What are the real benefits to weighted vests?

In this episode of the Garage Gym Athlete podcast, Jerred Moon and Dave Paczkowski explore the rising popularity of weighted vests—especially among women, and particularly in the context of bone mineral density (BMD) and general fitness. While social media trends and fitness influencers push vests as the latest must-have gear, the GGA team dissects whether this tool is actually effective.

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Why Are Weighted Vests So Popular?

Jerred and Dave note that even without scrolling social media, they’re seeing more people use vests—especially for walking, rucking, or adding intensity to calisthenics. Dave’s wife, a women’s health PT, confirmed that vests are booming among perimenopausal women, largely for their potential role in boosting bone density and metabolism.

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Weighted Vests vs. Rucking: What's the Difference?

The hosts compare weighted vests (which distribute load across front and back) to rucking (a loaded backpack). While both have benefits, Dave points out that a vest may be gentler on the spine and more balanced overall—especially for those lacking core strength.

Key difference:

• Weighted vest = Even load → better for walking, calisthenics

• Rucking = Back-dominant load → better for general walking, but not pushups or squats

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Top Use Cases for Weighted Vests

1. Zone 2 Training: Jerred recommends vests for low-intensity cardio to help elevate heart rate without resorting to painfully slow jogs.

2. Progressive Overload at Home: Vests are a great option for bodyweight workouts—especially when dumbbells aren’t available.

3. Bone Mineral Density (BMD): Although the research is still inconclusive, added load during walking might help improve BMD over time.

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What the Research Says

The team reviewed 9 studies on weighted vests and BMD. Key takeaways:

• Studies are inconclusive. Many used overweight or sedentary participants, making it hard to isolate benefits.

• Load matters. If a person weighs 300 lbs and loses 20 lbs while using a 20-lb vest, they’re at the same net load.

• Heavier, consistent load over time is likely needed for BMD improvements—but hard to study in short trials.

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How to Use a Weighted Vest Safely & Effectively

• Start light. Don’t jump into 5-mile runs with a 20-lb vest. Progress slowly.

• Don’t run (unless you’ve trained for it). Running with a vest can wreak havoc on form and joints.

• Use performance metrics. Jerred suggests tracking time, pace, or distance with and without the vest to gauge real progress.

• Apply progressive overload. Whether it’s weight, time, or pace, gradually increase one variable while tracking results.

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Final Verdict: Should You Get a Weighted Vest?

Yes—if used correctly. Weighted vests are a versatile tool that can enhance cardio, strength, and overall fitness—especially when used for:

• Walking and low-intensity cardio

• Adding challenge to bodyweight movements

• Staying active on recovery days

• Tracking consistent progress over time

Just avoid the trap of thinking a vest alone is the magic bullet. It’s a tool—not a shortcut.

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Garage Gym Athlete Workout of the Week

Podcast Transcript

Jerred: [00:00:00] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Garage Gym Athlete Podcast. Jerred Moon here with [00:00:05] Dave Paczkowski.

Dave: What's up, Jerred? How's, uh, how's it going,

Jerred: man?

Dave: Talk some weighted vests. [00:00:10]

Jerred: Yeah, so we're talking about weighted vests today. Um, so I, I gotta ask you, man, have you [00:00:15] seen this as like a trend, a phenomenon, a viral [00:00:20] social media thing?

I, I, I honestly haven't noticed it as much, but I do see it, I [00:00:25] see more random people talking about weighted vest than I have in the past. Are you, are you seeing that as well?

Dave: [00:00:30] So, well, first disclaimers, I'm hardly on social. Like I don't scroll on social media at all. I like, I stay [00:00:35] away from it. That's very healthy.

Yeah. Which is very healthy. So I don't, uh, for that obvious reason, I [00:00:40] don't see it. I mean, I know, I know I talked to a lot of people that do like rucking clubs and I, I know Rucking is getting a little more [00:00:45] popular, a little, little different. Maybe some people. Consider weighted vest walking, I think rucking.

But, [00:00:50] um, I, Lindsay was asking, she was like, what are you guys talking about this week? And I'm like, I wish I on [00:00:55] weighted vest. She's like, oh, for perimenopause women. And she's, she's like in that space. Yeah. She's a women's health pt. So she's [00:01:00] he's seen it, she's well aware of it, but I was like, oh, is that like really a thing?

That's what they were talking about. And she's like, oh yeah, [00:01:05] that's like, that's a huge, like, that's like the, uh, Stanley bottles is like the way to invest now is what she was [00:01:10] comparing it to.

Jerred: It's true man. And um, what's interesting is. [00:01:15] Because this was last year. I'm just like, I have weighted vests, like from Murph [00:01:20] and everything.

I've got several different weighted vests just chilling in the garage. And this was last year, a new [00:01:25] weighted vest popped up and was just hanging on from our treadmill. And I was like, [00:01:30] wait, I buy the, I buy the gym equipment around here. And Emily had bought it. So that's when I was [00:01:35] like, okay, something, something's going on.

You know, like this is becoming a thing. Um, [00:01:40] so I thought that we could use this. Time to kind of talk about weighted vests, [00:01:45] rucking, not just for women looking to increase bone mineral density, but just [00:01:50] kind of our thoughts on, um, where it might have a place, talk about how I've utilized it over [00:01:55] the years.

Um, and, and I think that's probably where we can start a lot, a lot of the pros [00:02:00] on weighted vests or rucking in general. But the, another question I have for you, in [00:02:05] your experience, just as a pt, do you think that there's a difference? [00:02:10] Um. One bene, uh, like is one more beneficial than the other between a [00:02:15] ruck and a weighted vest?

