I look for fitness equipment that's inexpensive, simple to use, portable, allows for a wide range of applications and allows you to maintain a fitness level commensurate with your age and goals.
Over the past five years, the TRX suspension trainer, stability balls, resistance bands and jump ropes all have appeared in this column.
Now we come to the weight vest.
We use weight vests every day at my gym in Pensacola, Fla., and we don't practice age discrimination. A 77-year-old woman will put on a 12-pound vest for modified horizontal pullups with the TRX straps alongside an active-duty man who is doing step-ups on an 18-inch box with a 50-pound vest.
Weight vests come in many styles and prices, some at a set weight with shot-filled pockets; others, such as the Perfect Weight Vest, shown above, have small bags of sand that make the weight adjustable up to 20 or 40 pounds. Body-armor vests also work.
My favorite company is WeightVest.com, out of Rexford, Idaho - especially the company's "V" series vests. They're a bit more expensive, but the materials are great. They stand up to the toughest training, have an optional removable sweat liner that you can wash, and are made in the U.S.A.
The weight vest is a super addition to your home gym - you can also go on long walks with a vest to raise your metabolic rate. If your fitness center doesn't have any, ask them to get a few. It's a great workout accessory that can deliver results for not a lot of money.
Weigh your workout options
The following workouts incorporate weight vests. Modify sets, reps and weight for fitness level and age. The workouts described are not necessarily done together. Nos. 1 and 4 can be done as stand-alone workouts. Nos. 2 and 3 can be combined to make a single workout or used as components to a designed workout.
1. This is for a very fit individual.
Six to eight rounds of:
* ¼-mile sub-PT-test pace run (no vest)
* 25 step-ups with each leg wearing a 40-pound vest
2. Four sets each of:
* 10 pushups with vest, 5 seconds rest between sets
* 10 bench dips with vest, 5 seconds rest between sets
* 10 dive bombers with vest, 5 seconds rest between sets
3. Eight sets of three to five pullups starting with minimal weight and adding weight each set.
4. We call this the Four Horsemen. Do as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes, or vary the time. Do all four exercises with vest.
* 5 horizontal pullups
* 10 pushups
* 15 body squats
* 20 crunches
