Ever wonder why your gym buddy wears that funky looking weighted vest? Often mistaken as bulletproof vests, weighted vests are an excellent fitness tool for building strength and muscle mass. Weighted vests are filled with weights yet designed to be flexible, and they allow you to kick your bodyweight workouts up a notch (or three!).

When a person wears a weighted vest, the muscles have to work harder to compensate for the extra weight. Due to this fact, the body becomes stronger and develops the additional strength needed to perform exercises with added resistance.

Wearing a weighted vest while you're doing your routine has immense benefits. For starters, it encourages proper body mechanics as it improves balance and posture. Weighted vests support the back muscles and make the body stronger, making it less prone to injury. They make workouts more strenuous and add intensity to your exercises, making you burn more calories compared to doing the same routine without the vest. Weighted vests are beneficial for the long-term because you simply have to add more weight to increase the intensity of your work. You don't have to learn more complex exercises.

Weighted vests also facilitate weight loss. Whether you're running, jogging or simply walking, putting on a weighted vest while doing these simple routines makes you expend more energy. The more energy you use, the more calories you burn, and weight loss is accelerated. They also increase your body's demand for oxygen and as a result, the heart, lungs and circulatory system become stronger. In a similar vein, wearing this special apparel while doing plyometric exercises such as jumping and leaping, increases strength and power. Runners who wear vests during their practice sessions also improved speed.

Weighted vests are also a great way to develop endurance during the workout. By wearing a weighted vest that's at least 3% of your total body weight and practicing slow and controlled strength training movements, weighted vests enable one to go stronger for longer.

People who are prone to or are suffering from osteoporosis benefit from weighted vests because they can do low impact workouts and still increase their bone density. Moreover, wearing weighted vests strengthens your skeleton, making it less prone to fractures and breaks.

Weighted vests also give variation to a workout. This is important since it allows individuals to stick with their routine simply by wearing a vest to vary the workout.

If you're new to weighted vests, start by wearing lighter weight plates. It's ideal that you wear a vest that is only about 4% of your body weight. As your body gets used to it, you can gradually add more weights. However, consult your doctor if you have any preexisting medical condition or injury before using weighted vests for your workout.