The best materials to make the thinnest, most functional and heavy ankle weights?

Factual Questions
1

This sounds like a stupid, specific question but it actually has a few parts that make it GQ worthy. I work in a really large building and I have to take 3 - 5 minute rapid walks throughout the course of each day.

I got the idea of putting on ankle weights for extra exercise during work and it has worked out well so far. Mine weight 2 1/2 pound a piece but they feel two light now that I have gotten used to them. Those are just small enough to fit under the bottom of dress casual jeans but they are still a little large. I have 5 pounders on each leg at home but they are too large for the purpose and they make noise when I walk. I figure that it shouldn’t be that hard to make my own but I don’t know the material to use for weight.

Can you tell me the best one taking the following factors into account:

  1. Must be as thin and dense as possible so that 5 pounds or more can fit on one lower leg.
  2. Must not be highly corrosive and poisonous next to sweaty skin.
  3. Must be common and inexpensive enough to be practical.
  4. Must not make noise when walking.

I am basically looking for a heavy material that is a solid that carries a lot of weight and can be sewn into pouches and secured with velcro.

Any ideas?

2

Wouldn’t lead work fine if sealed with a plastic coating? You could cast it into any desired shape.

3

Hey, iridium is almost twice as dense as lead, and sealed in plastic, toxicity is probably not an issue.

…the cost of $400/oz, on the other hand, may be.

4

200 cubic centimeters of lead weighs 5 pounds.
You can get the same weight with 288 cc of iron.
Steel (AKA iron) shot is cheap, and can be sewn into bags easily.

5

Using steel shot would be noisy. Lead shot would be less so.

Better yet, lead can be melted and shaped easily if you really want to get fancy.

6

Ah, but steel shot mixed with JB-Weld and allowed to set in the desired shape for the ankle weights would be silent, and the metal epoxy would fill the voids between the pellets and increase the effective density. :slight_smile:

7

If the ankle weights are not heavy enough, or too bulky, why not get yourself a weight vest? Easy peasy!

8

Find a scuba diving shop (or store that sells scuba gear), you should be able to find soft (lead filled) ankle weights for divers. They are usually like a 1" diameter sausage that you wrap around the ankle. You can add as many as you like to adjust the amount of weight (you can probably get at least 3 around each leg).

9

How about engaging in an intense program of twinkie and soda ingestion, aimed at packing on an extra 10 pounds or so, that you would then get the benefit of hauling with you wherever you go?
Or would that run somewhat contrary to your purpose? :wink:

10

If he’s willing to go to extremes, why not pull the moon out of its orbit and crash it into the Pacific ocean? The extra mass there should add a good 5, 10 pounds to his running weight.

11

I have heard (Og knows where) that ankle weights tend to beat on the wearer’s feet on each step. Think about dropping a 5-pound bag of shot a few hundred times on each foot. If you’re making your own, perhaps the best thing would be rubber-coated sole plates, under your shoes.

12

How about carrying something, say, a briefcase in each hand? Bookbags loaded with books?

13

What about some sort of shoe modification to add extra weight (such as removing the sole, gluing in some weight, then re-attaching the sole. Sounds like an engineering challenge, but it would let you leave your special weight-shoes at work and switch as needed.

I expected to be able to find something like this online, but no luck. Insol has recently filed for a patent for a product like this, though.

14

Running with weights is generally not a good idea.

But if you want to go all out: un-bound neutrons. 10^18 kg/m^3