I Wore a Weighted Vest Every Day for a Month—Here’s What Happened

Until recently, my workouts were stuck in the 80s—the decade I started exercising consistently for the sole purpose of burning calories and fitting in my pants. If you were into fitness then, you know it was all about cardio. If your wristbands weren’t drenched in sweat and you weren’t ready to keel over after 60 minutes, you weren’t doing it right.

While numerous studies touted the benefits of other forms of exercise, namely resistance training, for everything from promoting bone development to improving cognitive abilities, I blithely ignored the science and stuck with my 45-to-60 minute cardio sessions on the elliptical because they work for me (and my retro fitness KPIs).

But about three years ago, at the suggestion of a friend who’s known me since my Lycra-and-leg-warmer years, I went figure skating again—a sport I’d done competitively until I was 16. And after a 35-year hiatus, I was shocked by how much I still loved it. Soon, I was back at the rink training twice a week.

At first, muscle memory carried me through spins and even some of the jumps I’d mastered as a teenager. But recently, I had begun to notice that I’d plateaued. I wasn’t able to add any new moves to my repertoire, and I was still skating pretty slowly and tentatively. It was clear that if I wanted better strength, stamina, and posture on the ice, relying on muscle memory would not be enough.

So when I started seeing weighted vests everywhere—if you’re my age, you can’t escape the hype about them on social media from celebrity menopause gurus like Dr. Mary Claire Haver—I got curious about whether this seemingly simple workout gear could up my game. And obviously I wasn’t the only one: According to Forbes, one market report estimated the size of the weighted vest market to be $205 million in 2024, growing to $350 million by 2033.

I committed to sporting a weighted vest to the gym for 30 days. Here’s what happened.

The Science Behind Weighted Vests

Wearing a weighted vest is “the opposite of being an astronaut,” says Caroline Messer, M.D., a double-board certified endocrinologist in New York. As she (and NASA) point out, because they float in zero gravity for long periods, astronauts are prone to bone loss and, hence, fractures and early onset osteoporosis. Weighted vests elicit the reverse effect, creating the kind of gravitational stress that triggers the body to produce osteoblasts—the cells responsible for building new bone.

The research on weighted vests for bone health—particularly in postmenopausal women—is compelling. In one five-year study, women who wore weighted vests while performing jumping exercises experienced significantly less bone loss than those who didn’t. It’s one reason Messer frequently recommends them to her “osteoporosis pop.”) And the need is real: according to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, approximately one in two women over age 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.)

And while TikTok is full of dramatic weight-loss claims, the research is less conclusive. Messer says weighted vests can help increase calorie burn—but it really depends on your workout routine overall. After all, a weighted vest is an add-on to your routine, not the routine itself, points out Julian Walker, a nationally certified personal trainer and member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. (Unfortunately, you can’t wear them at your computer and expect to lose weight.)

What to Know Before Trying a Weighted Vest

Eager to get vested up but with some history of back issues (bulging discs possibly due to improper nursing posture 20-something years ago), I consulted a few trainers about how to begin.

“The rule of thumb is that the vest should be five- to ten-percent of your body weight,” said Rob Sulaver, MS, CSCS, and co-founder of Rumble Boxing. This isn’t a case where if a little is good, a lot is better, he added. “From a bone health standpoint, a moderate load is going to work.” Walker emphasizes that, especially for beginners, starting small is key: “Ten percent of 200 pounds would be a 20-pound vest, which could be far too heavy for a 200-pound individual who hasn’t worked out in years.”

The five-pound came in at just under five percent of my body weight, but because I didn’t want to risk tweaking my back, I figured it was a safe pick. Plus, Sulaver told me that I should go for something that “doesn’t bounce or ride up,” and the Omorpho has drawstrings at its sides, so it fit snuggly against my body.

Even though I’d seen many people walking in their vests, I planned to test mine on my favorite cardio machine. “Walking is the classic example and probably the place I’d tell most first-time weighted vest wearers to start. But elliptical machines and stair climbers are good options, too,” Sulaver says.

Walker suggested that if I usually did the elliptical six times a week, I try wearing the vest for three of those sessions to gauge the difference—and adjust the time or intensity as needed.

Putting It to the Test

When my vest arrived in the mail I was worried. Just carrying the box was heavy. Fortunately, once I put it on things felt better; it turns out five pounds distributed over one’s entire torso is virtually undetectable. Well, until you wear it on an elliptical machine. After four minutes, all I could think about was taking off the vest. I felt its effects most in my legs and feet—a certain heaviness that I couldn’t wait to be done with. At four minutes and five seconds, I began feeling twinges of pain in my lower back, so I immediately removed the vest.

On day two, I noticed I was sweating a lot more than usual within minutes. The extra bit of weight was making me work harder. At eight minutes, my legs were screaming, so I took off the vest. But I vowed to reach 20 minutes by the end of the week.

By day four, I actually looked forward to wearing my weighted vest at the gym. If nothing else, it was a change of pace after decades of working out the exact same way. This time, I didn’t even look at the clock until I was nine minutes in. Progress! I lasted for 22 minutes.

At the end of my first full week of working out with a weighted vest, I had to travel to a wedding in Colorado (small gripe: although I’m sure there are diehards who would disagree, I don’t think traveling with a weighted vest is realistic for most people). On the first morning in the mountains, I decided to take a long walk. My plan was to walk for an hour, but without the added weight of the vest, I went for two before I even started to feel my legs. Interesting.

Back in the gym with my vest the following week, a man on the elliptical machine next to me said, “Torturing yourself?” I explained that I was road testing a weighted vest and told him about my recent experience in Colorado. He said he wasn’t surprised, adding “they really work” and went on to explain that he liked to wear a 16-pound weighted vest on days he lifted weights. He said the vest forced him to adopt better posture, so he felt the effects of lifting more in his core. (I asked Walker about this later, and he said that one of the weighted vest’s greatest benefits is, in fact, postural—and that if your vest is too heavy to maintain proper posture while you exercise, it’s too heavy for you.) In my mind, I was completely bought in. In my body, however, I was just hoping to make it to 30 minutes by the end of week two.

By week three, I was routinely making it to 45 minutes, so I challenged myself to go for an hour with the vest on. Zing! I pushed it too hard and my left quad spasmed, requiring some extra time with the Theragun. I ended up taking two days off and cutting down my time for my final week.

I finished week four strongly, working out with my vest for a consistent 30 minutes a day. Most importantly, I noticed a difference on the ice. My legs were less tired by the end of a 60-minute freeskate session, and I felt more speed and power going into my jumps, which resulted in better control over the landings (and fewer crashes). If ever there was a case to be made for the benefits of training with a weighted vest, this was it for me.

Will I Keep Wearing It? My Takeaway

I didn’t lose weight or gain perfect posture, but I did feel powerful, more energized, and more intentional in my workouts. And, of course, there was the improved skating. Plus, that easy eight-mile walk in Colorado. Once you’ve lugged all that weight around, it feels effortless to move without it. I learned from Erin Feser, head of science at Omorpho, that this is not uncommon. “A lot of athletes say that’s their favorite thing about a weighted vest—taking it off. There’s a psychological boost that comes with the offloading that can result in accelerated performance,” she explains.

But now that my trial’s over, I’ll likely keep my vest in the mix when I want to do more intense walks or workouts. Or I may wear the vest for a few weeks before a skating competition for that offloading effect. Maybe I’ll even reach that 60-minute elliptical session with the vest someday. But even if I don’t, I’m fine with it. Using it all the time is a bit too involved for me. Unlike ‘80s me, 2025 me sees there’s beauty in moderation.