Weight, There’s More! The Risks and Benefits of Using Ankle and Wrist Weights

The widespread use of wrist and ankle weights began in earnest during the 1980s as America’s fitness culture was reaching an apex. Step aerobics in particular saw these as a way to increase leg resistance and build firmer muscle tone. While benefits like increased strength and speed accrued for some wearers, drawbacks like injuries and muscle strain occurred for others. By the early 1990s, with little understanding of factors like proper load and placement in professional training circles and elsewhere, these wearable weights began falling out of favor.

As recently as 2020, however, during the height of the COVID pandemic when gyms were shuttered and athletes were seeking new methods for speed and strength development that were viable in isolated locales—often with limited space and equipment—wearable weights began seeing a resurgence. But that’s only part of the story. The tech age had simultaneously ushered in a wealth of new data that more effectively analyzed the relationship between load, placement, velocity, and results so athletes could improve the benefits while minimizing risks wearable weights.

The combined load on both ankles should be around 1% to 2% of your body weight, or one to three pounds, whichever is less, when you first start wearing weights, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

While weights can obviously be worn on many parts of the body to boost workout intensity, this article specifically focuses on the application to joints like wrists and ankles, which are unique in both their strengths and vulnerabilities. The challenge is to determine optimal conditions for maximizing performance while reducing adverse effects that can regress and even completely negate the prior benefits accrued by using such weights. While joint-specific studies regarding the application of these weights are still somewhat limited, significantly more data now exists than did during their earlier heyday.

How Do Wearable Weights Work?

Adding weight to your wrists and ankles essentially increases your overall body weight, which means your cardiovascular system and muscles need to exert more energy to move your body. The greater the load, the more resistance to those body parts and the stronger they become. And while greater resistance over time doesn’t always translate to superior sports performance, which can be affected by myriad outside factors, improvements to muscle mass, metabolic rate and cardiorespiratory fitness have been evident in studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

However, placing added weight at the wrist or ankle will likewise influence specific parts of the body. For instance, ankle weights not only significantly affect the ankle, but the calf, knee, and thigh, while weights placed above the knee dramatically reduce the effect on muscles below the knee. We see the same effect when weights are placed at the wrist rather than higher up the arm. Moreover, the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute claims ankle and wrist weights don’t actually make ankles and wrists stronger, leaving these joints vulnerable to injury if overloaded.

What Are the Benefits?

According to NSCA-certified personal trainer and running coach Amber Sayer (MS, CPT), ankle and wrist weights offer an effective, hands-free option for cardio and strength training that not only builds muscle and boosts resistance to calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, arms, shoulders, and upper back muscles, but also increases caloric burn rate, mitigates the chances for injury when used properly, and helps prevent bone density loss. The NIH actually found ankle and wrist weights can increase bone mineral density an average of 1% to 3%.

Additional studies have signaled even greater benefits. An article published in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences in October of 2016 cited a five-month Malaysian study that determined “ankle-wrist weight training leads to changes in body composition and anthropometric parameters with potential cardiovascular disease risk reduction.” Moreover, a slightly longer six-month study applying ankle and wrist weights for 20-minute durations, three times a week “lowered participants’ waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body fat percentage.”

Adding weight to your wrists and ankles essentially increases your overall body weight, which means your cardiovascular system and muscles need to exert more energy to move your body, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

To be certain, more research needs to be done to replicate these results, particularly in athletes who already have a propensity for lower body fat and better body composition. But a 2017 NIH study found 10 weeks of resistance training also led to improvements in speed, movement control, functional independence, cognitive abilities, and self-esteem—all while increasing resting metabolic rate by 7%, improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.

What Are the Risks?

More weight doesn’t necessarily lead to better performance, and, unfortunately, too many wearers are prone to excessive weight that might put an unhealthy amount of strain on the wrists and ankles. In addition, most experts decry the use of any amount of weight on these areas during cardio workouts, which can overwork muscles, destroy muscle balance, and place excess strain on the joint, resulting in ligament or tendon injuries to the hip, back, knees, shoulders, elbows, and neck, as well as the wrists and ankles themselves.

According to Terry Downey, a physical therapist with the Harvard-associated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, avoid any wearable ankle weights during an aerobic workout “because they force you to use your quadriceps and not your hamstrings, (which) causes a muscle imbalance.” She further adds that a similar imbalance is prone to occur when wrist weights are applied during cardio as you swing your arms back and forth.

