Do Ankle Weights Make You a Stronger Runner?

Ankle weights are a fairly popular home gym accessory. They’re designed as a way to add extra weight to the lower part of your body during training or just when you’re doing daily activities, and their main goal is to help you build more muscle. With that said, even though they do have the ability to increase your strength and boost your speed, they may potentially be dangerous to use, especially if you’re not taught how to use them correctly. 

In the article below, we’re going to talk about the benefits of leg weights for running, and we will give you the full rundown of the benefits and use cases so that you know exactly what you can expect from this fitness accessory. 

So, if that sounds like something that you’d be interested in, let’s get started. 

What are the Benefits of Running With Weight? 

If you run with any kind of added weight, you’re forcing your body to work harder while doing the same task (running), and so naturally, it helps build strength. Running with ankle weights on your legs forces the muscles to work harder and thus grow stronger over time. Essentially, you can think of it as doing aerobic and strength training simultaneously, as the body has to work to adapt to the additional stress you’re putting on it. 

The good thing is that by adding weight to your body while you’re running, you’re allowing it to adapt to this tougher load, and so you become a stronger runner over time. And when that weight is off – during competition or during speed runs, you’re bound to feel a lot lighter, and that can lead to running faster, easier, and for longer distances. When your muscles are working harder, they’re also in need of more oxygen, so your heart and lungs will have to keep up, too. And so this added weight will not only increase the strength in your lower body, but it will also decrease the time to fatigue and improve your overall cardiovascular endurance. 

What are The Risks of Running With Weights? 

From what you’ve read so far, you might be under the impression that ankle weights are just a terrific tool for enhancing your training and becoming a better runner. And while that’s certainly true to some extent, the reality is that ankle weights pose their set of risks.

One of the more common ones is the change in your gait that wearing them might cause. The additional load on your back, hips, and knees can mess up your gait pattern and lead to serious injuries, especially if you wear them for really long distances (more than 7-8 km). The repetitive nature of running (combined with the strapped-on weights) can lead to muscle imbalances, acute injury, and even an improper running technique – all of which you want to avoid. Not to mention that they also add extra stress to the muscles of the feet, your IT band, and your hip flexors,  which are already working overtime when you’re preparing for races and trying to improve your speed or distance. 

Unfortunately, it’s not just the occasional ache and niggle you have to be concerned about; the added weight can lead to more serious injuries that take longer to recover. The most common ones include stress fractures of the feet and the hip, especially common among those already running more than 40km per week. 

So, Should You Run with Ankle Weights? And Do They Make You a Better Runner? 

Even though there are certain benefits that come with running with added weight, they don’t outweigh the risks. The reality is that there are many training methods that you can use in your training schedule to become faster and run longer without risking all of the injuries that ankle weights can cause. That’s especially true for new and inexperienced runners, who are still struggling to run with proper form and who find it difficult to last through long runs, even without the added way. For them – adding extra load and forcing the body to work even harder will only have negative effects, and it will likely lead to muscle imbalances and more serious injuries. 

In Conclusion 

Ankle weights are a fantastic way to work on your lower body strength at home. However, they’re not the best way to improve your speed or the distance you cover as a runner, as they can lead to muscle imbalances, stress fractures, and other types of injuries and aches that you want to avoid. So, if you want to incorporate ankle weights into your training – better do it during your strength workouts or when you do yoga or pilates. As long as the movement is controlled, it will only bring positives to your overall workout regime. 

References

• Pace Passion. (2023. Dec 6). Leg Weights For Running: Benefits And Tips From Expert –
  https://pacepassion.com/running-guides/running-with-ankle-weights/
• J Exerc Rehabil. (2017 Aug 13). The effects of ankle weight loading on the walking factors of adults without symptoms – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5667620/

• PLoS One. (2016. March 11). Effects of Heavy Strength Training on Running Performance and Determinants of Running Performance in Female Endurance Athletes – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4783109/