For the past seven days I have added in some weight vest walking to my routine. This is an old powerlifting technique used for “low level cardio”. My current goal is to accumulate 100 minutes of Zone 2 work each week, and the weight vest walk seems to be the perfect remedy for that.

I have done a minimum of 20 minutes per day (and as long as 65 minutes on Sunday). I borrowed a nice Garmin watch from a co-worker to keep track of my heart rate for these walks, and found an old weight vest I did not know we owned. I put my headphones in and go for a walk. I naturally walk pretty fast, but my pace for these walks is consistent with seeing a cute dog that I want to pet, but am having a hard time catching up to (or being slightly behind schedule in the airport, but not in full “I’m definitely going to miss my flight” panic).

Kerrin and I are going to Canada at the end of August, which is one reason why I am adding this work to my routine – I want to be able to hike/wander around for long periods of time up in the mountains of Banff without completely gassing out (I’m obviously not a “low-key, relax” vacation kind of guy). I also want to take care of my cardiovascular health.

I will write a follow-up article in a couple weeks to discuss my results further, but after the first week here are 10 immediate thoughts:

1. I love being outside and this gives me an opportunity to be outdoors more. It’s extremely hot in Arizona right now, so it also forces me to pay extra attention to my hydration.
2. Walking forces me to pace myself. Zone 2 is supposed to be slower (much slower than you think). No matter how fast I walk there is a limit on how fast I can ultimately go before I start running. It’s easier for me to speed up a walk than it is to slow down a run for pacing purposes (Slowing down, in general, is hard for me).
3. The weight vest adds a little more intensity (as well as the heat). The combination of weight vest, heat, and fast walking seems to put me in the perfect range for Zone 2 work right now (at least according to the Garmin watch).
4. I’m not sure if it’s real or not, but I would imagine carrying the weight vest around on my body would eventually make my legs stronger/more durable. I was achy the first couple days. My legs felt tired and weak, but I feel that once I get “over the hump” my legs will bounce back nicely with a little added strength (nothing crazy but surely something).
5. I will definitely need to increase my carbohydrate uptake a bit. I am also still strength training 4-5 days per week, bouldering 3 days per week, sprinting/jumping/pushing sleds 2 days per week, and mixing in intervals for additional conditioning 2-3 days per week. My training sessions are short, but I do multiple sessions a day and my cumulative volume is getting higher – adding these walks in is further depleting me.
6. I am curious if I will need to run once I start seeing more cardiovascular adaptations. Currently it takes me 5-8 minutes of good walking to get into Zone 2. I am wondering if it will take me longer to get there and/or I will need to up the intensity to still get into that Zone. That will have to be discussed in the follow-up article.
7. The 65-minute walk really pushed me mentally. It was boring, long, hot, and lonely. Doing mundane things for a long time makes doing “hard” things that are short that much easier for me.
8. In the same vein the 20-minute walks have given me a nice opportunity to be alone with my thoughts. It has almost felt therapeutic/meditative at times.
9. I was told a minimum of 30 minutes per day is the goal for adaptations. I believe I am still getting something out of a minimum of 20 minutes (especially because it’s new in my training), but I am thinking I will need to increase to 30-minute minimums soon.
10. Subjectively my sleep is pretty solid right now. Is it from the walking or from the total volume of my training and work? That I do not have an answer for. I guess I’ll know moving forward.

That’s it for this list. I plan to write the follow-up in a few weeks after I have more steps under my belt, but I feel positively that I am doing the right thing for myself. Keep an eye out for Part Two!