CARRY EXTRA WEIGHT TO GET IN SHAPE
It's a way of building muscle without special training. You'll be doing your weightlifting constantly, without ever doing an exercise. And the results will amaze you!
Just ask national Masters ski racing champion Mike Falk, who went from middle of the pack to one of the top Intermountain Masters racers. One of his secreta? A selection of ankle weights and a 25-pound weight plate.
Falk links the strips of ankle weights together with a safety pin, and wears them fastened with another safety pin around his waist throughout his day. He goes hiking with the weight plate in a backpack, sometimes coupled with the ankle weight waistband. The addition of the weights works his core and lower body, which is exactly what he needs for ski racing; and coincidently, what many athletes in other sports also need to get a competitive edge.
Even better for the athlete who wants to look good, the extra weight burns a lot more calories than exercise alone. Carrying more than your body weight will increase your heart rate too, because your heart has to work harder to move more weight. Walking around with added weight is basically the light-weight, high-rep routine that gives great athletic endurance.
"Adding additional weight is used in the NFL and in pro soccer, and I find it works for ski racing. But even for those who don't race, it's a good way to tone up all the muscles in your torso and lower body. The additional weight makes your muscles work harder," Falk says.
But he warns that additional weight must be carried properly, or it creates a risk of injury.
"You don't want a backpack weight carried too high up on your back, because that could strain your lumbar region. You want to carry it close to your center of gravity, which is why carrying weight around your waist is best. Also, you need to stabilize any weight you are carrying; you don't want it to move around," he warns.
That means that a weight plate carried in a backpack should be held in position by wrapping it a towel so it can't move around in the backpack, and the pack itself should be firmly cinched around the waist.
Never use weighted shoes or ankle weights around your ankles to do any fast exercise. The momentum of your leg movement will twang on your knee and ankle ligaments, causing micro---or even major---trauma.
Falk's routine is to use the lighter ankle weight waistband, totaling six pounds, all day on two days a week. He will use a heavier set, totaling 10 pounds, for three to four hours twice a week as the ski race season gets closer. Once a week, he works out hard with both the 25-pound weight plate and the weighted waist band.
"Don't ever run when you're loaded down that heavy, but a light jog, especially uphill, will kick your butt," he says, advising to take special care when coming back downhill, because the momentum and extra weight load can throw you off balance.
Carrying extra weight can make up for those days when you can't make it to the gym. But when first starting this system, you will be unusually tired for the next few days. Don't worry. It's just your heart and body becoming used to getting in shape a different way.