Best Exercises with a Weighted Vest

Weighted vest training is an incredibly versatile tool that has earned a solid spot in the fitness world, especially in calisthenics. Adding extra weight to your body during bodyweight exercises not only increases resistance but also boosts muscle strength, cardiovascular capacity, and balance. Below, we’ll walk you through the best exercises you can do with a weighted vest and the benefits of adding it to your calisthenics routine.

What Is a Weighted Vest and Why Use It?

A weighted vest is a training tool designed to add extra load to your body while performing exercises. The vest has pockets where you can insert or remove weights, allowing you to adjust the resistance to your needs.

Benefits of Training with a Weighted Vest

● Increased muscle strength: By adding extra weight, your muscles are forced to work harder to overcome resistance, speeding up muscle growth.

● Improved cardiovascular endurance: When used during aerobic exercises like running or jumping, the vest increases cardiovascular demand, boosting your aerobic capacity.

● Stronger core: The extra weight distributes the load across your body, especially the core, forcing it to work harder to stabilize you.

● Versatility and progression: You can increase or decrease the weight as you progress, making it an adaptable tool for any training level.

Best Exercises with a Weighted Vest

Here’s a list of highly effective exercises you can do with a weighted vest.

1. Push-Ups
Push-ups are one of the most common and effective bodyweight exercises for building upper body strength, particularly chest, triceps, and shoulders. Adding a weighted vest makes them even more challenging.

● How to do it: Get into plank position with the vest on, lower your body until your chest nearly touches the ground, then push back up until arms are fully extended.
● Extra benefit: Greater hypertrophy in the chest and triceps.

2. Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are excellent for working the back, biceps, and core. Wearing a weighted vest increases the intensity, driving more upper-body development.

● How to do it: Grab the bar with palms facing out, shoulder-width apart. Pull up until your chin clears the bar, then lower under control.
● Extra benefit: Builds grip strength and stronger lats.

3. Squats
Squats are a staple for glutes, quads, and hamstrings. With a weighted vest, you’ll increase the load on your legs and glutes, making the move more intense.

● How to do it: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down keeping the weight on your heels, then drive back up.
● Extra benefit: Improves leg endurance and explosive power.

4. Jump Squats
Perfect for explosive leg power. The extra resistance from the vest makes every jump harder, boosting athletic performance.

● How to do it: From a squat position, jump as high as possible. Land softly back into a squat and repeat.
● Extra benefit: Better athletic ability and control over dynamic movements.

5. Dips
Dips target triceps, chest, and shoulders. The vest increases the load, making your pushing muscles work harder.

● How to do it: On parallel bars, lower your body until shoulders align with elbows, then push back up until arms are fully extended.
● Extra benefit: Stronger triceps and pushing power.

Cardio Exercises with a Weighted Vest

The vest isn’t just for strength training — it can take your cardio workouts to another level.

1. Running
Running with a weighted vest is an excellent way to boost cardiovascular and muscular endurance. The extra load makes your legs and core work harder, improving running mechanics.
● Extra benefit: Greater cardiovascular capacity and stamina.

2. Burpees
Burpees are a full-body move hitting almost every muscle group. Adding a vest makes the push-up and jump phases much tougher.
● Extra benefit: Better muscular and cardiovascular endurance.

Why a Weighted Vest Is Perfect for Calisthenics

Calisthenics, built mainly on bodyweight moves, benefits hugely from weighted vest training. As you get stronger, many exercises become too easy, limiting growth. The vest lets you add resistance without sacrificing technique or relying on heavy equipment. It’s especially useful for advanced moves like the muscle-up or human flag, where strength is crucial.

Boosts Hypertrophy and Strength

Progressive overload is key for muscle growth, and a weighted vest makes it possible in calisthenics when bodyweight alone isn’t enough.

Improves Stability and Control

The evenly distributed load forces your core and stabilizers to work harder, which is vital in complex moves like pull-ups, dips, and planche.

Conclusion

A weighted vest is a must-have tool if you want to ramp up the intensity of your workouts — whether calisthenics, strength, or cardio. By adding some of the best weighted vest exercises into your routine, you’ll see major improvements in strength, endurance, and body control. Plus, it’s an effective way to keep progressing without relying on machines or external weights. Strap on the vest and take your training to the next level!