Energy Expenditure During Walking With Hand Weights

In brief: Eleven obese adults (three men, eight women) performed three 30-minute walking sessions at 3.4 mph: normal walking, walking with increased arm movement, and walking with increased arm movement while holding hand weights. The purpose was to assess the additional energy expenditure induced by carrying hand weights. Walking with hand weights resulted in increased heart rate (127 vs 120 beats·min(-1)), increased VO2 (1.168 vs 1.086 L·min(-1)), and greater energy expenditure (171.5 vs 159.7 kcal) compared with normal walking. Fat use and recovery energy expenditures were similar in all exercise conditions. Increased arm movement while walking without weights resulted in no significant increases over normal walking. These results indicate that using hand weights increases the energy demands of walking, but only to a small degree.