And the reason I ask is because a ruck, you know, is basically it's a backpack that's [00:02:20] loaded on your back only, right? And it's got the straps on the front, so no, no front load. [00:02:25] But then a weighted vest is typically more well distributed across the front [00:02:30] and the back. And I've heard, I've heard pros and cons of each, but I just wanna get your take and see what you thought.

If. [00:02:35] If one is different than the other, if you think one is more beneficial or if it's kind of in all honesty, like net [00:02:40] neutral at the end of the day?

Dave: Probably, yeah, probably net net neutral overall for, uh, you know, [00:02:45] the, the average person, I think, I think weighted vest probably a little more favorable, just like low [00:02:50] distribution's gonna be a little more even.

So I think it might be a little more friendly on. On like, [00:02:55] especially low back and hips. And some of those areas too, uh, obviously set up, like if, if you're setting the [00:03:00] back, back up, right, it's supposed to disperse forces a little better. But for someone, um, who doesn't have a [00:03:05] lot of core strength, those things, the all the weight in the back might be a little more, a little more challenging for some people just in [00:03:10] terms of like if they have joint issues.

But your benefit's gonna be mostly the same in, in my [00:03:15] opinion, from, um, from some of that. And also depends if you're doing, obviously we're talking like calc [00:03:20] exercises versus just, uh mm-hmm. Just walking is. You know, a a ruck makes a lot more less [00:03:25] sense for a, you know, if you're trying to do a bunch of pushups or squats or something with it.

Jerred: Yeah, I've tried [00:03:30] that before. It is, it is difficult and I, you know, when I first heard about Rucking [00:03:35] gaining popularity, 'cause I think go ruck, like, let's be honest, they were probably the, the big people behind [00:03:40] getting rucking a little bit more mainstream. But I always thought rucking was bad because of my [00:03:45] military experience.

All the guys who ended up with jacked up knees and low back problems [00:03:50] were dudes who were like an infantry and like other things who had to carry these heavy [00:03:55] loads. Granted, like that was a personal bias I shouldn't have had because they, [00:04:00] they're loaded with like at least 50% of their body weight. You know, they, they have [00:04:05] like, yeah, like, or more, it'd be like a 200 pound dude with a hundred pound ruck.

And what's funny [00:04:10] is like. They might all have to carry the same stuff. So you could do a 200 pound person with a hundred pound ruck, or you [00:04:15] could be 150 pound dude with a hundred pound ruck, and it's like. Just deal with it, you know? And, and that [00:04:20] causes a lot of problems. But that's not what we're, we're seeing, not what people are doing.

We're talking about like [00:04:25] eight pound vests, 10 pound vests, 12 pound vests, 15, maybe 20. I don't see, I don't see [00:04:30] people going much further than that. Rucking, maybe you get up to 30, 40, 50% of your body weight depending on how much you wanna challenge [00:04:35] yourself. But I do, I did wanna lay that out there of like what we're actually talking about with a rut.

'cause I [00:04:40] don't think loading up to these massive amounts, like I used to do this [00:04:45] too, where like. Every blood vessel in my shoulder and trap was, uh, popped from [00:04:50] the heavy rock I put on my back. And that was just like the nature of the beast, you know? But, um, I don't [00:04:55] think that's what people should be doing.

I don't think it's, um, I don't think that level of, uh, [00:05:00] load is, is necessary or helpful when it comes to rocking or weighted walking.

Dave: Yeah, [00:05:05] we'll get into too. It also depends on the goal of what you're trying to get into with, uh, with some of that. 'cause there's so many, [00:05:10] there's so many possible utilizations for a vest or a ruck that we can, we can dive into [00:05:15] here.

Um, you know, somewhere. What do you see as the

Jerred: biggest one? Like what do you think the biggest like benefit to, to [00:05:20] weighted, what should we call it? Just should we just rocking? Weighted vest. Weighted vest. We, we'll we say weight vest. [00:05:25] Okay. Weighted vest. What do you think? Biggest.[00:05:30]

Dave: Ability to progressive overload with something. If you're with minimal [00:05:35] equipment, those things, if you're having to squeeze in an at-home workout and you wanna make it more effective and you don't [00:05:40] have things around like maybe you can't make to the gym that day, I think utilizing it for some degree of [00:05:45] progressive overload, uh, obviously that only works up to a point though, because if you

Jerred: keep

Dave: getting [00:05:50] stronger, then.

You have to keep buying a heavier vest or those things. But I think that's a, you know, [00:05:55] way to boost your, your calisthenics a little bit. There's gonna be a cap to that, obviously a, a ceiling to [00:06:00] how much you can progress with that. But, uh, I think more so than, you know, a calorie burn you'll get with [00:06:05] walking.

I mean, there's probably some benefit for someone who's, if you have a history of. [00:06:10] Osteopenia or some your osteoporosis. I think putting some load, even studies don't, the [00:06:15] studies we were looking at don't maybe clearly show that that's a benefit, but I don't think it's gonna hurt anything for, you know, [00:06:20] someone, especially if it gets them excited about doing exercise.

I think that's the biggest part is some people [00:06:25] just, they get a way to vest and they're like, oh, I'm gonna start walking regularly now. It's like, is your, are you [00:06:30] really boosting the exercise that much with it? But if you're more consistently doing it because the weighted vest gets you excited [00:06:35] about it, then I'm, I'm all for that.

