This Popular Army Tool Can Help You Build Muscle Fast

We’re pretty opinionated here at Men’s Health. One of our longest-held perspectives on training gear is that simpler is almost always better. Don’t get us wrong, there are some fantastic training machines that offer real value—but for 99% of the non-professional athletes reading this magazine, we can build muscle fast with simple, tried-and-trusted tools. 

The History of the Weighted Vest

The weighted vest is one of the tools. It’s not a new training tactic, as its predecessor was used by armies worldwide for decades, albeit with a slightly different twist. The weighted backpack was made famous as one of the foundations of Special Forces training. The elite soldiers and Green Berets have to be able to shoulder heavy backpacks (also called “rucks”) across all kinds of terrains, deserts, through jungles, and over mountains—all done at speed. As part of their training, they’d fill backpacks with rocks or weights, and then they’d hike and march long distances at pace to build up stamina and fitness. 

That backpacking tradition evolved into two modern equivalents: “rucking” and the weighted vest movement. “Rucking” is walking with a weighted backpack, and it builds strength, endurance and character—and not just for soldiers. Studies show that rucking can burn up to three times the calories of regular walking, and it helps to build cardiovascular fitness.

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In the weighted vest movement, now you have CrossFitters, sports teams, mixed martial artists, gymnasts and obstacle racers all using them to become stronger, fitter and faster. These vests became revered training weapons during the pandemic, as they are arguably the most versatile home training tool.

It’s a brutally simple-but-effective way of adding more resistance to bodyweight and gymnastic moves, but it’s also a proven solution to increasing explosiveness through adding weight in plyometrics routines and Olympic lifts. But it doesn’t end there: even endurance athletes like runners can use these vests to become faster and more efficient. The bottom line: everyone can benefit from training with weighted vests. Here’s to investing in your fitter, stronger future.

Why Should You Try a Weighted Vest?

It’s a relatively low-cost, portable training tool that offers plenty of value. You can use it as your outdoor walking, hiking or running partner, and you can instantly amplify your bodyweight training moves. Push-ups, pull-ups, squats and more—it’s only limited by your training imagination. You can choose to tackle the extreme, such as the elite version of the famous CrossFit workout called Murph with a 9kg weighted vest, or just add another dimension to your home workout.

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Benefits of Weighted Vest Training

Weighted vests are a triple threat: they can build strength and explosive power, improve cardiovascular fitness, and torch fat quickly. They are a versatile training tool that can help you become leaner, stronger and fitter—all at the same time. But that’s not all, here are a few more reasons you should don the armour:

1. They’re Portable

Granted, they aren’t light, but they’re still much easier to transport than a barbell or dumbbells.

2. You’ll Build More Muscle

The added resistance knits denser bones and connective tissue and crafts more stable joints. “It’s great for strengthening tendons and joints, and it’s more representative of real life by adding resistance to planes of movement that are more natural than lifting dumbbells,” says MH Fitness Editor Andrew Tracey.

3. They’re Self-Limiting

The fact that it’s held tight to your torso and isn’t an external object like a barbell or a kettlebell makes them a little safer to use. If you hit fatigue while doing a bodyweight move while wearing one, it’s tougher to ‘cheat’ out more reps with bad technique (which helps you avoid injuries). Just one disclaimer: if you haven’t got the technique right without the vest, don’t attempt it with one.

4. You’ll Also Improve Your Posture

The weighted vest can help build up your core and stabiliser muscles for improved body coordination.

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What Does the Science Say?

It’s not just us espousing the hard-working benefits of weighted vests, researchers have also vetted this workout warrior and discovered it delives massive gains for a low cost. Here’s exactly what the studies say, and how you can turn science into swole:

You Can Burn More Calories

According to a study from the University of New Mexico and the American Council of Exercise, you can improve your calorie-burn potential by up to 12 percent if you’re wearing a vest that’s weighted at 15 percent of your body weight. Trust us when we say that’s an impressive stat, especially considering you’re only paying a relatively small one-off vest fee.

You Can Ramp Up Your VO2 Max

“We generally see anywhere from five to 10 percent higher heart rates in people wearing a vest (during exercise), and there are studies that show it can increase VO₂ max in non-athletic populations,” says Darin Huslander, certified strength and performance coach at This Is Performance in Chicago. A study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology found that endurance athletes who wore weighted vests during training ran longer until exhaustion, ran up stairs faster, and had increased VO₂ max compared to study participants who didn’t wear a weighted vest.

You Can Dial Up Your Strength

Research from Nord University in Norway and the European Journal of Sports Science found that wearing a weighted vest builds upper and lower body strength during bodyweight training moves and with explosive lifts like the power clean.

You Can Even Build Stamina

Studies done by the Sports Performance Institute in New Zealand found that weighted vest training improves blood lactate thresholds for runners in both sprinting and more prolonged, endurance-based running. Translation: it means the runners can tolerate faster speeds for more extended periods of time before fatiguing.

Which Weighted Vest Should You Buy?

There are various brands and types, but for our money, it comes down to the comfort of the fit, the build quality, and the selection of weight options that are best for your training. There are fixed weight options, and tactical vests with pouches or pockets that let you add or remove plates or weights (which is better for beginners).

The goal is to make the fit as close to your torso as possible, as that will stop the vest from bouncing on your shoulders (or hitting you on the chin), and it will reduce the level of chafe you might experience. That’s especially important if you want to use it for walking, hiking and running.

Build quality is crucial, too: you don’t want it breaking and dropping weights onto your body. If you’re just starting out, don’t just choose the heaviest weighted vest you can find, especially if you want to run with it. Our advice: start with 5 percent of your bodyweight, and then build up the resistance slowly.