Weight training has tremendous benefits for health. Using weights to perform functional exercises like lunges, shoulder press, deadlift focus on different muscles to help them tone down the body, and improve bone health. The fitness world is currently witnessing a brand new trend of walking with weights. Its popularity is increasing each passing day and more and more people are opting. Walking with weights means tying some weight around the ankles or carrying them while walking. But does this form of exercise helps to burn more calories? Before incorporating this workout routine in your schedule, let's have a better look at its pros and cons.
Just plain walking is good for health. It gives the muscles and joints movement and boosts the cardiovascular system. Adding weights to one’s wrist can boost up the benefits of cardio.
However, continuously swinging your arms back and forth with some weight might lead to muscle imbalance. This can lead to muscle strain and injury, which in turn can damage joints and tendons in your wrist, elbows, shoulders, and neck. Furthermore, it can even lead to a muscle imbalance in your quadriceps and hamstrings. It can even cause some serious issue if you are not careful about it.
Strapping the muscle is the easiest way to boost the physiological demands of walking. Even if you increase the weight by a tiny bit, your heart rate increases by 5 to 10 beats per minute. Moreover, it also increases your level of oxygen intake by 5 to 15 percent. Various studies have revealed that just by engaging your upper body you can increase your oxygen intake and burn more calories. But you can easily do this just by swinging your arms a little more.