Jerred: Yeah, and just so the listeners know, I'll hop into all the [00:06:40] studies that we looked at in preparation for this episode. Um, but I did just wanna start on kind of our personal experiences. [00:06:45] And so I'll tell you where I find it beneficial. Um, both in what I recommend to [00:06:50] people and what I've done myself is zone two is really important, not [00:06:55] as important as, as people would make it out to be.

It, it is important though, low intensity training. I don't [00:07:00] think running at a specific. Wattage for 90 minutes. I don't think at that level of [00:07:05] intricacy is, is important, but zone two is really hard to achieve. Like in all honesty, for most athletes [00:07:10] that we talk to. The problem is like, I have to run so slow.

Like it's basically, [00:07:15] it's like just above a walk, right? And, and that's the feedback we get over and over when people try to do zone [00:07:20] two. So my typical recommendation for people who want to be in zone two, the best ways to do it, in my opinion, is [00:07:25] either a one for one work to rest ratio. Um, where you go, you go for a run.

[00:07:30] Let's say you run 30 seconds on, you walk 30 seconds, or you run a minute, you walk a [00:07:35] minute and, and try to keep it one to one. 'cause what that does. If you run that [00:07:40] slow pace. And then you walk, you're, you're gonna, you're just gonna [00:07:45] hover lightly hover in this wave pattern of zone two with this often and on [00:07:50] strategy, and most people bulk at that.

They don't want to do it because that's like the couch to [00:07:55] 5K program. Like that's what they recommend. But like, it's like it's great zone two work. If you do that for an hour or an hour and [00:08:00] a half, like whatever you want. That's some of the best way to get zoned two. The second best way, in my opinion, [00:08:05] would be load.

And so if you're gonna throw on a ruck or a weighted vest, that's how [00:08:10] I've used Rucking a lot in the past is I'm like, I don't want to run super [00:08:15] slow, or I don't want to walk, run, um, so I'm just going to [00:08:20] throw on a load until I get to that zone too. Which to be honest, has still been really [00:08:25] hard for someone who's been training for a long time, like just throwing on a backpack and going outside, unless it's the middle of [00:08:30] summer, my heart rate's not getting into zone two unless it's a really heavy load.

So typically I have to do almost like [00:08:35] a warmup. Type activity, like a really aggressive five to 10 minute warmup, then [00:08:40] throw on the rock, then go, and then I can typically stay low zone two just with a rock. So anyway, those are the [00:08:45] best uses I see in utilizing it. And the last thing I'll mention is someone who, [00:08:50] as someone who studied a lot of what Louis Simmons put out from West Side Barbell, um, [00:08:55] he often recommended loaded walking for his athletes, some of the strongest [00:09:00] humans who've ever walked the planet.

And so I don't think that we should. [00:09:05] Discount that at all. Granted, he was talking about like yolk walking and like [00:09:10] things that are really heavy, but he was talking about doing that for bone mineral density, [00:09:15] for maintaining strength, for general physical preparedness. So there's a lot of benefit. It just depends on where [00:09:20] you want to take it and and how you're gonna utilize it.

Now when we get into the studies that we're looking at, what [00:09:25] we had was like a whole host of studies that we went over. I think it was nine [00:09:30] overall. And what it was really looking at is like. How does this [00:09:35] really help people? Is this a big needle mover in bone mineral density? Is it something [00:09:40] that's better for short term weight change or increase in muscle mass, decrease in fat, [00:09:45] uh, fat mass, all of those kind of things.

And my overtake, my overall [00:09:50] take. And you looked at the same studies so you can kind of give me your own opinion too. My overall take is like [00:09:55] we don't have enough data to like concretely say, this is the [00:10:00] best way to increase bone mineral density, like. It's not the best, but we also don't have enough [00:10:05] data that says that it's not.

And so it's like, oh, well, how's that helpful? It's like, well, I think that's just kind of [00:10:10] where we are, but I think that it has a lot of legs. I think the, the concept of weighted [00:10:15] vests or walking makes a lot of sense, and there are a whole host of activities [00:10:20] and there are a whole host of benefits to this activity, but it's like maybe [00:10:25] BMD bone mineral density is not of the highest.

Caliber because typically [00:10:30] how you get an increase in bone mineral density, and you probably even know better than me, but it's typically high impact type [00:10:35] things. Like, um, plyometrics is, is a, you know, a big part of that, or, or heavy [00:10:40] resistance. But I feel like heavy resistance is the hardest thing to get people to do heavy resistance training.

Like, and [00:10:45] I don't like to tell people that either. I, I not because I'm like scared to tell people what they don't want to hear, but I'm like, oh, [00:10:50] the only way you can increase your bone mineral density is to lift heavy weights. There's, there's always another way. So it's [00:10:55] like, can we do some plyometrics, some basics or can we just load a little bit more, walk a little bit faster and [00:11:00] get that same impact, you know, that ground force and, and increase it.

So anyway, what, [00:11:05] looking at all of it, I think that there are a lot of advantages to this and overall health, [00:11:10] wellness and, and everything else. Bone mar mineral density. I think more research is needed, but I wouldn't [00:11:15] say it's not there. What did, what did you think like similar takeaways or did you get something a little bit different after you looked at [00:11:20] everything?

Dave: Yeah, I'd agree. I was, I was surprised that, I mean, I would've thought honestly, bone marrow density [00:11:25] would've been more seen, you know, as yeah, an improvement from, from wearing weighted vests. [00:11:30] And, um, I agree. I think there's probably more, more data that's needed when they compare it to just, [00:11:35] if you have to choose between, you know, we talk about this a lot, like exercise.

