Perimenopause and the Weighted Vest: A Love Story?

I got my first weighted vest a little late. I was a fan of rucking (carrying a weight plate in a backpack specifically designed for added weight), and didn’t feel I needed another piece of fitness equipment. When my husband texted me about the Spy Ruck, I still wasn’t sure I needed a weighted vest. But a week later, a 12-pound vest showed up at my door, and I joined the legions of women in my neighborhood sporting the sexy accessory. 

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know weighted vests are everywhere for middle-age women. (Are you even a middle-age woman if you don’t have a weighted vest?!) I’m here today to break down the science behind the weighted vest craze. 

First, let’s talk about some of the benefits of adding weight to daily movement. 

1. Improved Muscle Strength and Lower-Body Power: Studies in middle-aged and older women show that using a weighted vest as resistance during structured exercise enhances muscle strength and power compared to no vest use. 

2. Improved Balance and Stability: Multiple studies found that weighted vest use during structured exercise improves balance and dynamic stability.

3. Preservation (or Slowing of Loss) of Bone Density: Research indicates that weighted vest use combined with impact or weight-bearing exercise may help maintain bone mineral density (BMD) in aging women.

(Important nuance: Simply wearing a weighted vest all day without adequate impact or structured exercise has not been proven to preserve bone density.) 

So, what does the research actually say? 

The science behind weighted vests is rooted in the principle of mechanical loading, where adding extra weight to the body during activity increases the stress placed on muscles, bones, and balance systems; stimuli that the body responds to by adapting and strengthening. In clinical research, postmenopausal women who performed structured lower-body exercises while wearing weighted vests three times per week for nine months showed significant increases in lower-body muscle strength (16–33%) and muscular power (~13%), as well as improvements in lateral stability and balance compared to controls not using vests, highlighting enhanced functional capacity and potentially reduced fall risk. Other randomized trials combining weighted vests with supervised strength training and walking found improvements in hip bone mineral density and balance over 32 weeks versus sedentary controls, suggesting that the added load during exercise may enhance skeletal and neuromuscular adaptations. Additionally, long-term interventions integrating weighted vests with jumping programs have demonstrated maintenance or reduced loss of hip bone density over multi-year periods in older women, supporting the role of impact plus loading in preserving bone health. It’s important to note that benefits are most consistently observed when vests are used in conjunction with structured exercise—simply wearing them passively without loading through movement does not reliably produce the same physiological effects.

So there you have it. The benefits of wearing a weighted vest are proven, but the benefits come with wearing the vest during structured exercise. If you are just wearing your vest on a slow walk, you aren’t likely to get many of the benefits we covered above. Wearing a weighted vest while walking can enhance your walk, but to get the most out of this tool, you will need to wear it during your workout or a moderate to intense walk.