{"id":1186151,"date":"2026-09-04T14:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1186151\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T14:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T14:11:25","slug":"i-did-all-my-workouts-in-a-weighted-vest-for-30-days-heres-what-happened-to-my-strength-and-cardio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1186151\/","title":{"rendered":"I Did All My Workouts in a Weighted Vest for 30 Days \u2013 Here\u2019s What Happened to My Strength and Cardio"},"content":{"rendered":"

The OMORPHO<\/a> weighted vest is a premium bit of kit. You see it. You want it. You believe that by simply wearing it you’ll become infinitely more manly and muscular.<\/p>\n

At least, that’s how I felt the moment I first laid eyes on the 4.5kg G-Vest Icon<\/a>, with its integrated body armour-style construction and sleek military-grade aesthetic. It\u2019s turned celebrity heads too. Carlos Alcaraz is an early adopter. So too British boxer Ben \u2018The Surgeon\u2019 Whittaker and heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.<\/p>\n

Pitched as the world\u2019s most comfortable and versatile weighted vest, I took it for a spin at London\u2019s Pace Club earlier this summer, and it didn\u2019t disappoint. Comfortable? No doubt. Versatile? Sure, given it can be bulked up to 9kg by snapping on extra weighted panels<\/a>. But I wanted to know how much mightier it could make me.<\/p>\n

Could, for instance, cladding myself in extra ballast for a month of load-bearing workouts make me stronger, helping fortify my bones and beef up my brawn? Could powering through weighted sprint drills wearing the lighter 2.7kg G-Vest Run<\/a> make me a faster, more powerful and more potent runner?<\/p>\n

\"G-Vest<\/a><\/p>\n

That was my pitch. In hindsight, writing this several weeks later, it was a fool’s errand. An obvious, fairly naive one at that. But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself. Let\u2019s rewind.<\/p>\n

Here’s what happened when I used a weighted vest for all my workouts for 30 days \u2013 including the blunder I made along the way so you don’t have to.<\/p>\n

What Happened When I Started Training with a Weighted Vest<\/p>\n

The testing window fell midway through a training block for my first marathon, which meant I would be using the vest for three runs and three strength sessions per week.<\/p>\n

Rather than diving headfirst into a weighted long run, I decided to start in the shallow end with a full-body calisthenics<\/a> workout. The results were positive.<\/p>\n

The added weight was almost imperceptible when performing squats and lunges, but noticeable when pushing off the floor for push-ups<\/a>, burpees<\/a> and, surprisingly, side planks<\/a>. Its corset-like, form-fitting design also made it well suited to pull-ups<\/a> and dips<\/a>, allowing me to concentrate on technique rather than trying to hold a dumbbell between my feet.<\/p>\n

The beauty of adding weight meant I could keep the session short, knowing I was challenging my body with extra load rather than extra reps. The full-body DOMS<\/a> that followed suggested my body acknowledged the extra challenge.<\/p>\n

Slipping on the lighter G-Vest Run for my next session, a conversational 10k<\/a> run, was also pleasantly manageable. Unlike cumbersome vests I\u2019ve used in the past, which strap heavy bars like gold bullion to your chest and back, I found OMORPHO\u2019s version distributed the weight evenly across my upper body without compromising my running form.<\/p>\n

It similarly didn\u2019t restrict my Oly-lifting technique for a CrossFit-style XENOM<\/a> workout of barbell cleans, thrusters and push presses. Nor my breathing mechanics for a lung-busting blast on an Echo Bike.<\/p>\n

I could have used it for CrossFit\u2019s infamous weighted-vest workout \u2018Murph<\/a>\u2019, but I\u2019m not that much of a glutton for punishment.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t even get any funny looks while going about my business in the gym or on the track, thanks to the vest\u2019s unobtrusive design. I did, however, discover one snag early on.<\/p>\n

Transporting an extra 4.5kg to and from each training session \u2013 during a heatwave on a busy commuter train, no less \u2013 is an extra workout I and my fellow passengers hadn\u2019t bargained for.<\/p>\n

So far, so good. If a little sweaty.<\/p>\n

\"person<\/p>\n

XENOM \/ Kiara Jim<\/p>\n

\"two<\/p>\n

XENOM \/ Kiara Jim<\/p>\n

Above: Sam trains in his weighted vest<\/p>\n

The Benefits of Training with a Weighted Vest<\/p>\n

The logic goes: get used to running, jumping, squatting, lunging, even walking under load, and when you remove the weight you\u2019ll be able to run faster, jump higher and squat heavier.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same principle that OMORPHO ambassador Michael Johnson says he stumbled upon in practice decades ago, when speaking at the brand\u2019s unveiling.<\/p>\n

Blighted by chronic tendonitis one season, the four-time Olympic gold-winning sprinter swapped his iconic feather-light racing flats for the twice-as-heavy Air Max, in the hope that the extra cushioning would help.<\/p>\n

It worked. It made the pain more tolerable. It also made him slower.<\/p>\n

\u2018Switching to the heavier shoe made my times drop,\u2019 Johnson tells Men\u2019s Health. \u2018But eventually I started getting back to the splits I was running in the racing flats. Once I got there, the psychological factor of knowing I was wearing a heavier shoe than my training partners and beating them in practice was huge.\u2019<\/p>\n

Getting comfortable in the heavier shoes, he says, \u2018improved the training effect of my workouts from a physiological standpoint too\u2019.<\/p>\n

A few months later, Johnson won his historic 200m and 400m double at the Atlanta Games, breaking the 200m world record in the process. Whether the heavier shoes contributed is impossible to know, but the experience clearly stuck with him.<\/p>\n

The team behind OMORPHO\u2019s range of weighted vests, shorts and base layers would argue their kit is built on a similar premise \u2013 and there is some evidence that strategically adding load can affect performance.<\/p>\n