It happened slowly, then all at once. On esplanades and trails, by the water or the mountains, and in the city or the country: everyone’s walking in a weighted vest.
I first noticed it early this year. Suddenly, it seemed like all the women I passed on my daily running path—whether walking in a group or solo—were strapped into a contraption that made her look like they were headed to a battlefield rather than getting their steps in.
I thought it was funny how much the trend was taking off, but this was Brooklyn, New York, ground zero for viral fitness trends.. It wasn’t until I traveled to Paris this summer and saw that even the fad-averse French women had succumbed to the vest’s allure that I truly understood how big the workout trend had become.
Mosey on over to social media, especially TikTok or Instagram, and it’s clear how much the trend had exploded. The more hardcore sister of TikTok’s “hot girl walk,” the “weighted vest walk” has been exalted as the new way to burn calories and gain strength easily and effectively, the way for girls to get fit and look good doing it.
It’s easy to see why. Walking is technically free and it’s not intimidating, like signing up for a technical Reformer Pilates class or a daunting Crossfit workout. It’s something many of us can do with very little prep or investment.
And for the past few years, walking as exercise has had a rebirth as a stylish way to exercise. You can look cute on a walk (you’re not sweating that much), you can bring accessories (Owala bottle, headphones), and you can do it with a friend. It’s getting fit while socializing, and putting in the effort to tone without seeming like you’re trying too hard.
Of course, walking for exercise is nothing new. But Rebecca Kennedy, a Peloton instructor and fitness trainer, tells me that she’s watched as the popularity of the humble walk has exploded in the past few years—and she’s all for it.
“I am a huge advocate for getting people moving, and I think walking is the easiest way,” she tells me. “We’re already doing it. I grew up with my mom going out for walks with her friends.”
Kennedy had tried weighted vest walking about three years ago, when she was recovering from an injury but wanted to up her low intensity workouts. About six months ago, she says, she saw a “huge burst into the mainstream” for the workout, and decided to added weighted vest walking to some of her class offerings on Peloton. She and the team quickly realized that there was a “huge appetite” for the content, and she thinks it makes sense.
“It is really approachable,” she says. “It doesn’t require you to learn a new skill. You can kind of do whatever you’re already doing and increase the efficacy of the workout. You have a higher metabolic output, you have more demands muscularly on your joints. So there’s just a ton of benefits when you start wearing the vest for the workouts that you’re already doing to meet people where they’re at.”
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And while men are hopping on the trend too, those in the industry say it’s incredibly popular among women specifically. Teri Levy founded her brand RUKSTR, which sells both a weighted vest and a weighted backpack, in June 2024, and has seen sales skyrocket.
“Since January 2025, our sales have tripled month over month, and we’ve sold out of our weighted vest five times since launch, with demand continuing to outpace supply,” she says.
Levy notes that they have found that 99.9% of their customers are women—a statistic that bears out in the reviews on their website, which are filled with photos of women wearing their vests in the wild.
“This surge is closely tied to more women incorporating rucking and weighted walking into their routines, and it aligns with broader conversations about midlife and older women seeking accessible, effective ways to build strength and support bone health,” she says.
Levy is referencing another interesting component of the trend—its growing popularity among women going through perimenopause or menopause. On social media, weighted walking has become known specifically for this age group as a low-impact way to help with bone density and strength through hormonal changes.
“The weighted vest can be really helpful because when your hormones fluctuate as you get older, you see a decrease in estrogen, you see a decrease in progesterone,” says Kennedy. “So what happens is we start to see a decrease in our bone density. Wearing a weighted vest is resistance training…when you’re strength training or doing resistance training, you’re basically counteracting or slowing down the potentiality of bone loss.”
If you’re convinced to give it a try, Kennedy has a few tips, like how much weight to start with.
“The general rule of thumb is 5 to 10% of your body weight historically works for a certain population, but anything under 15 pounds is a good place to start,” she says. “If you’re wearing it for a 30 or 60 minute walk or a hike, you could potentially go a little bit higher, especially if you already have a strong foundation of strength training.”
She also recommends not adding a weighted vest to your walk if you are dealing with a chronic injury that could be exacerbated by adding weight to your chest or back, or if you’re pregnant. She also says she’s been asked if it’s a good idea to wear the vest during other activities like indoor cycling or yoga, and she doesn’t recommend it.
But mostly, Kennedy is excited to see that walking—an activity that is safe, effective, and accessible to most people —take its rightful place among all the other types of exercise.
“It’s like, okay, finally we’re celebrating something that has longevity and accessibility and long-term optionality for so many people, and this is just another tool,” she says of weighted vests. “It’s going to be a tool to enhance or amplify what you’re already doing.”
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