This fitness trend is better than rucking for staying in shape how to get the most out of it

The weight is over.In recent years, fitness enthusiasts looking to skip the gym and take advantage of the nice weather have been raving about rucking — which involves walking with a heavy pack strapped to your back.But if you’re seeking another strength-building, low-impact cardio — behold, the weighted vest.Fans have been praising these sweaty stroll sessions, which, as the name implies, involve carrying a weighted vest on the front of your upper body.But does it help your health? Dr.

James Gladstone, chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Health Systems Department of Orthopedics, weighs in on the hot movement.“The basics of it are that, when you wear weighted vests, you’re increasing your weight,” he said.“And that has a number of different effects.”Wearing an extra 10 or 20 pounds while you move “increases the amount of energy you have to expend when you’re doing an exercise, and it increases the amount of force,” Gladstone explained, promoting muscle growth and cardiovascular health while burning more calories.Research has shown that it can also improve endurance, help you work on your balance and posture and increase bone density.“Having more weight or more impact load actually helps strengthen bones,” he said.

“It’s probably overall safer to wear a weighted vest than it is to ruck only because all the forces are sort of pulling you backwards,” Gladstone said.“So, by that nature, you’re going to alter your posture.”For example, you could overcompensate by leaning back more, thereby putting unnecessary strain on your lower back.

“Whereas a weighted vest, if it fits properly and is weighted appropriately — it’s just gonna be as if you were 20 or 40 pounds heavier,” he said.“People who are maybe prone to osteoporosis or who have osteopenia — which is the step before osteoporosis — using something like that may actually help them increase their bone mass,” Gladstone said.However, it’s best for people who a...