Ankle Weights For Hikers

In this episode, I explore ankle weights for hikers. And answer the question, "Are there benefits to using ankle weights when training for hiking?"

Episode Transcript:

[0:00] All right, hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. So in today's episode,

[0:03] we're going to be talking about ankle weights for hikers. And we're going to be exploring if this is a topic and an area of training that I recommend to hikers, if there are some potential benefits for this to add into your training, and also how you may apply this if you were going down this route. Now, if you're not familiar with these, ankle weights are literally what they sound like. You get some weighted sandbags, weighted weights, which you strap around your ankles and you go for a walk. They were very, very popular in the fitness industry many years ago for one reason or another, went out of fashion for a while. And then every once in a while, I get a question about these from hikers. Maybe a hiker has some of these lying around and they're curious about adding this in, whether it'll be worthwhile, whether there's been someone that they follow online and started promoting and talking about this or whatever. And people often ask me, is this something that's worthwhile using in my training? Is it something I recommend? And that's what we're going to be exploring about today. Now, at the most surface level, when it comes down to ankle weights and applying this into your training, on the top level, the idea does make sense because as a hiker, obviously, we are trying to train the body to walk and hike for long periods of time.

[1:17] When it comes down to training, we want to apply challenge and load to the body to help it improve its strength, improve its endurance, improve its fitness. And the whole idea of if we can load up the ankles with a little bit of extra weight, we can apply a little bit of extra stimulus when we're walking,

[1:34] when we're hiking, whatever it may be. Potentially, this can be beneficial. It makes sense at a top level.

[1:40] And typically, I hear from hikers who are considering this in a few different situations. Some people, it's literally they have ankle weights lying around, and they're just curious, like, hey, is this good? Another situation a lot of hikers will sort of ask about this is if they've been doing lots of pack walking already and they've been wearing a pack, walking around the local neighborhood or whatever it may be, and they get to the point where they're like, well, the pack I can't really put any more in, whether it's a day pack and you don't want to buy a full pack or whether it's a full pack and you reach the limits and they're looking for other ways to load up. And they're like, well, maybe I'll do some ankle weights. Or there are some people who like the idea of ankle weights. If they're doing like neighborhood or treadmill walking.

[2:21] And some people do get a little bit self-conscious about this, like carrying a pack. If they're in a gym or around the local neighborhood and the whole ankle weights, they are a little bit less conspicuous and you can whack them on. Most people won't see them and that's appealing to a lot of people. I have even heard of people like, well, a number of people who've sort of said that their gym doesn't allow you to bring in a backpack to use on the treadmill, which is always crazy to me, but it does happen. So there are a number of situations where this does pop up. And as I said, at the top level, the idea does make sense. There's no denying it will add extra challenge to your walking. No denying that will make your muscles work harder. And there's no denying that it will add a bit of extra cardio challenge. But personally, when it comes down to using ankle weights for hikers, I am not a massive fan of them in 98% of situations.

[3:12] And 98% of the time, I'll usually tell my hikers, you know what? You can probably go in a different direction. And there are a few reasons for that. Number one, and first and foremost, if we are a hiker and we are training for hiking, we can just load up with a backpack. Realistically, every hiker or 99% of hikers will have some type of backpack available to them. Whether you've got a full pack because you go out and do overnight hiking, whether you've just got a small day pack because you just go out and do some shorter walks or whatever it may be, most people will already have access to this and loading these up are very very simple on top of that loading up a backpack is going to be more comfortable pretty much all the time than loading up ankle weights and then probably most important it's going to be more specific to hiking if we are actively trying to improve our hiking and we're doing walking sessions and trying to load them up having the weight on our back and exposing the muscles to those particular forces those particular challenges, that's always going to be more specific. So for the most part, using a pack, I'm always going to lean towards.

