Doing Cardio With Weights On — Does It Help?

August 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Fitness tips | No Comments » | Share this article

You’ve probably seen those ankle and arm weights — not the ones you hold in your hand, but ones you strap onto your body in order to make your cardio more demanding.

Sometimes I get people asking me if they’re useful. The answer? Sorta. But the problem is that it kind of depends on what you mean by “useful”, exactly.

Let me explain!

Yes, Those Little Weights Make You Work A Bit Harder

It’s true — the extra weight on your legs and arms means you’re working a little bit harder when doing your cardio, which isn’t a bad thing. You have to lift a little bit of extra weight when doing your cardio motions — whether it be running, cycling, or a whole mix of gymnastic things — so technically, the weights are having some effect.

But the real question is — are they worth it?*

But, A Problem: The Weights Are Never Very Heavy

Most of the weights I’ve seen people strapping on are ultra-light. Just adding these tiny bits of difference to your cardio routine probably isn’t worth the price of actually buying these weights, even if they’re cheap.

You can just do some extra cardio instead, increase the incline on the treadmill, the resistance on the bike, or the intensity you’re doing your workout at, and you’ll pretty much get the same effect.

We can’t make the weights much heavier because then cardio would become impossible. And that’s what leads us into the real key issue here…

And This Isn’t Really the Way to Use “Weights”

I get a worried feeling sometimes, that people are strapping on these ultra-light weights as a way to justify the fact that they’re doing a bit of “strength training” when really they’re just making a tiny adjustment to their cardio routines instead.

Remember, this isn’t what weight training looks like! These aren’t stepping stones or toes in the water towards getting yourself lean, toned, and in-shape the FITNESS MODEL way — these are just adjustments to cardio!

And one problem with “weighty-looking” adjustments to a cardio routine is that they’re still stuck in the endless cardio loop — the one that insists working out longer, sweatier, and at a lower intensity (but for hours) is the best way to burn fat. It’s not!

Want to Really Use Weights and Strength Training, the “Right” Way?

Don’t worry about throwing away the little weights. If you’re using them in your cardio, no problem. But cardio should be just one portion of your fitness routine — and definitely not the entire one. You won’t get fit just doing cardio!

Tell yourself: weights are not intimidating. Dumbbells are your friend! The free weight section (or even the machines in the gym, or heck — your own body weight) are the real tools you need to kick-start your body’s transformation!

I’ve got lots more info on my site about how you (doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man) can get started with an all-around fitness program that works you smarter, not longer! So keep reading!