Why Everyone Is Talking About Weighted Vests (And Should You Try One?)

For a few months, I’ve noticed men and women in my neighborhood wearing little black vests. Even Alisa Keeton, founder of Revelation Wellness, wore one while leading "Walking Pad Wednesdays." I grew curious about weighted vests, but didn’t consider buying one until I trained Laurie Yager for her adventure race and needed to simulate carrying her gear. I found it helpful to have her walk laterally with a band around her legs and do suitcase carries with twenty-pound weights while wearing the vest. These experiences increased my interest. For those curious about weighted vests, I wrote this post about their origins and benefits to help you decide if you should buy one.

The term "ruck" comes from the German word "rucksack," meaning backpack. Soldiers have marched with loaded packs for centuries as part of survival and warfare.

• Ancient armies, like Roman legions, carried their gear over long distances, much like people do when rucking today.

• In more recent times, soldiers in conflicts such as World Wars I and II routinely marched with heavy packs, building endurance and strength.

• Today, rucking remains a key part of training for the U.S. Army and other military forces.

For the military, carrying weight wasn’t just exercise—it was essential for their missions.

🏃‍♀️ How It Became a Fitness Thing

Rucking began appearing in the civilian fitness world in the early 2000s, especially among veterans who began incorporating it into everyday training. It also spread through:

• Outdoor/endurance communities

• Groups like GORUCK, which popularized rucking events and gear

💡 Why It’s Trending Now

It’s having a moment because it checks so many boxes:

• Simple (no gym required)

• Functional (real-life strength)

• Scalable (any age/fitness level)

• Community-friendly (walk + talk = connection)

Let’s talk about rucking—walking with weight (usually a backpack). It’s one of those simple-but-sneaky, powerful things. While it looks easy at first glance, the challenge becomes clear once you try it. For example, I wore my 12-pound vest on our Read, Walk, and Talk night, and after 30 minutes, I was ready to let someone else wear it, it got heavy!

It's a 💪 Full-Body Strength workout (without the gym feel)

Adding weight turns a regular walk into a strength workout:

• Legs + glutes work harder (especially hills 🙌)

• Your core also engages to help stabilize you.

• Meanwhile, your shoulders and back carry the load, building endurance.

This builds functional strength—the kind that actually translates to real life, whether you’re hiking, carrying groceries, or even kayaking.

❤️ Cardio Without the Burnout

On our simple hour-long walk around the neighborhood, I was definitely out of breath and sweating. Carrying extra weight also helps with bone density by putting healthy stress on bones—think suitcase carry, but on your back.

🔥 More Calories, Same Time

You burn more calories than with walking alone, yet it doesn’t feel much harder.

👟 Accessible + Flexible

No fancy setup:

• Backpack + a few books or weights

• Start light (10–15 lbs) and build

• You can Ruck in your neighborhood, on trails, or even on indoor tracks—wherever you enjoy walking.

So… should you go out and buy a weighted vest?

Maybe. But more importantly, this isn’t really about the vest.

It’s about how you move through your life.

Rucking is simply a picture of something deeper—we were made to carry, to walk, to endure, and to grow stronger along the way. Not just physically, but spiritually too. We all carry weight in this life. Some of it builds us. Some of it we were never meant to hold alone.

The beauty of something as simple as adding weight to a walk is that it reminds us:

• we are capable of more than we think

• strength is built slowly, step by step

• and we don’t have to rush the process

So whether you grab a vest, fill a backpack, or just lace up your sneakers and head out the door, the invitation is the same:

Keep walking.

Walk with intention.Walk in community.Walk with the Lord who meets you in every step.

And if you decide to add a little weight along the way…you might just find that what once felt heavy becomes the very thing that makes you stronger.

💛