Taking a vested interest in a weighty contraption

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - I normally don't fall prey to celebrity fitness fads; in fact, I find most of them downright deceptive.

One day you hear a svelte starlet boasting on "Access Hollywood" that she got her pre-baby body back using "nothing but a ballet barre," and the next day you read in "Redbook" that she, in fact, turned her pool cabana into a million-dollar ballet studio and flew in a Russian ballerina once a week for lessons.

But when actress-turned Jenny Craig spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli told Oprah this year that she got into shape by walking while wearing a weighted vest, I got up off the couch and turned up the volume.

Forty pounds lighter, she also told Rachael Ray, "A woman who weighs 130 pounds burns fewer calories than a 150-pound woman. So when you get down to 130 pounds you still want to burn more calories, so you put the vest on."

I began to investi-Google this fitness contraption I'd never heard of, this miracle worker that Valerie Bertinelli declared "the best invention EV-er."

Turns out, she was using something called a Walkvest, invented by a celebrity fitness instructor who has also helped tone the bods of Marcia Cross, Kristin Davis, Rachel Hunter, Lisa Rinna and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Here's how it works: You put the vest on, add weight to it (the more weight you lose, the more you add to the vest) and go for a stroll.

"Wear the vest while walking and the added resistance safely causes your body to work harder _ you burn more calories as you walk, so you lose weight faster. Furthermore, your bones are forced, by carrying the extra weight, to grow denser and stronger, which helps prevent osteoporosis," says the official Walkvest Web site (www.walkvest.com). Fans of the vest say it's better than carrying dumbbells or wearing ankle weights when you walk because the extra weight is evenly distributed.

TRYING IT OUT

I decided I had to have a weighted walking vest. Now. So instead of ordering a Valerie Bertinelli-endorsed one online for $69.95, I headed to my neighborhood Academy Sports & Outdoors and picked up the "401(k)-just-took-a-nose-dive" recessionary version for about 30 bucks. I strapped on my new 10-pound "Go Fit" vest, hooked on the iPod and drove to Trinity Trails.

Immediately, I felt as though I were wearing some kind of bulletproof, linebacker-proof, Kryptonite-proof vest, and I wondered if this is how law enforcers, quarterbacks and Superman must feel every time they suit up. My back hurt a little at first, but I walked taller and with more gusto, knowing I was burning double _ maybe even triple _ the calories.

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But I also felt like I looked bigger and heavier, and in fact, I was sure this bulky gray vest was attracting some funny looks from joggers passing by. That was, until a woman power-walked past me wearing a snazzy black Walkvest and smiled as if to say, "I'm right there with you; a fellow member of the secret sisterhood of Valerie Bertinelli blubber-busting babes."

As I strode along the banks of the Trinity on a crisp fall day, I started to wonder: If I'm burning more calories walking in this thing, what might happen if I wear it while I work out other ways? Say, if I hit the treadmill wearing 10 extra pounds or maybe tried some weighted crunches?

A WEIGHTY EXPERIMENT

So I hatched a plan to wear a walking vest for all my workouts for the next couple of weeks. Here are some of my experiences:

Treadmill: Usually, I can go an hour on a level from 5 to 8. With the vest, a half-hour feels like an hour. Good thing the program I'm watching on TV is only 30 minutes. My body will be screaming at me in the morning. Probably won't do this again soon.

Sculpting and toning DVD: Wow, when you're wearing a 10-pound walk vest and you're squatting and lifting 8-pound weights, you feel like a muscle-machine. I make it through a 55-minute workout, but my back hurts, and I'm really, really tired. (OK, I confess: After eight push-ups on my knees, I sat there and watched the rest.)

Kickboxing: Adds some intensity, but the extra weight makes it harder to keep up with some of the faster kicks and squats. My normally Rockette-like high front-kicks aren't possible because of where the vest hits, down around the hips.

Yoga: Not a good idea. Period. What is supposed to be a "flow" of movement is more like a trudge through mud. I'm trying to imagine myself floating ... flowing ... mind over matter doesn't work. I don't last long in the vest.

Abs workout: Crunches ... are ... hard. The vest is uncomfortable to lie down in, and it feels like someone is pressing down on my midsection. Planks are excruciating; side planks are impossible.

Cardio dance DVD: The extra weight makes it hard to keep up with some of the faster moves. Overall, though, the added weight feels fine. I'm sweating all over, especially on my tummy. The vest is a little bit gross when I take it off.

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Stretching and balance: I feel clunky and off-balance. During standing balance exercises it feels as though my stationary leg is working harder than the leg I'm moving. The restrictive vest keeps me from lunging and reaching to the ground. On a forward lunge, I topple over and land on the floor.

LESSONS LEARNED

So, it wasn't the best idea in the world to wear a weighted vest to do yoga or ab work. But I'll most definitely keep wearing it for walking workouts. Maybe I'll even start wearing it around the house, especially when I'm cooking.

The best thing about wearing a 10-pound weighted vest, I've found, is that it's a reminder of what 10 pounds feels like on your body. When I take it off, I feel light as a feather. And that's the best motivation to lose an extra 10 pounds

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(Contact Stephanie Allmon: sallmon@star-telegram.com.)

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© 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.