Changes in oxygen consumption associated with treadmill walking and running with light hand-carried weights.

Ten subjects (mean weight 66·5 kg and mean age 26 years) walked and ran for six minutes on a treadmill at 4·8,5·6 and 8 km/hour carrying (1) no load, (2) 0·91 kg or (3) 1·81 kg in each hand. A statistically significant difference in oxygen consumption, expressed as millilitres of oxygen consumed per kg of total weight (person + load), was found between running (8 km/hour) with no load and running while carrying each of the two loads. In contrast, walking with these hand weights did not significantly alter oxygen consumption. Running with these weights increased the oxygen uptake by 1·8 ml/kg/min while carrying 0·91 kg and by 2·7 ml while carrying 1·81 kg. These relatively small but significant increases in oxygen uptake suggest that the aerobic benefits of using the weights while running are marginal and should be weighed against the possibility that additional stress might be placed on the lower extremities.