If you're looking for the magic pill, [00:11:40] like exercise specifically some combination of strength resistance training and [00:11:45] cardiovascular activity, like that's. That's your magic pill that, you know, that maybe takes a little more work than [00:11:50] just throwing away to vest on and, and walking around the block. But I think if you can, that doesn't, I agree.

It doesn't make [00:11:55] it a pointless tool just because exercise has been shown more effective. I think it could be [00:12:00] a little boost for someone that can't make it to the gym who isn't following maybe a. You know, they [00:12:05] don't fully know what they're doing in the gym, so they're not following a five, six day program that's, you know, well, well [00:12:10] designed in that way.

They're afraid of lifting weights, 'cause of joint pain or they don't have supervision. But I mean, if you have to, [00:12:15] if you're making the one versus the other argument, like, yes, exercise, weight bearing in some way, [00:12:20] doing some loaded squats, carries lunges. Like anything weight bearing through, [00:12:25] uh, through your joints and through your spine specifically is gonna be.

Beneficial. If you're older, that could be [00:12:30] holding a kettlebell in front of you and squatting up and down from a chair if you're able to. Obviously [00:12:35] back squatting, front squatting, goblet, squatting, even leg pressed machines, something that's a little more friendly on your back [00:12:40] is still gonna be a, a great way to do that.

But I'm not, I. I wouldn't throw out the weighted vest just [00:12:45] because the studies weren't really clear on that, that either. I think there is a lot of uses if you're [00:12:50] intentionally no know why you're using it, I think maybe not just like expecting to just add [00:12:55] that to your routine and go on a walk and it's gonna make everything better.

But if you're strategically using it in [00:13:00] the overall context of your, your health and fitness routine, I think it, I, I think there's a, a lot of [00:13:05] places it could be inserted in there

Jerred: and, and the questions that came up for me when I was looking at this is like. [00:13:10] Uh, we looked at one study from 2018. It had 37 obese older adults.

There was a study from [00:13:15] 2020, it had 69 obese adults. There was a study from 2025, it had 133 obese [00:13:20] adults. Um, and this is just repeated over and over again. Not, not necessarily all of them, but most of them were out [00:13:25] of shape. But here's, here's what I, my, where my brain started to go when I was [00:13:30] reading this, I'm like, okay, if you weigh, let's say I [00:13:35] weigh 300 pounds and I'm like, I wanna start walking with a weight vest.[00:13:40]

And I lose 280 pounds, or I lose 80 pounds, 20 pounds [00:13:45] and I get down to two 80. The, I don't, I, I don't see how this could have [00:13:50] an impact on your bone mineral density. 'cause your body is not actually getting any more low. [00:13:55] Do you know what I mean? It's like weight is weight, you know what I mean? And so if you're able to [00:14:00] decrease your body mass from weighted walking, [00:14:05] I, there are a lot of health benefits and yeah, decrease in fat mass.

But bone mineral [00:14:10] density, I don't see how it could actually happen because you're not, you're not truly [00:14:15] like, uh, adding more load to your walk. It's almost like a, you know, they, they're just coming down at the [00:14:20] same time, and that was just that, again, that's just me just looking at this logically. I'm like, is [00:14:25] that, is that part of the reason we're not seeing as much of a, you know, BMD change when we're [00:14:30] talking about obese adults specifically?

Is it because. Weight is weight and you need more load [00:14:35] than your body currently has. 'cause your body's very accustomed to whatever weight it's walking around at right now. [00:14:40] And, uh, so any changes, it's almost like you have to get to a new baseline over the course of a year, and then after [00:14:45] you're at that stable baseline, maintain weighted walking for another year and then probably BMD [00:14:50] increases.

But that's, that's a study that people aren't gonna do, right? That's a two year study. And so I don't know if that [00:14:55] happens.

Dave: I think, uh, like we sent on our email yesterday, it was, it was around weight loss [00:15:00] specifically, but just how good our body is at adapting too. So if you throw a weighted vest on and [00:15:05] say your goal is weight loss with it, it's like, okay, maybe that walk burns.

Dunno how far you're [00:15:10] going and intensity all that, you know, somewhere from 50 to, if it's intense, a few hundred calories. [00:15:15] But how is your body adjusting the rest of the day? Like a lot of people, even with hard workouts in the [00:15:20] morning, they're gonna do less throughout the day. Like your body compensates through something called neat that you just [00:15:25] move around less spontaneously or you eat more food.

Like if you're not strictly tracking [00:15:30] your calories and really, or have a system in place to, to monitor how much you're eating. Eating an extra couple hundred [00:15:35] calories is not very hard. If you're like, oh man, I just longer today 'cause I burned this. So I think same thing with what you're [00:15:40] talking about of like someone loses weight and then you add this weighted vest.

Or if you don't lose weight with it, you're trying to [00:15:45] add this vest in. It's like, okay, are you walking a little bit slower? Is your heart rate down? Like, are you, [00:15:50] there's so many ways that your body's gonna try and find to maintain the status quo. That, [00:15:55] uh, I think that's where you have to be intentional about how you're using it and making sure that.

Intensity [00:16:00] isn't slipping if, or, or what your, what your goal really is for using, if you're trying to get in zone two, then making sure you're actually [00:16:05] monitoring that and, and staying in that zone. Uh, I think there's a lot of the factors people have to keep in mind. [00:16:10]

Jerred: Yeah, and I think my ultimate recommendation for anyone who's looking to do this is [00:16:15] how can we turn this into like a performance mentality?

