Question for those with weight vests

[audreygayle]

My vest arrived while I was away. yippie

I tried it for the first time on Monday with PLB. I put 10# in the vest and lowered the barbell weight. My shoulders were absolutely loving it. Step-ups felt fine, but lunges and squats were twinging my knees. I NEVER have this problem without the vest. Does the vest tend to put me in a different stance? is it the difference in weight distribution? Looking for any pointers on this. I even felt it in my knees the next 2 days, and again, that's something I've never felt. The previous week I worked out in the hotel gym. I went very heavy with the Smith machine since that wouldn't affect lifting weights over my head, and my kneews were fine.

Thanks,
~Audrey

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Audrey! Sorry you've been having twingey knees with the weight vest. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you; however, I didn't experience any of that when I transitioned over with mine.

It could very well be that there is a difference in your stance now that you're wearing the vest, and the back is adjusting its position in some way now that the weight load is distributed differently. Is it possible you also might have adopted a different stance once the weight vest was on? Legs planted wider apart on the lunge stance? Is it possible you might have been inadvertantly placing more weight on the ball of the feet rather than the heels in squats / lunges?

I don't know - kinda groping right now. I'd be interested in others' responses as well.

A-jock

 

[punky3333]

kinda groping right now.
>A-jock
>

Ok, I'm sorry, but its Friday and I can't resist.

NO GROPING ALLOWED!

hehe

 

[audreygayle]

Aquajock, thanks for the response. It is definitely possible that I'm doing something different with the jacket on. I'm glad to hear that you didn't have any issues with the transition, as it reassures me that I just have to learn how to use the vest. Did it take long to get used to the feeling of wearing the vest? The other thing I thought of is that I have longer legs than most people my height (5' 3.5"), which means I have a shorter body. The vest ends well below my hip line, and maybe that is interferring with my squats and lunges. Stepping UP wasn't an issue for me, but squatting DOWN seems to be it. hmm... wondering if that's the case, and then I'd jsut have to adjust my vest so it isn't so long.
~Audrey

 

[kathryn]

I don't have any suggestions on the squats, but you could see if lunging with the front foot on a 4"-8" platform could help. My knees get a bit twingy sometimes with regular lunges, especially the forward ones, but I've found that using the platform eliminates the problem. And I can dip a bit deeper while still keeping my knees in a safe position, thus working the glutes a bit more.

An idea for the squats: maybe you need to do some advance prep before using the vest full time in a regular workout. Put on the vest only, then sit in a chair and stand up, for several reps. This could help you reteach your body to put the weight back into your heels (push up through the heels on the way up). Just a thought.