The short answer: ankle weights do make walking cost more energy, and per kilogram a load near the feet costs several times more than the same load on your back. But the weights people use are light, so the extra is modest, roughly what you'd get from walking a little faster, and heavier foot loads change how you walk. Where ankle weights have good evidence is somewhere else: as resistance for leg-strengthening exercises, as in the Otago falls-prevention program.
How much harder do they make walking?
A 1969 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology (Soule and Goldman) found that a load carried on the feet costs about 4.7 to 6.3 times as much energy as the same load on the torso, depending on walking speed, and military reviews summarise this as an increase of about 7 to 10% in energy cost for each kilogram added to a foot. A 2007 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (Browning, Modica, Kram and Goswami) put loads at the waist, thigh, shank and foot and found the cost rose with both the mass and how far down the leg it sat; loads on the thigh were relatively cheap, because the farther the mass is from the hip, the more work it takes to swing the leg.
Here is what that means in practice, using our own rough arithmetic and treating the foot figures as an upper limit for ankle weights.
| Way to add effort to a 1-hour walk (75 kg person) | Rough extra calories | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kg on each ankle | up to about 40 to 50 | Upper estimate, from foot-load studies; ankles cost a little less than feet |
| Walking 3.5 mph instead of 3 mph | about 60 | From the Compendium MET ratings; you also cover more distance |
| 8 kg backpack or vest | about 50 | From the load-carriage figure on our rucking page |
So a typical pair of 1 kg ankle weights adds something like 40 to 50 calories to an hour's walk at most, a little less than walking half a mile per hour faster. Our calorie page explains the method, and rucking covers carrying weight on your back.
Do they change how you walk?
In the 2007 study, walking mechanics and leg muscle activity were similar with no load or with waist, thigh or shank loads, but heavy foot loads did change the pattern of walking. That supports a common worry about ankle weights: the heavier they are, the more they alter the swing of the leg. We didn't find studies of injuries from walking with ankle weights, so concerns about extra strain on the ankles, knees and hips are plausible rather than demonstrated. If you have joint pain, arthritis or balance problems, ask a physiotherapist before using them on walks; walking and knee arthritis covers the walking evidence for knees.
Where ankle weights do help
The Otago Exercise Programme, developed in New Zealand for older adults, combines leg-strengthening and balance exercises with a walking plan. Participants get ankle cuff weights, starting at 1 kg, to add resistance to strengthening exercises such as knee and hip movements, and increase the weight as they get stronger. In its trials, starting with a 1997 study in the BMJ (Campbell and colleagues), the program reduced falls and fall-related injuries by about 35%. The program materials also state that walking on its own will not reduce falls; the strength and balance work is the active ingredient. So for older adults worried about falling, ankle weights are more useful for these exercises than for walking. See walking for seniors.
Better ways to make a walk harder
This is our suggestion. If you want more from a walk, raising the pace, adding hills or doing intervals gives more effort per minute without changing how your legs swing; Japanese interval walking and incline walking both have trial or physiological evidence behind them. If you want to carry extra weight, a backpack or vest keeps the load close to your center of mass, where it costs least per kilogram and changes your stride least. If you still want to use ankle weights while walking, keep them light, start with short stretches on flat ground, and stop if anything hurts. We haven't reviewed the evidence on hand or wrist weights for this article.
Sources
- Soule RG, Goldman RF. Energy cost of loads carried on the head, hands, or feet. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1969;27(5):687-690. DTIC report citing the study
- Load carriage in military operations: a review of historical, physiological, biomechanical and medical aspects (review summarising foot-load costs). dtic.mil
- Browning RC, Modica JR, Kram R, Goswami A. The effects of adding mass to the legs on the energetics and biomechanics of walking. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2007;39(3):515-525. ovid.com
- Campbell AJ, et al. Randomised controlled trial of a general practice programme of home based exercise to prevent falls in elderly women. BMJ. 1997;315(7115):1065-1069. trial protocol citing the study
- Otago Exercise Programme to prevent falls in older adults (programme manual). hfwcny.org
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43(8):1575-1581. pacompendium.com
How we checked: the Soule and Goldman figures are taken from military reports that cite the study, and the Campbell trial from documents that cite it, rather than the original papers; the Browning findings and the Otago results come from the published abstract and the programme manual, checked on October 13, 2026. The calorie estimates are our own rough arithmetic, combining published ratios with MET values and the load-carriage figure on our rucking page, and they overstate ankle weights slightly because they use foot-load data. This article is for informational purposes and does not replace medical advice. This is general information, not medical advice.