Like can we talked about that recently? Um, [00:16:20] is performance metrics are better than VA vanity metrics. [00:16:25] And this is actually quite simple, progressive ever overload, in my opinion. Doesn't have to just [00:16:30] be, um, more weight. It's like, okay, I've walked with a five pound vest this week, [00:16:35] 10 pound vest next week, 15 pound vest the next week.

Like you could technically do that, but [00:16:40] there's so many ways you could slowly progress this. It could be like, Hey, I got a 10 pound vest. And [00:16:45] then you cap something, you either cap time or mileage, right? It's like, I'm gonna walk three miles. And it's like, okay, how long [00:16:50] did it take you to the vest on? And then you see, can I do that faster or, or [00:16:55] you do it the other way around, like, I'm gonna walk for 60 minutes.

How, how much distance did I cover? [00:17:00] And then after you start to see those numbers tick in a positive performance direction, let's [00:17:05] say you chose, I'm gonna walk three miles. And you're like, okay, it took 40 minutes the first week, [00:17:10] 37, 36, 30, you, those start clicking down, but then you're starting to. It's starting to get [00:17:15] harder to progress.

The only real way to probably go is to move, turn it into a jog, which you could do, [00:17:20] or you're like, no, I, I really want this to be weighted. Walking like, cool at now, add five pounds. [00:17:25] Now you add the five pounds to the, the weighted vest, or 10 pounds or rucking, or it, it doesn't [00:17:30] matter how you wanna tackle this.

Now you can actually start to increase your [00:17:35] performance in this by just. A theory of constraints, constraining one thing and, [00:17:40] and monitoring your performance. And tho these things for me are really fun. It's like, one of my favorite things to do in [00:17:45] fitness is like, that's why I like doing regular training through the week and then Murf on Saturdays because it, [00:17:50] it was the one thing where I could like see it click down on Saturday.

And so that's why I like to [00:17:55] have some workout that I'm doing on repeat so I can actually see some progress as opposed to just feel like they're, [00:18:00] I'm training to, you know. Breathe hard sweat and all that other stuff. I actually wanna [00:18:05] see the metrics like move in some direction.

Dave: Yeah. In your mind. And in my mind works a lot like [00:18:10] that.

I think for some listening know that that takes a lot of patients, people get impatient about wanting [00:18:15] to progress too quick. So it's like, oh, if I'm adding a, if I'm adding 10 pounds to my load, I'm getting better. And, [00:18:20] and we see it with not even talking weighted vest. People do that with the squat bar, with bench or something.

They're like, oh, [00:18:25] I, I added. Five pounds in the bar this week I added 10 pounds. But the speed of the weight slowed [00:18:30] down. Your shoulder started rounding forward. You're not using as much muscles. It's like, are you really getting better? And that's where, mm-hmm. [00:18:35] That's where a lot of these things can be deceiving if we try and progress too fast.

If you're not patient with it, and if you're not tracking the [00:18:40] right things, then it makes it hard to know, am I really getting, really getting better with this? And that's where I think some [00:18:45] people need to know that. It's like, it's usually a much slower thing than you think. And that's, uh, that's okay [00:18:50] though to not be looking for, you know, the, uh, you know, the monumental.

Like shifts [00:18:55] is just not how health and fitness works, unfortunately, for, for most people.

Jerred: Yeah. The, and [00:19:00] a good example of this is like, I started doing this, um, I started doing murf on Saturdays, [00:19:05] but not true murf. Uh, I won't even call it murf. I think that's a, that's disrespectful. So what I've [00:19:10] been doing is 20 rounds of 160 meter run, [00:19:15] five pushups, 10 no, five pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats.

So [00:19:20] it is murf in volume. But it's 20 rounds of a short run. [00:19:25] There's no mile run at the beginning, whatever. So it's 20 rounds of this, it just equates to the, the Murph volume. [00:19:30] But I, the first week I did it, I had a time, right? And so, and then after the time, [00:19:35] um, the next week, it was week two, I'm like, okay, I know my time.

I just need to get faster than [00:19:40] that time. And I got faster. And I'm like, did you get any fitter? I'm like, I don't think so. No. I just, [00:19:45] I just knew the time and I had to beat it and I didn't beat it by a whole lot. So it, it's gonna take [00:19:50] the rest of my training. To actually move the needle there. And, and I mean, [00:19:55] there's a lot of benefit to doing that and trying to get faster each and every single week, but are my [00:20:00] transitions just faster?

Am I doing this faster? Am I running faster? Um, but eventually you'll [00:20:05] run out of, like, it takes about four weeks for all that to normalize. And then you're like, now I'm in the [00:20:10] thick of it now. This is where the actual progress happens. And so I think people should know that too, is like, sometimes there's [00:20:15] just like effort.

Like, uh, I did this when I was training for my ultra marathon, like I would. I capped [00:20:20] at six miles and so I, it was always, I'm gonna run six miles. 'cause I had this [00:20:25] perfect loop around my house that was six miles and, but I was gonna maintain zone two and so all I [00:20:30] wanted to do was that time to get faster.

But for the first two to three months, all I was doing [00:20:35] was slowly clipping up my heart rate to like the maximum edges of zone two. And some days would be [00:20:40] like the. Like the beginning run was like low zone two, and then the, the [00:20:45] third week run was like high zone two. I'm like, this isn't an increase in fitness.

