Ankle weights

  1. Well, as the name suggests, ankle weights are “weights” that you slip onto your ankles before doing an exercise. Its primary goal is to overall increase strength and improve endurance.

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Ankle weight

Ankle weights

 

Ankle weights

Well, as the name suggests, ankle weights are “weights” that you slip onto your ankles before doing an exercise. Its primary goal is to overall increase strength and improve endurance.

Adding additional weight onto your base forces your body to exert and produce more force than what you’re accustomed to, eventually increasing your endurance and building your overall stamina. Moreover, these are also used to increase overall  muscdulature and mass in your glutes, quadriceps and calves.

Ankle Weights Good or Bad

If it is used the right way, they’re good for you. If you understand how to use them, what exercises are safe, when to stop exercising with them, then you’re in the clear.

However, If it is used the wrong way, they will be bad for you. Make sure you don’t have any existing ankle or knee injuries. As a result, this can worsen the condition. If you are unsure of this, consult a physician.

In addition, if you’re unsure of what exercises to do and how to go about using ankle weights consult a personal trainer with proper knowledge.

Benefits

The benefits is that it’s an accessible way to add load to exercises where you elevate your leg.

Since these are securely attached to your ankles, it eliminates the clumsiness of trying to hold a dumbbell or other standard gym equipment with your lower limbs. They can also be used to make cardio exercises more challenging due to the added weight.

With proper use, it can do a lot to enhance workouts. Here are other benefits of ankle weights:

Better Endurance

As previously mentioned, when used properly, it can help build your overall endurance. This is because the extra force you exert helps increase your stamina, which in turn helps your cardiovascular and pulmonary health.

Tones Your Legs

If doing leg raises without any resistance already does a lot to shape your legs then imagine what your legs could look like with incorporating weights. In fact, it is recommended to add weight resistance when it comes to toning your legs, as it proves to be far more effective than simply doing more reps. Of course, with any workout routine, variation is recommended and needed.

More Versatility

It can also be helpful in adding variety to your routine. You can also add them to your stationary exercises, such as multi-plane leg raises.

More Burned Calories

It can also help you burn a few hundred calories. This is because applying more force results in more energy expenditure; which results in your body burning more calories. These are a great way to add progressive overload.

Strengthens Stems

In addition to tone your thighs, wearing weights while working out increases the overall strength of your glutes and hamstrings and calves.

Help in Water Workouts

Although it’s rather uncommon, many athlete’s use ankle weights while swimming. A big perk to this is that it doesn’t cause any joint issues. In fact, using ankle weights while swimming can actually strengthen your knee and ankle joints.

Extra Resistance to Abdominal Workouts

Believe it or not, ankle weights can help take your abdominal workouts to the next level. Especially since the abs are a difficult area to train and can be best targeted via compound movements. Ensure to maintain a pelvic tilt the whole way through. A great exercise to do with ankle weights and one of our favorites is abdominal leg raises. Give it a go!

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