How Do I Determine How Much Weight to Wear?

Determining weight load should be based on several factors, including your fitness goals and where you’re currently at in your training. However, a common rule of thumb corresponds the load to your total body weight, which will increase as your resistance training builds muscle mass. The combined load on both ankles should be around 1% to 2% of your body weight, or one to three pounds, whichever is less, when you first start wearing weights. The combined wrist load should be about the same.

Sayer recommends initially allowing 48-hour intervals between workouts using wrist and ankle weights, and then gradually decreasing this window as your body acclimates. She also suggests a gradual addition of weight as each exercise starts to feel easier, resulting in a more steady, consistent, and measurable increase in performance over time. As you get accustomed to the weights and notice improvements across strength and power metrics, you may increase to a combined ankle load of between 5% and 10% of your body weight. Same for wrists.

However, in situations where sprinting, agility, momentum, and torque are paramount, trainers may suggest a lighter load to achieve the necessary force and acceleration that begets quickness. “The future of fast is light, as wearable resistance uses micro-loading to provide sprint-specific resistance training as part of your sprint training,” says John Cronin, Professor of Strength and Conditioning at AUT University in New Zealand. In this method, gains in strength will be more readily apparent through sprint performance.

Who Should Avoid Wearable Weights?

If you’re experiencing pain in your back, hips, ankles, knees, wrists, shoulders, or elbows, or if you otherwise have balance and gait issues, especially resulting from a recent injury, you should be cautious, as exercising with ankle and wrist weights could exacerbate these problems.

Likewise, they should be avoided if your workouts are predominantly cardio-focused or involve high-impact movements such as plyometrics. Wearable weights also pose a safety concern if you have a history of ligament tears, dislocations, sprains, or tendinitis.

How Do I Know I’m Using the Weights Correctly?

Getting positive results from wearable weights is based on using them for targeted, low-impact resistance exercises like lunges, leg lifts, arm circles, and bicep curls. The weight should be placed directly above the ankle or wrist, and the straps should be fastened tightly enough that the weight doesn’t slide around. The weights should not be left on for extended periods of time, which can lead to muscle and joint pain as well as chafing and skin irritation.

Having a measurable system to track performance metrics along with clear performance objectives will ensure proper increased gradation of load and duration without compromising the wearer’s safety, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

Dr. Adil Ahmed, an orthopedic surgeon at the Baylor College of Medicine, recommends starting with 30-minute intervals and then increasing duration as strength, endurance, and other resistance training benefits begin to bear fruit.

What Are Some Viable Exercises to Do With Wrist and Ankle Weights?

Wrist Only:

• Cuban Presses
• Pivot Pickoff Throws
• Two-Arm Overhead Throws
• Pronation Swings
• Prone Bicep Curls

Ankle Only:

• Single-Leg Glute Bridges
• Double-Leg Glute Bridges
• Side-Lying Hip Abductions
• Prone Hamstring Curls

Wrist and Ankle:

• Superman Holds / Pulses
• Rocketman Holds / Pulses
• Goblet Squats with Arm Extensions
• V Holds

Final Takeaways

The effectiveness of ankle and wrist weights stems largely from how they are employed. Clear delineation exists between right and wrong methods of utilization, regardless of the wearer’s level of fitness. Use during targeted, low-impact exercises for limited amounts of time and in a proportionate ratio to total body weight offers the best chance for improved biomechanics, including increased speed, strength, muscle mass, and endurance, while also limiting the potential for joint and muscle injury.

Having a measurable system to track performance metrics along with clear performance objectives will ensure proper increased gradation of load and duration without compromising the wearer’s safety.

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References

Wescott, Wayne L. (July-August 2012) Resistance Training is Medicine: Effects of Strength Training on Health. NIH National Library of Medicine, Pub Med.

Carmel PT, DPT, Justin M. (2024) Ankle Weights Workout, Is it Good or Bad? Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute.

Yaacob DrPH, Najib M., et al. (October 2016) Dumbbells and ankle-wrist weight training leads to changes in body composition and anthropometric parameters with potential cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Volume 11, Issue 5 , Pages 439-447.

Wearable weights: How they can help or hurt. Harvard Medical School, Harvard Health Publishing. (February 15, 2021)

Cronin, John. The Future of Fast Is Light: Wearable Resistance Load and Placement. SimpliFaster.

Wrist and Ankle Weights: Do They Actually Work? Baylor College of Medicine. (January 16, 2024)