Weighted vest cardio safe?

Hey guys, so I love cardio, I don't do it to lose weight, I do it because I love it, I love the challenge of willpower, and it's good for the heart and brain. I conditioned myself to be able to do 200 steps in 20 minutes on level 10 on the stairmaster consistently 7 days a week without fail, without leaning on the rails. I'm able to stay on the stair master for more than an hour. I regularly stay on for 30-40 minutes, everyday, able to go longer; but I just feel I lose the challenge so I hope on a treadmill and do steep incline speed walks for about 30 minutes. I feel at this point all the other cardio machines don't have much challenge for me.

I was wondering about weighted vest + stairmaster, would this be dangerous for my knees or joints?

If it's not too heavy it'd probably be ok, but over a longer period of time if you were going to wear out your joints a little regardless, it'll happen a bit quicker.

Why not stick w/ the stairmaster unweighted which will still have cardio benefits and challenge yourself w/ progression on heavy weights w/ leg workouts?

Should be ok if you gradually go up in weight to let your body adjust. I doubt you will develop occult or progressive injuries doing this without realizing it (ie, you should develop pain/discomfort if it is an issue). Just never ever wear ankle weights.

add weight do less time less wear n tear

[QUOTE=air2fakie;1592202651]If it's not too heavy it'd probably be ok, but over a longer period of time if you were going to wear out your joints a little regardless, it'll happen a bit quicker.

Why not stick w/ the stairmaster unweighted which will still have cardio benefits and challenge yourself w/ progression on heavy weights w/ leg workouts?[/QUOTE]

I enjoy weightlifting. I don't really get the same "test of willpower" when weightlifting vs intense cardio though. The feeling of having to last another ten-twenty minutes when your whole body can't take it, I love that feeling. I mean with weight lifting you can get it up to that sort of level of intensity but the risk of serious injury is way up there at that point.

[QUOTE=2RDEYE;1592223961]I enjoy weightlifting. I don't really get the same "test of willpower" when weightlifting vs intense cardio though. The feeling of having to last another ten-twenty minutes when your whole body can't take it, I love that feeling. I mean with weight lifting you can get it up to that sort of level of intensity but the risk of serious injury is way up there at that point.[/QUOTE]

Got it, I feel a similar way about sports sometimes - although that's an injury waiting to happen for me at this point. Go for it, if your knees or anything starts hurting you can back off before it becomes a problem.

You arent doing intense cardio with steep incline walks lmao.. Try running 5 miles on a treadmill in 30 minutes. Better for you long run than adding a bunch ofload to your knees and hips.

[QUOTE=2RDEYE;1592223961]I enjoy weightlifting. I don't really get the same "test of willpower" when weightlifting vs intense cardio though. [/QUOTE]

Really? Try slow eccentrics with isometric holds in the stretched (not collapsed) position. That will tell you what you're made of. :)

As for the weight vest and cardio: Adding weight will grow the muscles and strengthen and thicken the bones and connective tissue if you add the weight gradually. People get injured because they do too much too soon.

You'll be fine, just don't start off with 50+ pounds right off the bat. Slow progressions.

2RDEYE,

Just to add that even though a StairMaster workout is low impact, you should still decompress the spine when you finish after you take off the vest.

you can start off with 10 lbs and work your way from there.