walking with hand held weights.

Question
I have been told that walking while using 2 lb. hand weights is not good for your heart. Walking is already taxing your heart and using hand held weight puts more stress on your heart.  Is this true. Should you walk then do weight exercises seperately?

Answer
Using hand weights while walking is definitely not bad for your heart. Combining the two exercises can save you time. You will get a higher heart rate than walking alone, and strengthen the hands and arms.

Higher heart rates allow you to develop better aerobic conditioning. Any exercise tends to raise heart rates which is a major reason exercise is good for you. The greatest cause of negative stress on the heart is inactivity.

The only thing to be cautious about is how much weight you carry and how you carry it. I've always warned walkers not to attach weights to their feet as it may put too much stress on the muscles and tendons of the legs. Wearing weights around the waist or carrying them in the hands is fine, but adding too much weight could overstress the upper body. Two pound hand weights should be fine, but going heavier than that should be worked up to gradually.