You're just, it's more effort. [00:20:50] Um, but then after all of that normalizes, you have nowhere to hide. And now you can actually start to perform like, like [00:20:55] really work on increasing your fitness, which is to me where it becomes a lot of fun. But like you [00:21:00] said, a lot of people can get annoyed by that process.

Mm-hmm.

Dave: But if you're, if you are interested in doing that, just give it. You [00:21:05] know, give it 12 weeks, give it a few months to, to let those things stabilize. 'cause you will, so you'll [00:21:10] hit a point where you can't, you can't cheat your way out of it. You can't eat it anymore. Yeah. At some point you're gonna, you know, the [00:21:15] first four to six weeks at least, they're gonna be dealing with the noise.

If you're chasing a performance goal, even if [00:21:20] you're trying to lose weight, it's like the first few days, even the first couple weeks gonna be [00:21:25] water weight fluctuations anyways. And difference in eating all those things, it's like that's not a win or a loss. [00:21:30] Like, it's just, you have to stay with anything long enough to see where the change is actually happening.

Jerred: Yeah. [00:21:35] Awesome, man. Well, you got anything else on this? Like, should people be doing [00:21:40] weighted vests? Uh,

Dave: yeah, I mean, I, I'm not a, I'm not [00:21:45] opposed to it. I think mixing it, like, I think the things we've talked about of if you are, [00:21:50] you know, if it's a tool in your, in your toolbox, I think it's a, a great thing. I know [00:21:55] just putting a weighted vest on for doing something like, you know, if you're talking like weighted mur for [00:22:00] sun weighted, if you're at that point, or if you're talking like any kind of.

Especially calisthenic type workout. [00:22:05] There's a little bit of a different mindset that happens when you put the vest on. And maybe that's what these, uh, perimenopause women are getting that little [00:22:10] different mindset. They're, they're strapping up their weighted vest and Come on hardcore. Yeah. Yeah. They're, uh, got their [00:22:15] camo weighted vest on and everything and, uh, who knows?

So I think there's like, if it gets you excited about training in [00:22:20] some way, I've, I've no problem against it. I think, like you said, if people are willing to be patient, I think you can [00:22:25] overload appropriately over time. But I also think the hesitancy has gotta be, [00:22:30] don't go. Too much, too fast outta the gate.

I think that's something just worth mentioning to Some people I know will throw [00:22:35] weight a vest on and jump on a treadmill and they're like logging a five mile run and then they're like, oh, I got shin splints [00:22:40] now and my back hurts. And it's like a hundred percent. Yeah, because that was not a smart way to go back into it.

Or if you can't [00:22:45] do a a unweighted murf, like don't just go throw the vest on and try and crank out all these [00:22:50] calisthenics or you'll, you'll be wrecked for a long time.

Jerred: Yeah. That was actually gonna be [00:22:55] the one thing that I was gonna say is yes, do weighted vest, doesn't matter who you [00:23:00] are. And, and what we're, what we see, and I always see this is like something maintain [00:23:05] gets a lot of popularity and sometimes, I don't know who started, it's typically Andrew Erman or [00:23:10] Peter Atia.

Um, they start it and then it gets the rest of the [00:23:15] health and fitness podcast. Start talking about it after that as like the next best thing that, oh, get, get [00:23:20] it while it's hot. But then so that the idea comes out, then the [00:23:25] counterculture. To the idea comes out after that. Sometimes it takes six [00:23:30] weeks, six months or whatever.

And that's where we're at now, where it's like weighted vests have gained a lot of popularity. [00:23:35] Now people are gonna talk about how they're not actually all that beneficial. You'll start seeing more content like that. [00:23:40] But in reality, um, everyone's just trying to get more views at the end of the day. It's [00:23:45] helpful for what you're trying to do, and the only thing I say you shouldn't do in a vest, 90% of people [00:23:50] is gonna be run.

I don't think you should run in a weighted vest. I don't think enough people have focused enough time [00:23:55] on their running form to justify it. And then your form's gonna change, your [00:24:00] gate's gonna change, everything's gonna change. Once you add that load, and like you said, I can't tell you how many people I've run [00:24:05] into who are like.

I, I don't, they might have like this, I was a previous athlete. I'm [00:24:10] hardcore I can do this. And so they throw on a 20 pound vest and yeah, they go for that five mile run or they do [00:24:15] MPH or whatever and they're hurting everywhere. And they actually have like legitimate injuries, not just muscle soreness. [00:24:20] And it's like, yeah, you, you were in no way prepared for that.

Like you should not do that. So don't try and be hardcore with a [00:24:25] vest. Use it for like a lot of the ways we talked about, um, different ways to [00:24:30] progress it. We talked about also using it for zone two, things like that, but keep it at a walk. A [00:24:35] ruck is not a, a run, you know, just moving as fast as you can and you can move quickly.

[00:24:40] Okay. Like they're, you can do a really fast, uncomfortable rock. Like they, they can really suck and it [00:24:45] doesn't even have to be loaded all that much. You don't ever have to run. So I, again, I'm not saying nobody should, [00:24:50] there's 10% of the people who think I, who, who can they have their form dialed in? Like I [00:24:55] think I'm decent running in a vest just from all the Murphy years.

Like I don't have [00:25:00] any. I never had any knee problems, anything when I was doing all that. Like never, never really [00:25:05] affected me. Um, but I also worked four years on my running form and it's still [00:25:10] not great. Like, uh, my cadence is still thrown off, but like, at least my four foot strike is pretty decent and ingrained into my [00:25:15] brain and all those kind of things.

