Should I Walk With Weights?

“Q”– Would adding weights to my ankles or to the bottom of my Poles give me a better workout?  I can feel that I am working my core & upper body when I use my Poles – wouldn’t I get even more of a workout if I added weights?

“Advice” – Please DO NOT add weights! – Adding weights to your ankles or to your Poles can only increase your chances to throwing off your body’s alignment & stability – by causing over-rotation, as well by over-loading your upper & lower body. The chance of injury is too high.

Particularly when you can accomplish so much more, in a more controlled fashion, when you just increase the amount of pressure you apply as you pull-through or push-off using your Walking Poles. Though using Walking Poles lighten the load on your lower-body [which is critical for those with back, hip, knee, ankle of feet issues] one can increase the workout for your buttocks & legs by either, increasing your speed, doing hills or lengthening your stride. The same goes for your upper-body increasing your speed or by concentrating on the energy you put through your Poles will boost your benefits. It’s not about banging them down hard, the ‘Pole-plant’ is still gentle . . . it’s about the amount of resistance you create by the extent of oomph use to propel your body forward as you either pull-through or push-off against the ground using your Walking Poles.

If you are walking in proper resistance with your Poles – you are doing Push-ups, Sit-ups & Dumb-bells with every step. . . . Remember in 30-minutes – that’s approximately 2000-steps- which equals 2000 tummy-crunches; tricep-contractions; bicep-curls; back-flexes etc. 
. . . & that’s ALL without adding weights!