Walking weight vest

Walking weight vest can improve your bone density Walking has long been known as one of the best exercises your can do. Its advantage is that it can be done by almost anyone, anywhere and at anytime. You can walk in your neighborhood, at a Mall or you can use one of the many exercise machines for walking.

Just plain walking does build bone. Walking a mile or more a day can add about 1% to your total bone mass each year. This is just enough to off set the annual loss of 1% of bone experienced by most persons over the age of 35. 

Note: Women often lose from 3 - 5% of bone in the years at the end of menopause. This possibility of off setting of normal bone loss by daily walking was documented by Miriam Nelson of Tufts University.

Walking offers additional benefits

• Walking is a safe, reliable exercise for all ages
• It can be done outside or in the house (Some elders do a mile a day using hallways or marching to music from one end of the house or apartment to the other.)
• Unlike gym programs, it costs nothing to walk.
• Walking is an excellent way to reduce  stress and it can help heart health if done at a moderate rate.
  
• A walk taken after lunch or dinner, helps control blood sugar and is a great way to alleviate insulin resistance.
• Walking burns calories and is a help in any weight control program

Still if you are walking to build additional bone and not just prevent the loss of any more bone density, you do want to consider using a weight vest when you walk.

Bone building: Walking weight vest suggestions

There are many walking weight vests on the market. If you are planning to use yours to build greater bone density there are a few things to keep in mind when you make your purchase.

1. General safety. You want a vest that can be fitted securely to your body. Never use a weight vest that can slide around or gap when you bend.  Remember the vest is weighted - a few pounds pulling at you could cause you to lose your balance - NOT something anyone with fragile bones wants or needs.

2. Remember that your bone building cells (osteoblasts) respond to additional stress. Adding additinal weight is necessary for stressing your Osteoblasts so they build new bone. So if you are wearing a Walking weight vest to improve your bone density, you want to be sure that you can add a more weight every 10 - 14 days.

(This is very different from those using a weight vest to build muscle or endurance. Those aiming for endurance or muscle building want to move up to higher weights quickly and then maintaining those weights. But for bone building you need to be able to add additional weight, even a few ounces at a time, in order to stimulate your Osteoblasts to build bone.)

If you have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis, it is well worth spending a few extra dollar for a vest that will allow you to add weights in one ounce or two ounce increments..

Hypervest is a company  that caters both to body builders and those wanting to work on rehabilitation or improve their bone density.

Hypervest sells 2 types of weight vests. The one  most often used to those wanting to improve bone density is the Hypervest Pro.  This vest  allows you to add weights  small increments - a few ounces at a time.

Having such light weights means that you can keep getting the benefit of increased weight for a very long time. (Most vests sold in sporting good stores use 1/2 lb weights so you reach the 'safe limit' very fast.)

Do check out the product which can be found at  Amazon.  To see this very special vest for bone building go to Amazon hyper vest which  allows small incremental boosts in weight so as to maximize increasing bone density

If you want more information - do read weight vests for stronger bones