Want to get stronger but you don’t have the space to carry weights with you for an outdoor workout? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Take your bodyweight training to the next level with a Tactical Vest.

A tactical weighted vest is a plate carrying vest commonly used for conditioning workouts. It has plate pockets in the front and back to evenly distribute the weight and padded shoulders for comfort.

Benefits of Wearing a Tactical Weighted Vest

If you’re looking for a way to progressively overload then look no further than a tactical weighted vest. What makes it different to other pieces of equipment is that you can incrementally add more weight when you need to increase the intensity. This is done by adding more Weight Plates to the vest which can hold up to 10kg of additional weight.

Likewise, it is one of the few pieces of weighted equipment that can be used for both strength and endurance training. Tactical weight vests can be used to elevate bodyweight resistance exercises, or you can also use a weighted vest for running and endurance activities.                                                     

These are just some of the exercises you can complete with a tactical weighted vest. However, remember the vest can be worn during most if not all bodyweight exercises, so you can get creative when designing your sessions.

Best Tactical Vest Exercises

Sprints

If your goal is to increase overall power for acceleration, wearing a weight vest will add additional force for your legs to work against during a sprint. By building strength in your lower body they will be better at driving forwards when accelerating.

Wall Sit

Sit against a wall so that your thighs are parallel with the floor and knees bent at 90 degrees. Keep your back neutral and hold here. This exercise is deceivingly difficult, especially when you add the additional weight of a tactical vest.

Curtsy Lunges

This isn’t just any lunge, a curtsy lunge works all the major lower body muscles such as the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings, but it also specifically targets the hip abductors. Standing tall, step one foot behind and across the other, then bend both knees to look as though you’re doing a curtsy.

Push Ups

Getting comfortable with regular bodyweight push ups? Increasing the load is a surefire way to make your push ups more difficult and challenge your chest and triceps. You can replace the weights in your vest for heavier ones if you want to progress the movement.

Jump Squats

Like bodyweight squats weren’t hard enough. There’s always a way to make things more difficult. Start in a squat and jump up whilst swinging your arms behind your body to drive you up. This is a brilliant exercise to improve explosive power in the lower limbs.

Shoulder Taps

Start by holding a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders. Lift one hand off the floor and tap the opposite shoulder. The aim of this exercise is to build shoulder strength and core stability. Brace your core and minimise your body rocking side to side.

Endurance Runs

You can increase the intensity of a long run by adding more load with a weighted vest. This will increase your overall strength whilst improving your cardiovascular health.

Dips

Using Dip Bars, hold onto the bars, take your feet off the floor and lean slightly forward. Bend your elbows and lower yourself until your shoulders are in line with your elbows, then push back up.

If you’re outdoors and don’t have access to your dip bars you could use a park bench. Hold onto the edge of the bench with your hands facing your body, extend your legs out in front of you and bend the elbows until they are in line with your shoulders.

Dip progression - Still feel like you could go harder after adding the vest? To increase the difficulty of this exercise try adding a pause at the bottom of the movement.

Planks

Planks are an isometric exercise, meaning you build muscle by holding a certain position. Adding any load to a plank will increase the difficulty. Don’t forget, there are several variations of a plank, from elbow planks to high planks and side planks.

Burpee Broad Jumps

This is an advanced movement for anyone that really wants to go hard during a conditioning session. Jump or step back into a high plank, then lower all the way down chest to floor. Step or jump your feet back towards your hands and then instead of jumping straight up, take a big broad jump forward, then repeat.

With a tactical weight vest, you can target the upper and lower body muscles as well as participating in both strength and endurance exercises. Because it’s so easy to travel with, you can workout in your garden, the local park or even on a trip away.

Learn more about training in Summer.

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

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Tags: Equipment > Weight Vests ; Exercise Type > Conditioning ; Misc > Workout