Cathe: Question about weights and walking

MDolfiniReed

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,
One of my colleagues at work likes to walk a couple of miles about twice a week. His pace is roughly a 15 minute mile. He is 47 years old, not overweight, in fair shape, and often has very different ways of thinking about things. This morning he mentioned that when he walks he wears a backpack on his back with two gallons of water in it. I've heard of walking with weights on your ankles or carrying them in your hands, but not with weight on your back. I'm thinking that this is probably not a good idea because it could stress the back.

We discussed this during lunch and talked about soldiers and Marines who train (walk with full gear, run with weighted vests) in order to train for deployment, or just as part of their regular PT. I have a poster that shows the average weight of a Marine's personal gear is 94 pounds. Obviously, soldiers and Marines have a compelling occupational reason for training under a load, however, it still takes a toll on their bodies. Plus, my colleague is not a soldier or a Marine. He's just a regular person whose day job is sitting at a desk working on a computer.

I am wondering what your thoughts on this approach to weights and walking might be.
Thanks!
Michelle
 
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