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Weighted Clothing
August 18, 2018 Chris Meharg 3 Comments

Weighted Clothing
From shouen action series like Dragon Ball and Naruto to sports anime like Hajime no Ippo, weighted clothing
have been a classic anime trope to help characters gain speed, strength, and agility. Now by training weights
I do not mean pumping iron in the gym, but wearable weights that you could use all day long.

These types of weights can be found in the real world at almost any fitness store, and come in a variety of
weights. I have a set of 10 lbs ankle weights and 2.5 lbs wrist weights. While wrist and ankle weights are the
most common type of weighted clothing, I have also seen weighted gloves, vests, shirts, and shorts. The
amount of weight that each type can hold varies, with the vests being the heaviest, going up to 150 lbs. I’ve
only used a 40 lbs one in the past.

And, yes, I know that real world weighted clothing pales in comparison to what you might see in anime.

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In this scene we see Goku remove 100-120 kilos (220 lbs to 265 lbs) of weighted clothing (shirt, wrist bands,
and boots). The amount of weight is more than a bit much, but if you really wanted to, you could replicate Biology Laws
something close to that amount of wearable weights. FYI– it won’t come cheap, even with Amazon available Chemistry Laws
items include: Earth & Space Laws
Physics Laws
Weighted vest- 150 lbs

Weights shorts- 45 lbs Recent Classes

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Ankle weights 2x- 40 lbs
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Wrist weights 2x- 20 lbs a Reality Marble?
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Weighted shoes 2x- 6 lbs

Total- 265 lbs Recent Comments

Avast ye matey – My Pirate Crew - I drink
and watch anime on Just how much
power does it take to form a Reality
But will wearing training weights make you stronger?
Marble?
The simple answer is yes, but the reality is a bit more complex. First off, it depends on how you use the Anime Science 101- The Quintessential
weights. If you use body weights like you would any other type of weight training, the results would be similar, Quintuplets and multiple births on
but this is the boring stuff that most of you already know, not to mention that type of training is not seen as of- Evolution in A Centaur’s Life
ten in anime. The more interesting and more often used method of using body weights is to wear them all the Chris Meharg on Kaleido Star- Ken
time, only removing the weights during hard fights as seen in the Dragon Ball clip above. Robbins Weak Heart
Jodi on Kaleido Star- Ken Robbins Weak
Heart
Chris Meharg on So I’m a Spider, So
Not unsurprisingly there is a lack of good scientific research into the topic, or at least research that is readily
What?- Spider size vs venom toxicity
accessible. I say this because I only found 2 sources that weren’t directly connected to a company selling
weighted clothing. However, given the number of weighted clothing items on sale online, I suspect that the
academic research will catch up. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some conclusions that can be Connect With Us:
made. First, since this training method is most often used in fighting anime, we need to consider that there
are other things beyond physical strength that are important to a martial artist. This includes strength, jumping
ability, range of motion, speed, and endurance.

Strength
When it comes to basic strength training, training with weighted clothing will increase your strength, but it’s not
any more or less effective than using traditional weights. The benefit of the weighted clothing occurs when
you can’t hold the increased weight you are trying to lift. For example, let’s say that you were doing dumbbell
squats, but have trouble holding more than 100lbs.

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You could where a weighted vest to increase the amount of weight used during the exercise with having to
hold more weight.

Vertical Jump
Using a weighted vest in conjunction with plyometric exercise (jump training) does result in an increased verti-
cal leap when the vest is removed. This is due to the weight providing extra resistance, strengthening the
muscles that are engaged when jumping vertically. While I did not find any studies looking into whether using
weighted vests can improve horizontal jumping, I would imagine that they would have some degree of positive
effect.

Bone Density
Studies have also shown that using weighted vests increases bone density as it does with standard weight
training. This occurs due to the stress the extra weight places on the body. Our body doesn’t like stress and
creates strengthens bone to better handle the extra stress.

Range of Motion
Using weight training of any kind will not improve the range of motion of your joints or your flexibility. How-
ever, certain types of weighted clothing could make your range of motion worse. It has more to do with the
design of the clothing than the weight.

In this particular design you can see how large and bulky the vest is and it could reduce your ability to move
your arms in certain directions. This is something that I can attest to as I have used one of the older heavier
weighted vests for a time. Some of the newer weighted shirts are less bulky and do not restrict your move-
ment as much.

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What about the negatives?

If you only use the weighted vests during your workouts, there aren’t any negatives beyond what you would
see with regular weight training. It might not be as effective as other training methods, but it won’t negatively
impact you when used properly. The real negatives come in when you start wearing them all the time as seen
in anime, which is a really bad idea.

Joint Damage
Yes, constantly wearing weighted clothing 24/7 can damage your joints. The amount of damage depends on
the amount of weight a person is wearing, and how long the person wears it. The easiest way to explain this
is to go back to what I’ve said in several other posts about how the human body has a certain size that it is
best adapted for, and that includes both height and weight. When you wear weighted vests, you are effec-
tively increasing how much your body weighs, which is fine for a short period of time like a workout, but over a
long period of time it can be detrimental. For example, if a 6ft 180lbs man who has a BMI of 24.4, which is
considered healthy, decided to try and be Goku wearing 220lbs of weighted clothing, he would have a BMI of
54.3, which is considered morbidly obese.

Yes, the individual would not have the metabolic and cardiovascular problems of a truly obese person, but
their musculoskeletal system would be under the same stress as a morbidly obese person. This includes joint
damage due to the extreme stress the extra weight places on the body.

Decrease in Speed
Yes, you read it right, wearing weighted clothing all the time will not make you faster, even after you take off
the weight. Now I know this sounds counter intuitive, but it goes back to your brain. When you start wearing
weighted clothing all the time, your brain recognizes the weight and how your movement has changed. Over
time it begins to think that you are actually heavier than you really are. This means that even after you take
off the weight, your brain still thinks it’s 220 pounds heavier than you really are. This will throw off your speed
and coordination for an extended period of time until the brain adapts back to the body’s normal weight.

FYI- I like to think this is why Lee misses some of his punches during his fight with Gaara.

Changes to Endurance
This one is a bit of a wash as I have seen some reports stating that training with body weights increases en-

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Anime Science 101- Should you train with Weighted Clothing? http://www.animescience101.com/weighted-clothing/

durance, while others say that it decreases endurance.

Conclusion
Sadly, I have to call the use of weighted clothing (wearing it all the time, unless you are in a fight) in anime
busted.

If you want to use weighted clothing, only use it for your workouts, and do not wear it all the time.

Sources
https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/why-and-how-you-should-work-out-weighted-vest/

Biology affects of exercise, anime, anime biology, Anime Science, Biology, Dragon Ball, exercise, Goku, Naruto, Rock
Lee, shounen anime, wearable weights, weighted clothing, weights

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BestHealthGear • 5 months ago • edited

Really cool article, thanks for sharing all this information about weighted clothing. Here's another resource you
might want to add to your list of helpful links - https://besthealthgear.com/...
1 • Reply • Share ›

Anime Science 101 Mod BestHealthGear • 5 months ago

Thanks
• Reply • Share ›

BestHealthGear Anime Science 101 • 5 months ago

Would you be willing to add it to the "Sources"? :)
• Reply • Share ›

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