[4:15] Now, beyond that, when it comes down to ankle weights, another reason I'm not a massive fan of them is they can be a little bit hard to progress in the sense of when it comes down to any type of training, we want to be applying progressive overload, meaning we apply a stimulus, the body adapts to that stimulus, improves, and then we apply a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more. When we're using a backpack, pack, it's very simple. We just put a little bit more weight in, a little bit more weight in, a little bit more weight in until obviously the pack runs out of weight. For ankle weights, you know, this isn't always an option because most ankle weights you get access to will only really have a set weight. They're not super adjustable. You may have one or two pairs or whatever it may be, but you won't have a huge amount of option to actually progress this. And yes, you can go out and buy multiple sets. And yes, there are some expensive, more expensive brands out in the market, which you can adjust weight. But in all honesty, I would sort of say, if you're looking at getting exercise equipment and looking at spending money beyond just spending $10, $15 for a basic set, money is probably better invest in other areas, personally. So while it is a method of progression, it only does have a sort of top level ceiling. It'll only get you so far. And the third reason I'm not a massive fan of ankle weights is ankle weights will affect the way you walk.

[5:33] Purely for the fact because you're applying resistance down towards the ankles, it will change the way you walk in very slight ways. This isn't a massive deal. It's not like it's like how this is automatically going to injure you. It's not like it's going to ruin the way you walk or anything like that. However, it can have some consequences if you were doing walking on non-curated surfaces. So what I mean by that is if you're not just walking on a treadmill or not just walking around on a footpath, if you're walking on a local trail or on a rougher terrain or whatever it may be, this can have some consequences because if we've got those weight in our ankles and if it's changing the way we walk a little bit and we're on slightly rougher terrain, it slightly increases the risk of us just taking a misstep or us just not clearing a rock or whatever it may be. And we never want to trip and fall and it's just a tiny percentage, but I don't really particularly love it.

[6:25] On top of that, the other reason is if it does change the way we walk ever so slightly, so many hikers out there already have issues with their feet, with their ankles, with their shins, with their knees. And sometimes if we're just changing the way that we walk and applying load in slightly different ways, this can often be a trigger just to aggravate those areas. Again, I'm not saying this will automatically injure you and automatically give you pain or issues, but it can be a factor if you already have a history of these things.

[6:52] So for those reasons, it's not something I typically recommend to hikers. Not to say they're useless and no one can use them and they're dangerous or anything like that, but they're definitely not something I'd generally recommend. And I would usually say, if you're trying to load things up, just go out and use a pack.

[7:08] In all honesty, it's so much more specific, so much more simple, so much more comfortable, takes away those negative consequences, and you can progress it over time. Simple as that.

[7:18] Now, the only instances that I do lean towards them, and in that's sort of 2% because I said for 98% of hikers, probably not a big deal. I wouldn't use them. But that 2%, there are a few instances where maybe you may use these. I'm not saying you have to, but maybe. Number one is, as we sort of said, is if you are maxing out pack weight, the weight in your pack that you own. So what I mean by that is if you are training up on a day pack and you're training for a day hiking adventure and your day pack has reached the maximum limit that you can fit in and it cannot get any heavier. And you have zero desire to beg, borrow, buy a bigger pack, which is absolutely fair enough.

[7:58] It may be a situation where you're like, okay, cool. I just want to get an extra kilo of resistance for my training or whatever it may be. Maybe I'll max out this day pack and then apply the ankle weights. In that situation, it's perfectly reasonable. The same thing with a full pack. If you've maxed out your full pack and you're like, I still want to add a bit more weight, the ankle weights can be a decent option. Again, there is a limit of that progression. You're only going to get a little bit extra resistance, but it can be an option and that can be decent. Number two is like logistically, if your pack is just not an option. So as I said before, if you are going to a gym and they don't allow a backpack and you want to load up your walking a little bit, but you can't bring a pack, you don't have access to a weight vest. Yeah. And ankle weights may be an option. Maybe use this on the treadmill when you're doing up incline, maybe use this when you're going on the Stairmaster. That works fine. Same thing as if you may be traveling and you're like, well, I can't actually, I'm bringing a suitcase. I can't actually bring a backpack, but I can throw these in my suitcase or I can leave them at my parents' place or leave them at my friend's place or leave them at whatever. Yeah, logistically, maybe it could be an option in that situation. In either of these instances, if you're doing that, I would say, fine, go ahead. That's all good. But keep in mind, you want to keep this on curated surfaces. So don't use these on your hikes. Don't use these on the trail, but pavement walking.

