The benefits of lifting weights are well-documented — improving muscle strength and tone, boosting metabolism and improving bone density. But what about wearing the weight? If this conjures images of strapping on a glorified sandbag and undertaking a gruelling military fitness session, bear with me…
Omorpho’s line-up of weighted apparel launched last month in the UK. The streamlined designs not only have curb appeal, but employ smart “microloading technology” — tiny weights fastened across the form-fitting designs, distributing the load across the wearer.
The point? To increase resistance, making training — walking, running, circuits, even tennis — incrementally more intensive, and more effective. Cynthia Erivo and Taylor Swift are early adopters, as are athletes Carlos Alcaraz and Michael Johnson.
Omorpho was founded by Nike’s former vice president of global digital innovation, Stefan Olander. Its best-selling products are a duo of weighted vests — the G-Vest Icon and G-Vest Run — adjustable from 2.7 to 9.1kg and 1.4 to 7.3kg respectively. The concept, says Olander, is simple. “Five per cent of your body weight is enough to see physiological changes. If you put too much load on your body, you limit your ability to move naturally, which limits the results.”
Lee Mullins, founder of Workshop Gymnasium in Knightsbridge agrees: “Start at around five per cent of your bodyweight and cap it near 10 per cent. Beyond that you generally start compromising with your spine. The load should be something you barely notice at the start of a session and definitely notice by the end.”
The science behind the designs is persuasive — “you can burn up to eight per cent more calories, increase your VO2 max by up to seven per cent and increase workload by six to seven per cent,” Olander says. Research has also shown percentage improvements including sprint speed (3.4 per cent reduction in 10m sprint times) and jump height (8.7 per cent). These incremental gains are a major benefit, particularly for the time-poor city dweller or regular traveller.
Mullins suggests employing a weighted vest for “the low-intensity end of your training, walking, hiking, incline walking work, bodyweight circuits, carries. It’s a way of making the less complex exercises count for more, not a way of making the hard stuff harder.”
Omorpho’s vests also allow a wearer to add weight, so you can progressively overload your body as you get stronger. Alongside improvements in strength and cardio fitness, these designs may support bone health. However, it’s worth noting that clinical studies linking weighted vests with improvements in bone density are limited — but experts agree that, used correctly, they aren’t harmful.
With Olander’s Nike credentials, it’s no surprise that aesthetics and comfort are central — “obviously performance and innovation is really, really important,” he says, “but if it doesn’t look good, and feel comfortable, people aren’t going to use it.” Mullins cites heightened “proprioceptive feedback” —awareness of our balance, posture and coordination. “A walk with a vest on feels like training rather than a walk. For a lot of people that’s the difference between doing it and not doing it, and consistency beats optimisation every time,” he says.
Plus, in Olander’s words you “feel like a badass,” which can’t be underestimated when it comes to working out.
Available at omorpho.com from £69
