Considering sports equipment that can improve your performance in CrossFit or other strength sports by wearing it alone, we must mention the leg weights. After all, they can be worn outside the gym, thereby passively increasing the strength of your muscle tissues. Another common use is adding weight when training at home.
General information
Initially, leg weights were used exclusively in running disciplines. It's all about how they engage the leg muscles. After all, if heavy squats with a barbell can significantly increase the volume of white muscle fibers, causing myofibrillar hypertrophy, then it was not possible to increase the size of sarcoplasm and, accordingly, the endurance of the athlete's legs.
Previously, training was used for this in the form of running on special surfaces, whether it be sticky ground or barefoot running without sneakers. In particular, such training was popular with basketball players, who must not only maintain high endurance, but also have a truly amazing explosive power for high jumps.
What is a leg weight? This is a construction that includes:
- Filler. The weight of the weighting agent and its tightness to the foot depend on it.
- Cuffs. The cuff attachment allows you to attach it to different parts of the leg.
- Attachment point. Depends on the type of weighting agent itself. There are weights that are attached exclusively below the calf muscle. And there is a type that involves wearing the entire structure on the quadriceps.
Fun fact: In fact, the difference between leg and arm weights is not that great. Many CrossFit athletes use a versatile design with a comfortable fit and adjustable diameter. This allows you to attach the same weight to both arms and legs. But most importantly, it allows you to attach them to the wrist, quadriceps, calf muscle or in the shoulder joint in order to increase the leverage in specific exercises.
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Criterias of choice
First of all, before choosing sports equipment, you need to decide why you need leg weights in your particular case. If you are using them exclusively for HIIT, then you need the most rigid and heavy weights. If this is a cardio load, then you need to select weights according to the material and the attachment point in order to avoid possible dislocations. And if you decide to choose leg weights for everyday wear, then here you should think about their size and maximum invisibility and comfort in wearing.
Selection criterion | How to rate? | Optimal solution |
| Weighting agent weight | Large weights are designed for basic exercise or walking. Medium weight weights are suitable for long runs. A small weight is suitable for practicing coordination of movements (for example, in percussion exercises). | Depends on your goals. |
| Cloth cuff and fastening | Two important factors depend on the fabric. The first is wearing comfort. The stiffer the fabric, the more likely it is that the weight will chafe. In this case, the durability of the weighting agent itself depends on the rigidity of the fabric. | You need to choose based on the feeling of comfort. Tears can always be sewn up. |
| Shape and attachment point | Leg weights come in oblong and classic cuff shapes. Long weights allow you to more evenly distribute the weight, but they very often pinch the calf muscle, which creates certain inconveniences when wearing. The cuffs are limited to small weights. At the same time, they have a more balanced load arm. | Depends on the condition of the veins and arteries. |
| Weighting agent diameter | It depends on whether you can wear weights in everyday life under clothes. | Depends on your goals. |
| Filler used | There are three main types of weighting materials:
| Depends on your goals. |
What to use for?
Why sports leg weights and how did this gear come to CrossFit? Initially, athletes began to use it to prepare for workout-type complexes. For this, constructions with interchangeable weights were used. Why was it necessary? Everything is very simple - when a certain level of fitness is reached, an athlete has problems associated with an imbalance in the proportions or readiness of certain muscle groups. Weights can help solve this problem. This is especially important for girls who, although they are engaged in competitive crossfit, still strive to remain as feminine and proportional as possible.
The second important feature is the ability to increase the intensity of heart contractions. As you know, competitive crossfit is a big test for our heart muscle, and very often athletes, trying to reach peak shape, get sports heart syndrome. Weights for the legs allow you to more systematically increase the load on the heart muscle, even in the lightest WOD complexes. As a result, when an athlete is faced with really hard exercises, his heart muscle is already prepared for such loads and, therefore, it has better developed oxygen sensitivity.
In addition, weighting agents indirectly affect the athlete's resistance to various environments, which can be useful in the case of training swimmers who need balance between all muscle groups. So, Rich Froning did not hesitate to use weights before preparing for Crossfit games 2014.
Often this equipment is also used for regular strength training in the gym or at home. In this case, they help increase the load on the leg muscles in bodyweight exercises or on some equipment, for example, when swinging the legs in a crossover. Of course, using weights when training at home won't replace barbell squats or dumbbells, but it's better than nothing.
Harm and contraindications
Unfortunately, unlike arm weights, leg weights have certain disadvantages and contraindications:
- It is not recommended to wear weights for more than 6 hours in a row. They pinch key arteries and veins, which increases swelling and can significantly restrict leg movement during the day.
- Heavy lead cuffs are not recommended. Despite their undeniable advantages in the form of successful attachment, fabric and invisibility, they cause lead poisoning.
- It is not recommended to practice striking with heavy weights. Due to the change in the point of contact with the projectile, and most importantly due to the inertia of the movement in the weights, the impulse movement will easily twist your knee joint.
- It is not recommended to wear weights for people suffering from varicose veins. The reason is the same as in the first case - pinching of the arteries and veins.
To summarize
In the crossfit context, leg weights are just part of a complete cardio outfit. Many athletes, be they Matt Fraser or Sarah Sigmundsdottir, use them in their workout routine associated with powerful running exercises. They perform virtually all WOD in weighting materials. This allows you to reduce the strain on your legs during competitive performances and move around the stage at a significantly faster speed, saving every second. No wonder in the last games Fraser completed all the complexes by a wide margin and took first place. Even Larisa Zaitsevskaya said that weights are necessary to perform cardio workouts, although she herself often regrets that she does not always use this type of equipment in her complexes.
In normal workouts, weights have been successful in helping to put more weight on the legs in bodyweight exercises.