[9:22] Treadmill, stairmaster even, or whatever it may be, but don't use them on those

[9:25] uneven surfaces because I don't think it's worthwhile. And if you're away, logistically, you don't have access to a pack, but you want to go out and hike and you want to challenge, that's fine. Go out and hike. Don't worry about extra resistance. Just enjoy yourself. Now, the other situation where you may lean towards these or that could be useful is if you're in the situation where you may be concerned about foot clearance or hip flexor endurance. And what I mean by this is foot clearance is kind of as you're walking each step you go. Foot clearance is how high your feet go above the ground. For some people, it's not a big deal. And they're like, I'm perfectly happy with this. Never have any problems. For other people, you may be the type of person you walk along and even on like a tiny little rise, you kind of always trip and stumble. And that can sometimes be contributed from foot clearance because you're not really bringing your foot so far off the ground. That's very hard to judge and know for ourself, but you may be aware that you're that type of person. Or hip flexor endurance, hip flexors are the front of the hips. If these get quite tired and burning going up hills or whatever it may be, we can be pretty aware that those hip flexors can be tight. So a situation for either of these things and a workout for either of these things where you can use ankle weights and it can be quite beneficial is applying this into a step session or a step-up session where basically you.

[10:44] Get like a box or a step which is like maybe no more than three quarters up your shin and you'll basically do extended periods of stepping up and down up and down up and down and the reason why using these ankle weights can be beneficial in this situation is it's just literally practicing lifting the legs up, lifting the legs down. Because the weight is a little bit lower in the limbs, it's going to load up those areas just a little bit more. Yes, using a backpack is perfectly legitimate on this type of session, and that absolutely works fine. But if you're specifically trying to hit that foot clearance or specifically trying to hit that hip flexor endurance, this could be an option. And a simple way you could look at a progression of this type of thing would be you may do a couple of weeks of a step-up session, just body weight, and get used to that feeling of going up and down, then you're like, okay, cool. I want to load this up a bit. So you may do that step-up session wearing your hiking boots because hiking boots are a little bit heavier than normal shoes. So you'll get a bit of resistance. And then if you want to keep on doing it and you want to load it up a bit more, then you would apply those ankle weights. And then obviously you would only get to a point with the ankle weights and you have to add a little bit more, more resistance. Then you may add the pack or you may change the workout or whatever it may be. So that could be a perfectly legitimate use of those ankle weights. Again, it's not something I get most of my hikers doing, but I have used it in the past, can be an option.

[12:03] So ultimately when it comes down to ankle weights for hikers.

[12:07] The top level makes sense, perfectly legitimate piece of training, but I think in the hiking context, the pack is just always, almost always going to be a better option. You'll have access to a pack, just use it, apply it, it'll be more comfortable, be more enjoyable, and I think that's just going to be a bit more specific for hikers. If you are going to apply ankle weights into your training, be smart about it, don't use it when you're hiking, use it on curated surfaces, and just be aware of how the body feels afterwards. And hopefully you know that gives you a little bit of direction so if you've ever been wondering about ankle weights for your training hopefully this helps hopefully gives you some insight and hopefully it helps you with your training last thing i'd sort of say um when it comes down to this if you are a hiker in the situation where you did feel like a little bit of personalized help with your training for hiking would be useful i would love to have a chat with you if you weren't aware already what we do through summit strength is online personal training for hikers to help you get fit, strong, and resilient for any adventure you set your mind to. If you did want to learn a little bit more about how we go about this and see if it may be right for you, you can go to summitstrength.com.au online.

[13:15] On that page, there's a big video which talks a bit through our program, how we go about things. And if it does sound like something you'd like to explore a little bit more, on that page, there's a link where you can book a call with our team. We can sit down, have a really thorough chat, learn about you, your hiking, your goals, your situation, and see if and how one of our programs may be right for you. So if you want to learn a little bit more, go to summitstrength.com.au slash online and we can take it from there. But with that being said, thank you for listening today. Hope you've enjoyed it. Hope you got a little bit out of it and we'll talk to you very, very soon. Bye.

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