Thread: Ankle weights

Hi
Is ankle weights good for doing leg exercises and are they better with weighs on ankles instead of doing without ive seen some in argos just wondered if it is worth getting some to

Hopefully Kate will spot this and answer. I think you would only find ankle weights useful if you are already fit and doing the exercise without the weights is no longer challenging. Personally I wouldn't buy them. But lets see what others think!

Dizzy x

Hey chick...

Me thinks any exercise you may do will be good... get started on one thing and you should see results in a few weeks!!!

Hope you are having a good day

Luv

Hi Bethany

If you are just starting to exercise I would definitely forget the weights. If you have weight to lose still you will have natural weight on your legs to make the exercise tougher. If you are just starting up I would definitely recommend walking. Do it everyday and gradually build up and you will quickly notice a difference.

If you are itching to buy some equipment I would recommend a pedometer. An omron HJ -113 is great. Then PM your steps each day to me and I will put them on the steppers league. There are a bunch of us who do this each day and try to encourage ourselves an each other to walk more.

Dizzy x

Hi Bethany

Dizzy is right - for most lower body exercises your body weight would be enough if you do them correctly. You should only really add ankle weights for specific exercises e.g. side leg raises if you know what you are doing. It's definitely a bad idea to wear them for walking etc. as they alter the natural distribution of weight on the leg and could lead to injury if you're not careful.

Don't get me wrong, they can be very useful, but I see them used incorrectly far more often than I see them used correctly.

Hi Kate
I was thinking of using them for doing side leg raisis and doing scissors and different leg exercises

Well, I'd start off doing those things without adding ankle weights, to be honest. You won't burn any extra calories or anything like that by adding the extra weight - what you will do is gain strength. It's far more important to do strength exercises with good technique before you start adding extra weight otherwise you will only increase your risk of injury.

Thanks as im not used to doing any exercise but going to start gentle

i bought some ankle weights ages ago and think i used them twice i use one of them now as a door stop lol!!!!!!