So anyway, just know whether or not you should or shouldn't be doing it and, and [00:25:20] have a, uh, a white belt mindset as you go into adding load to your, to your [00:25:25] body. Cool man. How's life? How [00:25:30] you doing? Life's good. We're, uh, yeah, we're, [00:25:35] we're just rolling with,

Dave: uh, seems like things are changing every week with three [00:25:40] toddlers and a newborn.

Two toddlers and a newborn. It's, uh, I dunno, we get all these personality swings and all [00:25:45] these things that Lindsay are trying. Lindsay and I are trying to learn how to. Parent and love Well, and, and [00:25:50] discipline, uh, firmly. And also trying to understand where they're coming from with, with outbursts and, [00:25:55] and all those things.

And not just chalking up as normal and, and those things. So it's, uh, [00:26:00] it's hard and rewarding. 'cause we see that when we stay, when we stay firm on [00:26:05] boundaries and those things too. With, with, because they'll, our kids will try and push 'em, [00:26:10] especially our daughter and, uh, like trying to love her through it. It also discipline for [00:26:15] me, like it's such a hard line for a parent because.

You, you feel like you're being harsh all the time. Then all of a sudden you see them [00:26:20] get it though, and you're like, okay, like this is what we're, this is the standard we're trying to, [00:26:25] to hold. And like, we try and leave with our core values and like, like, this is what we do. Like these are our values. This [00:26:30] is why we're, we're doing this.

And it's just hard sometimes 'cause you wanna, you wanna check out and just be like, oh, [00:26:35] just be easier for me to give in and let her have her way. And then, um, so we're, we're in a lot [00:26:40] of parenting growth, growth season right now. Um, that's, uh. Yeah. So [00:26:45] any, any advice everyone has on that, just, uh, just reach out and let us know.

Jerred: Yeah. It, it gets [00:26:50] way easier over time. Yeah. You just,

Dave: you just become a pro.

Jerred: Yeah. No, I mean, I would, I would say I'd [00:26:55] actually really enjoy where I'm at in parenting right now with my, the ages of my kids. It's, I feel like it's [00:27:00] more, um, logical leadership as opposed to stage you're in, [00:27:05] which is like your kids have not quite developed logic based reasoning to [00:27:10] the extent of.

You know, an adult, right? Mm-hmm. And so it's like, uh, those [00:27:15] are the hard, like everything is the end of the world. You know what I mean? So it's, it's hard to explain that, and [00:27:20] it's even hard sometimes at the ages they're at now to let them know, like, that's not a big deal. They don't [00:27:25] know it, but to them, that's, it's everything, you know, so you can't just discount their feelings either.

Um, so [00:27:30] yeah, it's, it's a challenge. But I, I would say the younger years were tougher for me. [00:27:35] Emily definitely stepped up and helped a ton in that regard. I feel like now. [00:27:40] We're at the stage where I'm way more beneficial and like, hopefully the shaping of men. [00:27:45] I still don't know what I'm doing with a daughter.

I'm, I'm still, still still learning there, but, uh, my two [00:27:50] boys, I think they're, they're turning out good and I'm, uh, I'm happy, [00:27:55] excited for them. And they're, you know, it's just, I, I'm enjoying it right now. So you're [00:28:00] doing all the right things, it sounds like, man, so, I mean, if my opinion matters at all from a father [00:28:05] standpoint, I think, uh, I think you're doing the right stuff.

Dave: It's just, it's just being a. [00:28:10] As we discipline, being disciplined and like the not checking out and being patient and those things too. It's like I don't, yeah. [00:28:15] When we try and match tone, when someone's yelling in the house, it's like, okay, I need, I don't need to match a [00:28:20] tone with a toddler. Like, those are the things that you, there's so many reminders though.

'cause we, you, you're tired at the end of the day and [00:28:25] you're like, you're, there's like all the excuses. You have to not do it, but it's like, [00:28:30] okay. Every, every little rep, just like fitness, it's like, okay, we can't, can't take. We [00:28:35] can't take a night off and just be like, okay, yeah, sure. Just like do what you want.

So it's, uh, it's [00:28:40] rewarding in that way of seeing the, seeing the fruit of all those little actions. [00:28:45]

Jerred: Yeah. I think my biggest parenting lesson has been like, if you're putting in that [00:28:50] effort, you're probably fine. You know, like sometimes we're like, we focus on, we're not [00:28:55] perfect, right? It's like, eh, but from everything you're saying, you're trying, you're putting in the effort.

So like. [00:29:00] You're good. Like, yeah. Like you're gonna be fine. You know? And, and that's, that's, that's been my [00:29:05] biggest takeaway as I, same thing you, you're starting to see things click and you probably weren't perfect along the way, but they clicked [00:29:10] anyway. It's like you just gotta put in the effort as opposed to the checking out or not parenting or [00:29:15] skipping.

You're not doing any of those things. And so I think that's, um, that's huge. So That's awesome, [00:29:20] man. But that's a good update. Um, training. Training. Good.

Dave: Yep. Yeah. Still, [00:29:25] uh, so running dropped down to one, running, uh. Work out a week, [00:29:30] one primary one. Sometimes I'll get another like zone two type thing in, or long, slow run, but [00:29:35] intervals.

I did, uh, eight by six hundreds last week, which is like a terrible distance. [00:29:40] That's a,

Jerred: yeah, 600 to 800. 608 hundreds

Dave: are, yeah, eight hundreds are gonna come in the [00:29:45] next cycle. So I'm really not looking forward to it. But, uh, strength numbers are moving their way back up, which is [00:29:50] good. Uh, slowly getting a little bit of weight on, which is just helping.

