How to Burn More Calories Walking With Hand Weights

Adding hand weights to your exercise routine can help you burn extra calories. You can easily introduce hand weights to your walks, but you must proceed with caution. People with high blood pressure or heart disease should steer clear of using weights while walking. While hand weights are an acceptable addition to your walking routine, do not use ankle weights. The possibility of injury increases significantly with the use of ankle weights.

Instructions

    • 1

      Walk slowly for about five minutes to warm your muscles up. After your warm-up, stop in a convenient location to stretch your muscles. Warming up and stretching is essential to avoiding injury. Stretch your calves, quads, hamstrings and sides for best results.

    • 2

      Swing your arms. Bend your arms at a 90-degree angle and continuously pump them for the most benefit. Although it seems like a minor adjustment, swinging your arms in this way can help you burn up to 10 percent more calories during your walk.

    • 3

      Start small and work your way up. Start with one pound weights and gradually increase from there. Your combined weights should never top more than 10 percent of your body weight, says a University of California Berkeley wellness newsletter. Since you're swinging these small weights, the force they exert on your joints increases exponentially. So, despite their small size, the weights will have a much bigger effect that you might imagine. More importantly, your chances of injury due to stress on joints is severely heightened. Pay special attention to your elbows and shoulders since these are the areas most prone to injury. If you feel a noticeable strain in your joints, you may want to cut the weights out of your walking routine.