Question:

I’m thinking of walking the two mile trail near my office on my lunch breaks, when the weather gets a little nicer – or at least drier!  I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn?  Does anyone know?  Has anyone done this? determined

Response:

I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn?

I don’t know how many calories it burns. I walk with a 60 pound backpack 2 miles, twice per day, 6 days per week. I do my regular free-weight training 3 days per week. If I didn’t have a place to go with that backpack or a reason to walk that far, I probably wouldn’t do it, because it seems silly to exercise for the sake of exercise alone when I can do something productive at the same time. So I would likely do different exercise if I didn’t have someplace useful to go with the backpack, and something useful in it (books.) I feel the same about the free weights, but want to continue to stave off the diabetes as best as I can. I still want to find something useful to do instead of the free weight training that is not just an addition to my day. I know that I feel better after I have walked faster carrying my backpack. I never bothered to track exercise calories, because I have that old-fashioned "if we were meant to track calories, we’d have a meter" mentality. Tracking calories never worked for me in a weight loss plan, either. The numbers have to be subjective. I don’t know how they could figure it out for an individual–those tables are just averages. As far as the weights go, the calories don’t matter nearly as much as the feeling I get from the activity. IMHO you definitely can take the minimum calorie burning number from the walk, anyway, and give yourself a plus sign in your journal or something, for doing the exercise with the added benefit of weight. .. Bridget M. Atkins maintenance for life.

Response:

Most of what I’ve read about walking for exercise recommended strongly AGAINST using any type of added weight or weights.  You are more likely to throw off your gait and cause problems for your hips, knees, or feet. Learning how to walk correctly, proper strides and arm movements is the important thing, especially if you want to "power walk" or keep a brisk pace. Melissa

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m thinking of walking the two mile trail near my office on my lunch breaks, when the weather gets a little nicer – or at least drier!  I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn?  Does anyone know?  Has anyone done this? determined

Response:

I’m thinking of walking the two mile trail near my office on my lunch breaks, when the weather gets a little nicer – or at least drier!  I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn?  Does anyone know?  Has anyone done this? determined

I’ll do this when hiking on vacation – without really putting any thought into it though.   See, I’ll hike with a 1 gallon of water in my hydration pack, as well as food, camera, and other stuff in the backpack.    Of course the water and food gets consumed during my hiking. I’m sure the added weight helps in the calorie burning.  But I don’t know how much.   The other thing you need to be concerned with when adding weight is to not add too much and to keep your form up.  You can cause back strain and muscle strain if you aren’t careful. Other options are to carry a couple hand weights or wrist weights. What this will do is help pump your arms more – which will increase your cardio workout.   As an example – consider walking at 4mph on a treadmill with your arms to your side for 5 mins, then take a heart rate reading.   Relax and let your heart rate go back to resting.   Then, get back on the treadmill and walk at 4mph while pumping your arms back and forth and holding 5lb dumbells in each hand for 5 mins.   You will find your heart rate increases from the added cardio benefit of pumping your arms with weights.    That is all weights will do for walking. Since you are already struggling with the whole heart rate issue, maybe you should consider not using weights for walking for a while.   See how you do just walking first.

Response:

The whole weighted walking thing seems kind of risky to me.  I have a horrible shoulder/neck injury from traveling with a lap top.  There are stories of kids who have permanent shoulder damage from lugging all their books around. I might check with a personal trainer or physical therapist before trying this. j

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn? I don’t know how many calories it burns. I walk with a 60 pound backpack 2 miles, twice per day, 6 days per week. I do my regular free-weight training 3 days per week. If I didn’t have a place to go with that backpack or a reason to walk that far, I probably wouldn’t do it, because it seems silly to exercise for the sake of exercise alone when I can do something productive at the same time. So I would likely do different exercise if I didn’t have someplace useful to go with the backpack, and something useful in it (books.) I feel the same about the free weights, but want to continue to stave off the diabetes as best as I can. I still want to find something useful to do instead of the free weight training that is not just an addition to my day. I know that I feel better after I have walked faster carrying my backpack. I never bothered to track exercise calories, because I have that old-fashioned "if we were meant to track calories, we’d have a meter" mentality. Tracking calories never worked for me in a weight loss plan, either. The numbers have to be subjective. I don’t know how they could figure it out for an individual–those tables are just averages. As far as the weights go, the calories don’t matter nearly as much as the feeling I get from the activity. IMHO you definitely can take the minimum calorie burning number from the walk, anyway, and give yourself a plus sign in your journal or something, for doing the exercise with the added benefit of weight. .. Bridget M. Atkins maintenance for life.

Response:

There’s a difference.   Laptop travel – generally is a 1 shouldered bag, so you are lugging all the weight on one shoulder at a time.   Kids backpacks, they never put those things on correctly, many times its a one shoulder throw, or its losely on the back or something.   Proper form to prevent injury is never thought about. Hikers and day hikers are totally different.   My packpack I use for hiking has padded straps for the shoulder, they come over the shoulder, then snap in the middle to hold them together.  There is also a waist strap that goes around the waist to eleviate shoulder strain.  And believe me, it does help a great deal.  its more like carrying a kid around your back, as they can wrap their legs around your waist and all the stress isn’t on the shoulder, its on the actual back I tote around a good 20lbs in my day pack when on day hikes.   Could be more like 60lbs if I were doing an overnighter hiking.   I have shoulder problems and pinched nerves from a car accident yrs ago, so believe me, I know what shoulder pain is all about.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The whole weighted walking thing seems kind of risky to me.  I have a horrible shoulder/neck injury from traveling with a lap top.  There are stories of kids who have permanent shoulder damage from lugging all their books around. I might check with a personal trainer or physical therapist before trying this. j I was thinking about using a backpack with weights in it, to get more bang for my buck, but wonder how much weight should I use, and how many more calories does that burn? I don’t know how many calories it burns. I walk with a 60 pound backpack 2 miles, twice per day, 6 days per week. I do my regular free-weight training 3 days per week. If I didn’t have a place to go with that backpack or a reason to walk that far, I probably wouldn’t do it, because it seems silly to exercise for the sake of exercise alone when I can do something productive at the same time. So I would likely do different exercise if I didn’t have someplace useful to go with the backpack, and something useful in it (books.) I feel the same about the free weights, but want to continue to stave off the diabetes as best as I can. I still want to find something useful to do instead of the free weight training that is not just an addition to my day. I know that I feel better after I have walked faster carrying my backpack. I never bothered to track exercise calories, because I have that old-fashioned "if we were meant to track calories, we’d have a meter" mentality. Tracking calories never worked for me in a weight loss plan, either. The numbers have to be subjective. I don’t know how they could figure it out for an individual–those tables are just averages. As far as the weights go, the calories don’t matter nearly as much as the feeling I get from the activity. IMHO you definitely can take the minimum calorie burning number from the walk, anyway, and give yourself a plus sign in your journal or something, for doing the exercise with the added benefit of weight. .. Bridget M. Atkins maintenance for life.

Response:

Hikers and day hikers are totally different.  

No question.  However, very few "backpacks" are day hikers. To be clear, if it doesn’t have a waist strap and a chest strap, it isn’t that safe to be carrying a heavy backpack.  Even with, for regular walking, your back is likely to be safer if you’re carrying added weights as ankle or wrist weights. —

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