using ankle weights during cardio

[spacely]

In today's Ballyfitness 'tip of the day', they suggest that there is no gain from using ankle weights during cardio. If true this is a bummer because for the last 2 years I have worn 2-1/2 lb ankle weights during every cardio workout on stairmaster/stepmaster as a way to simulate wearing my size 13 scarpa plastics. Hopefully it is helping and not hurting endurance but wondering what others think. (I also lift leg weights to build strength).

 

---- below is the text of the message from ballys ----

Some walkers and runners believe that using light ankle and

hand-held weights increases the cardiovascular and

strength-building benefits of their workouts. In fact, the

opposite is probably true. Here’s the story:

 

-For a cardio workout to be effective, you need to reach and sustain your optimal heart rate. Ankle and small hand weights,although light, can be just heavy enough to slow you down and reduce your overall cardiovascular gain.

 

-For a strength training exercise to be effective, you need to lift an appropriate amount of weight for 10 to 12 repetitions until reaching “exhaustion” (i.e., you cannot execute another rep with proper form). When you walk or run with light weights, you’re lifting the weight hundreds of times with no problem, and your muscles do not experience the level of stress they need to become stronger.

[willstrickland]

The gist of the bally's argument is that using the weights will slow you enough so that you don't achieve your target HR for the workout and that high reps aren't effective for building strength. They are focusing on the fact that these weights don't help in the CARDIO aspect. These are true statements, but don't tell the whole story, particularly for your case.

 

If you use a HR monitor you should be able to maintain the target HR regardless of the weights unless you are doing hard interval workouts. Although you will not gain pure strength in your hip flexors (i.e. you won't be able to lift more than before) you WILL gain endurance. This is precisely what you're after. You want to be able to lift those 5lb boots with your hip flexors all day long, you're not looking to be able to lift a 25lb boot for eight reps. Since you can already lift that weight for hundreds of reps, you just want endurance. Nobody tells a marathon runner to not log any long mileage days but to instead skip them and do nothing but sprint repeats. That is essentially what bally's is saying.

 

In my not so humble opinion, ballys is targeting the gaper soccer mom and middle aged CEO set with that advice, and it is probably good advice for them. BUT, for your training goal I think it is an effective strategy and one I plan to utilize myself. The one thing on a long alpine route that gets to me is soreness in my left hip flexor from the weight of boot/cramps.

 

Finally, I would assume that you don't use the weights when doing interval style workouts but only during extended sustained workloads. I believe that having them (weights) on when trying to do anaerobic threshold/VO2max/cruise intervals work would be counter productive because it would probably decrease the HR you achieve signficantly, and alter your form (thereby making you more susceptible to injury).

 

So for 20-120 minute constant load stairmaster workouts

For intervals

 

I don't mean to imply that using 8-12 rep lifting exercises to build strength your hip flexors would not be beneficial, I think it would be. I only mean to say that endurance of the hip flexors is what you're after (as well as cardio endurace, obviously) and you've chosen the right way to increase endurance in those hip flexors at a workload consistent with what you will face in the mountains (i.e. the ankle weights are close to the weight of your boots+cramps).

[tomtom]

Lifting your leg is one set of muscles, standing on that leg to move forward and up is another set. As you surmise, adding ankle weights will build the leg lifting muscles as training for wearing the plastic boots. It's won't necessarily help overall cardio, however, it will probably help the endurance of the leg lifting muscles.

[spacely]

Thanks for the feedback guys.... good point about not using them for intervals (which I have been).

[Blake]

I'd think if overall, but lower-body concentrated strength gains are what you are looking for, then stick with deadlifts, squats, lunges.

[ashw_justin]

I'd say Bally's is full of shit... but that's just my opinion--I'm not a gigantic fitness corporation.

[Jedi]

In the past, I had heard that ankle weights actually increases the impact of the foot on the ground. Harder on the knees and foot and ankle. Just "hear say" but worth thinking about.