A Tactical Vest is a piece of equipment that allows you to increase the intensity of your workouts by adding resistance to bodyweight exercises. It can hold up to 10kg of Weight Plates in plate pockets in the front and back of the vest for even distribution. It is also equipped with padded shoulders straps for added comfort.

The best thing about a tactical vest is how versatile it is. Not only with the exercises you can perform, but also the type of training you want to do. As well as using it for resistance exercises, you can also use a tactical vest to improve your cardiovascular health. It can be used for sprints or endurance runs. The increased weight will up the intensity of any training.

Here are 12 exercises that you can perform with a tactical vest to increase the intensity of your session and enhance your full body strength.

1 - Squats

Wearing a weighted vest whilst performing squats allows you to increase the load whilst still focusing on improving your technique before you potentially load with a weight such as a dumbbell or barbell. You can also perform jump squats with a tactical vest, developing your explosive strength. 

2 - Lunges

Lunges are a compound exercise that improve the strength of your lower body muscles. They also require a good amount of core strength and stability to stay balanced. There are a variety of lunges you can do to target different muscle groups.

3 - Burpees

These are hard to load with more traditional weights, but when using a tactical vest, you can increase the load and make the exercise more difficult.

4 - Tuck Jumps

Using a vest to perform tuck jumps allows you to still use your arms which would be restricted if you were holding weights. Tuck jumps are a great movement to improve explosive power.

5 - Star Jumps

If you’re working out at home, star jumps are an excellent exercise to increase your heart rate and get your blood pumping. You can perform star jumps as part of a warm-up or the main workout. Adding star jumps to your training will improve your aerobic capacity and keep your heart healthy.

6 - Broad Jumps

These help to improve your power as well as full body stability. Athletes use broad jumps in a multitude of sports and the addition of the tactical vest increases the load, making it a more difficult exercise.

7 - Split Squats

Split squats are a great alternative to back squats for anyone that doesn’t have access to a barbell or prefers not to load their spine with weight.

8 - Planks

This is another exercise that can be difficult to load if you’re on your own. Using a weighted vest makes it much easier to increase the difficulty of the exercise. You can do many variations of the plank, all of which improve stability and core strength.

9 - Box Jumps

Box jumps are a plyometric exercise that improve your lower body explosive power. This is essential for anyone participating in a power-based sport such as sprinting, jumping and Olympic Weightlifting.

10 - Dips

Start by doing bench dips and then build up to using Dip Bars as your chest and tricep strength increases.

11 - Bulgarian Split Squats

Single leg movements should be an essential part of your training to work on any muscle imbalance and increase stability. Bulgarian split squats also require a greater range in your hip flexors than traditional split squats and so will improve your range of movement. You can use a Split Squat Stand to execute the exercise properly.

12 - Wall Sits

This is an isometric hold exercise that improves the muscular endurance in your lower body muscles such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Adding a weight vest increases the load placed on your legs.

Whether you’re training for endurance or strength, using a tactical vest will take your workouts to the next level. You can use your vest in the gym, at home or even take it outdoors for a workout in the park. It makes exercise accessible no matter where you are.

Written by guest author Eryn Barber.

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Tags: Equipment > Weight Vests ; Exercise Type > Strength