Weighted Vest

[Lawrence Karman]

Anybody read that add about the weighted vest at the bottom of this page. Seems like a good way to keep in Steadicam shape during down time. And for us Americans it might stop a bullet or some shrapnel. Code orange! Strap on the vest.

[Benjamin Verhulst]

Was looking at this exact thing today and found this ancient orphan thread! So, ten years later does anybody do this? I try to run a 5k once a week and was considering adding a weighted vest to help with general steadicam fitness. The athletic advice seems to recommend 10% of your body weight, so the 20 lbs vests seem right. I wonder if a 40 pound vest, though a little closer to steadicam weight, would do more harm than good running.

 

Thoughts Lawrence? Or did you just buy one as armor in the end?

[Sanjay Sami]

I use a 30kg weight with a hole in it to take the arm post. It is about the weight of a very heavy camera and sled.

[James Davis]

I do bear crawls at my gym in a 30kg weighted vest, great for overall conditioning, core strength and general mobility.

A very underrated movement, also a big fan of HIIT workouts using the upper body.

A variety of medicine ball slams or working with battle ropes for instance are awesome, because you can stress the cardiovascular and nervous system intensely in a short period of time.

6-8 minutes of back to back battle rope rounds with a partner can make a super hard cardio session if you do it with the proper intensity.

[Victor Lazaro]

What about putting a weight plate on top of your Steadicam and run around. The best training for Steadicam is to operate.

[Benjamin Verhulst]

Though I agree the best Steadicam training is doing Steadicam, I'm talking about training your body to be more efficient and dexterous under load. I don't think I could recommend anyone go on a real run with any sort of Steadicam strapped to them, especially without a spotter.

 

Sanjay - Before I saw it was on the arm, I thought you were holding that with one hand and just your thumb underneath. I was very impressed. Where did you get such a thing?

 

James - That's great stuff, I've been looking into doing more high intensity training. Seems to be where it's at nowadays.

 

Interesting to see what everyone does to stay ready. I just want my fitness to be the last thing I have to think about when I put the rig on, but now this really belongs in another forum.

[Rick Drapkin]

I wear a 60 pound weight vest and go on my treadmill for 40 minutes. 30 minutes forward and 10 minutes backward. Its a bit odd to walk on a treadmill backwards, but once you get used to it ,no bad at all. Besides, it seems like most of the work we do is leading someone ,so walking backwards makes the most sense. Just my 2 cents.

[Sanjay Sami]

I bought a 30 kg slice of iron bar stock and cut a hole in it on my mill.

 

My thumbs are not that strong :-)

[Jerry Holway]

I'd be concerned weighting the vest and running. Besides restricting your movement, if the weight is substantial, it will impact your joints badly.

 

One reason we can carry so much camera and sled weight for so long is because the arm absorbs our vertical movement. We don't accelerate those masses up and have them come crashing down with each step. Because the vest is solid to your body, any additional weight on it is going to directly impact your joints.

 

If you are going to run, run free!

[James Davis]

Well put Jerry, running in a weighted vest would be extremely hard on the joints.

If you guys want to get more comfortable under load, farmers walks are a great exercise, build up to carrying double what you take on the heaviest setup imaginable in the rig, then train for endurance with that weight.

You'll be pleasantly surprised how much more comfortable you will feel in the rig once you get strong at this exercise.

 

Planks

Iranian push-ups

MMA style high plank to low plank

Other plank variations

 

There are so many things you can do to improve your physical prowess whilst operating and safeguard against the likelihood of injury during those tough days at work.

[Benjamin Verhulst]

That's a really good point Jerry. I might just stick to stairs and hills for resistance running.

 

Farmer walks sound like a great idea. If someone were to develop a steadicam-geared training regime, I'm sure there'd be some interest.

[Lawrence Karman]

Never got one Benjamin. Kind of figured it would stress my knees. Been sticking to my stair machine/ treadmill routine at the gym including, as Rick does, walking backwards on the treadmill. Will set up the rig in the garage with a dummy weight and walk around for back strength if there is a long gap between jobs.

[William Demeritt]

I would agree with the sentiments about running with a weighted vest. If you were you add a few pounds per week to the vest, you might see some gains, but you're exponentially increasing the chances of damaging your hips, knees, lower back, etc.

 

I own this vest for hiking:

 

http://www.amazon.com/ZFOsports%C2%AE-60LBS-ADJUSTABLE-WEIGHTED-VEST/dp/B001876XYG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407088940&sr=8-2

 

Treadmill could train consistency of a weighted stride, but Steadicam is hardly a consistent stride or walk. I like hiking because the incline is natural, and the walking pace/terrain varied. Otherwise, you could just pick a path around your neighborhood and walk with the vest on. I've done the Rose Bowl loop a couple times with the vest, definitely a tough walk.

 

Strange thing: for all of the hiking, jogging and weighted vest walking I've done, nothing has given such clear gains as weight training. Squats, deadlifts, lots of compound exercises, and it prepares you for Steadicam quite nicely!

[Janice Arthur]

Hi all;

 

While not about weighted vests it is about physical fitness. What this training does for you is also give the operator a mental toughness.

Now a screaming AD or equipment problem or a long stretch are easier to take mentally too.

 

Additionally, all exercise just gets the blood flowing more and makes you mentally sharper. All those people that work out look brighter eyed and sharper and they are.

 

So I continue to be impressed by these workouts and William's weighted vest is neat. I'm almost curious enough to buy one; I experimented with leg weights as a kid back in the late 70s and still have them!

 

Janice

 

Have a great summer.

[Victor Lazaro]

I love Sanjay's solution,

I remember Larry McConkey taking about training to lift a super heavy film camera back in the days. He kept on running up a hill with his Steadicam and a weight plate and he would slowly build up the payload to match the one of the camera. The day he could reach the top of the hill with the weight of the full camera, he was ready.