Danger of Walking With Ankle Weights

Walking is perhaps one of the most popular forms of exercise because almost anyone can do it. After becoming accustomed to a routine, it will be necessary to increase the intensity of the workout but doing so with ankles weight is a bad idea. Instead, it is better to choose a hilly terrain or increase the walking pace.

  1. The Facts

    • Walking with weights around your ankles places unnecessary stress on the knees, ankles and hips. According to Lori Rice, author of "Strong Strides with Resistance Training," walking with ankle weights is dangerous because knees are a "fragile area to begin with. It is risky to add unneeded stress to them." Edward R. Laskowski, M.D., Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, agrees, adding, "Ankle weights can change your normal gait, which may cause you to lose your balance or hurt yourself while you're walking."

    Types of Injuries

    • Joint injuries are the primary concern when it comes to walking with ankle weights. Because extra weight is placed at the bottom of the leg, the high impact of walking can lead to knee and ankle fractures. Hyperextension in tendons and muscles can occur after the legs become accustomed to the extra weight after the weight is removed. Other injuries include irritating the Achilles tendon and blisters caused by the friction of the weights rubbing against skin.

    Considerations

    • Many health experts agree that rather than wearing ankle weights, a jacket or backpack with additional weight is preferable. However, it should be noted that many experts in the medical field are leery of even this because the additional weight presents the opportunity to throw walkers off center.

    Function

    • The function of any types of free weights is to be used during stationary exercise, such as weight lifting. Ankle weights come in weights from two to 20 pounds and they were designed to be worn during strength training exercises such as knee or leg lifts.

    Solutions

    • To increase the intensity of a workout, you can choose a more difficult terrain or increase the amount of time you spend walking. Rice states, "The key to increasing walking intensity is to increase your speed. Ankle weights can slow you down." Walking and strength training are recommended by medical experts across the world and the best way to approach each is separately.