Rothstein Discusses Weighted Vest Workouts

U.S. News & World Report featured insight from Alexander Rothstein, M.S., coordinator and instructor for the Exercise Science program, in an article about weighted vests. While it may be tempting to work out in the heaviest vest you can find, Rothstein cautions against this.

“With more weight, we tend to move slower, which can cause an individual to become stronger but potentially less powerful. The additional weight can also change our biomechanics,” he says. “One’s running form with a weighted vest will be altered just from the redistribution of weight and the change in their center of mass. Because of this, it can be argued that training with a weighted vest is potentially beneficial to sports performance but also potentially detrimental particularly if precise form is required.”