skill, here’s how you can incorporate the Aion vest across various workout types:
Total Body Strength
Adding the Aion weighted vest to these compound movements ramps up intensity, pushing your muscles to work harder. This promotes muscle growth and increases endurance, providing a full-body strength workout that engages your core as it distributes weight evenly across your torso.
Core Strength
Core-specific exercises with the Aion vest require your abs and stabilizing muscles to work overtime. The weight distribution across your torso challenges your core to stay balanced, building stability and strength essential for all movement patterns.
Plyometrics
Aion’s ergonomic fit allows explosive exercises like plyometrics without hindering your range of motion. These high-intensity moves become even more powerful with added resistance, boosting power, speed, and endurance in your lower body and core.
Pilates
Weighted vests aren’t just for heavy lifting—using the Aion vest with Pilates adds gentle resistance that enhances muscular endurance and core stability. The balanced load aligns with Pilates’ focus on form and posture, making the exercises more challenging without compromising fluidity.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
With HIIT, quick, intense bursts of activity already drive up heart rate and calorie burn. Adding the Aion vest takes that up another notch, enhancing cardiovascular conditioning and caloric burn by challenging your body to manage the added weight under high intensity.
Sport-Specific Training
For athletes, the Aion vest provides added resistance during sport-specific drills, building endurance, agility, and muscle memory without restricting movement. It’s ideal for skill-focused sessions from agility to footwork drills.
Recreation Sports (Including Golf)
Even recreational sports can benefit from light resistance. The Aion vest’s balanced weight distribution makes it comfortable enough for a golf swing, where the added weight subtly strengthens your core and upper body without impacting your technique.
Cardio (Walking, Running, Hiking, and More)
Aion’s fractional weight technology and secure fit make it ideal for cardio exercises. Whatever your choice of cardio, wearing the Aion weighted vest engages your cardiovascular system, strengthening your heart and lungs and burning extra calories without restricting natural movement. Our customers wear their vests for all types of cardio, including walking, running, hiking, dancing, kickboxing, and more.
Active Recovery
Active recovery benefits from gentle resistance and heat, and the Aion vest’s minimal, evenly distributed weight, along with heat capture, allows for a mild intensity boost that aids blood flow and muscle recovery, helping you maintain conditioning on lighter days.
Yoga
Using a weighted vest with yoga can enhance flexibility, stability, and strength. The Aion vest’s ergonomic design allows you to flow seamlessly between poses, adding a subtle challenge to build endurance without affecting your form.
Incorporating the Aion weighted vest into any workout routine can add variety and results to your regimen, helping you build strength, power, and endurance. Whatever your fitness level, Aion vests let you push limits and unlock new milestones in every type of workout!
The Best Workouts with Aion Weighted Vests
With the Aion weighted vest, every type of workout—whether it's strength training, cardio, sport-specific drills, or even yoga—becomes a more powerful tool for building strength, endurance, and functional mobility. The versatility of the Aion vest means that no matter your fitness level or workout preference, there’s a way to increase the challenge and elevate your performance. Its ergonomic design and fractional weight technology make it adaptable, comfortable, and supportive across all kinds of movements.
From beginners looking to add a bit more intensity to their routine to advanced athletes focused on pushing their limits, the Aion vest ensures that you’re always working toward greater gains and achieving new fitness milestones. Embrace the potential of your training and experience what Aion has to offer—discover a workout partner that moves with you, supports your goals, and maximizes your results.
