Preparing your body to "wear" weight.

[ijeremy]

I work part-time as an actor. This weekend I had an interesting role in which I wore a full suit of armor. Wow! I was not prepared for the strain my body would go through wearing this stuff for lengths of up to 6 hours walking, running, fighting, and the occasional horseback riding.

The suit probably weighed around 100lbs. Knowing what it feels like to weigh almost 300lbs has been a good motivation to start hitting the gym regularly.

In the future, what would be a good way to condition myself for this sort of thing? Can you really condition yourself to "wearing" heavy weight for extended periods of time?

Shoulders - a LOT of weight hung off my shoulders. I know shrugs will help with this.
Torso - again more support for my back to hold up my upper body. NOt quite sure what.
Groin - something with lifting my knees up. It hurts to climb stairs.

Below is a guesstimated breakdown of weight distribution from top to bottom.
5lbs = Helmet
10lbs = Spaulders(shoulder pads) x 2
10lbs = chain mail mantle (around neck, resting on shoulders)
15lbs = Leather/plate cuirass (hanging on shoulders)
25lbs = chain mail shirt (resting on shoulders
2lbs = Leather Girdle (around waist
20lbs = Cuisses(upper thigh to knee) x 2 (hanging from belt, but strapped to my upper thighs)
7lbs = Shin Guards x 2 (strapped to lower legs)

The most period-accurate shoes I had were a pair of old cowboy boots which had about 1.5" heel. Those really, combined with the weight, did a number on my calves. After day 1, I brought a stool so I always had a place to sit.

[westside24]

Squats and Deadlifts.... Deadlifts will definately strengthen your back ass and hams, and your traps... squats will help the rest of your leg problems and make a stronger core. You should really try what V suggests if you are strapped for time

Deadlifts
Squats
Rows
Military Press

3sets, 6-8 reps each.

[minime]

well in order to condition yourself to 'wear' a lot of extra weight, you would need to wear extra weight regularly!

my suggestion is to start wearing a weight vest at the gym to do things like running, walking, pushups, pullups, squats etc.

you could also try farmers walks and firemans carries with increasing weights.

also of course, what westy mentioned...

[westside24]

Originally Posted by minime

my suggestion is to start wearing a weight vest at the gym to do things like running, walking, pushups, pullups, squats etc.

haha.. that would be funny to see... kinda like that miejers commercial but not with just a weightvest, but the whole armored get up... ok im done

[sooner_ed]

Minime hit it dead on. I prepared myself last summer to wear body armor because I had orders to come to Iraq.

Fortunately, a couple of years ago I bought a 50 pound weighted vest online. You simply have to just start wearing it. But if you have time to adjust, start off with lower poundage and work your way up.

Being a runner, I would wear mine while I ran. I ran slow as heck the first time I wore it running. I think the first time I ran with the full 50 pounds, I ran a mile in like 22 minutes. A couple of months later, I would run 1-1/2 miles without the vest at an 8:00 per mile pace. Then I would run another 1-1/2 miles without the vest at a 7:00 per mile pace. After those three miles, I could put on the 50 pound vest and run 1-1/2 miles at a 9:00 per mile pace. You just simply have to train in it to get used to it.

Last summer when my training started, we were issued body armor that weighed about 45 pounds. It felt light compared to what I trained in at home. While other soldiers were falling out from the heat while wearing the body armor, I had no problems at all.

So Minime hit it dead on. Get yourself a weighted vest and simply train in it. Make sure to give your body a couple of days each week to rest or you'll wear your body down.