So trs trying to go, [00:29:55] go slow with it, but it's been, yeah, it's been fun getting, uh. Getting the strength up and trying to [00:30:00] hang onto the running best I can.

Jerred: Nice man. Uh, well I kind of spoiled my training [00:30:05] already. I told you about the, the new Murph volume equivalent [00:30:10] workout. I don't have a name for it. I think that's what I'm gonna call it.

The Murph volume equivalent workout. Uh, I've got a nice [00:30:15] ring to it. And so that's, that's what I've been doing. That's been my consistent on Saturday's, [00:30:20] uh, workout. I actually love it. Dude. I love that workout so much more than mur. It shouldn't even, [00:30:25] it's not even fair because like. The hardest thing about Murph, in my opinion, is [00:30:30] the runs.

It's like, because I, I [00:30:35] murf, I, you know, after I got pretty good at it, you make a lot of time in the [00:30:40] calisthenics. People don't realize it, but like, I'm already at the point and have been at the point for a long time where resting during the [00:30:45] calisthenics is not, is not even a thought. Like I, I am gonna move straight through the cal calisthenics 5, 10, 15 5, [00:30:50] 10 15 without stopping.

And without trying to slow down, like that's ingrained. So where, [00:30:55] where for me, now that I have that locked in, it's all about the runs. It's always about the runs. If I want a faster time, [00:31:00] it's fast mile. Fast mile and that, that's where it's hard to focus on [00:31:05] like actually being fast. But when you're running 160 meters, you can always run fast, [00:31:10] like 160 meters.

The. Contrary to the 600 meter, 160 [00:31:15] meters is like the perfect distance to where you're like, I can always run this fast. I don't care how tired I'm in. Like I could, I could do it [00:31:20] pretty solid. And so, um, it's, it's a great workout. I I'm curious [00:31:25] if there, it will have any translation to being better at Murf, but for [00:31:30] me, I didn't want to jump into like just doing Murph every single week.

Like I wanted to [00:31:35] do it this way because the same amount of volume, um, which matters for like [00:31:40] joints, ligaments, tendons. Cardiovascular time. All it matters in all [00:31:45] those regards, but it might not help my mile time a ton. But one thing I do know that I need right [00:31:50] now is speed work, um, to get my miles time back down.

So it's almost like baked in speed work [00:31:55] too, when I'm actually trying to run those. 'cause I'm not running 160 meters at a six minute mile pace, right. I'm running [00:32:00] 160 meters at like a four minute mile pace, like trying to go as fast as I can. So I'm hoping that it [00:32:05] translates to speed, but I'll keep everyone updated and see because I'll, I'll probably test Murph.[00:32:10]

Every six weeks or so. See, see where the times are at, see if this workout's helping. 'cause I'm trying to do it this [00:32:15] way as opposed to just straight doing Murph every single weekend, which I've done enough of. [00:32:20]

Dave: Would you change it up at all? Like, uh, at like increase the run and then do two or three rounds of [00:32:25] calisthenics in a row and then like, not quite EO three, 5K ish, but like, something like that?

I mean that [00:32:30] I've thought about it

Jerred: like yeah, like just double everything and do 10 rounds, something like that. Um, [00:32:35] I might right now. It's like I'm in that phase that I talked about in [00:32:40] the, in the podcast of like, I'm waiting for things to normalize 'cause I'm only a few weeks into it. [00:32:45] And so I want to get to the point where I'm just like, oh, you only did it [00:32:50] one second faster than the previous week.

And then I know, okay, I'm at my limits fitness wise, uh, and I'm not [00:32:55] there yet. Right now I'm like seeing these huge decreases each week and I'm like, yeah, you're just running faster. 'cause you know you want a faster [00:33:00] time. But, so I haven't truly hit my maximums yet. So after that I'll probably maintain [00:33:05] it for, let's say another six weeks.

Then I'll start playing around with like, okay, [00:33:10] and I'm doing it unvested, everything's unvested right now. Um, then I'll like, should I throw a vest on? Should I [00:33:15] Yeah, double the distance, double the calisthenics, because 5, 10, 15 is also stupid easy. [00:33:20] It's like, it just five pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats, and you hop back on a treadmill.

[00:33:25] It's like, that's like nothing. It feels like I'm running most of the time compared to, to [00:33:30] doing that. So anyway, um, yeah, I'll, I'll definitely start playing around with it after. [00:33:35] After my time stopped dramatically decreasing. Be fun to watch. I know you got your,

Dave: uh, [00:33:40] target for a good-ish murf time this year, right?

Jerred: Yeah. Yeah. We'll see how Memorial Day, [00:33:45] maybe I won't even test MF at all. I'm just gonna do this workout until, until [00:33:50] Memorial Day next year. And then just see like, okay, what happens? Yeah. See, see if my murf time is is [00:33:55] something I'm happy with or not. Maybe I'll just do it that way. 'cause it doesn't really matter at the end of the day.

Right. I'm not like, I'm just doing it [00:34:00] for me anyway. Um, so yeah. Cool. All right, man, well, we'll, we'll wrap it up [00:34:05] here, uh, to everyone in the Garage Gym Athlete community, we appreciate each and every single one of you. Thanks for [00:34:10] doing the training, sticking around, and if anyone does want to become a part of our [00:34:15] training and what we're doing, go to garage gym athlete.com, sign up for a trial, and we'd love [00:34:20] to have you.

But that's it for this one. Remember, if you don't kill comfort, comfort will kill [00:34:25] you.