Sporvest — Weighted Vest Loads and Safety | sporvest.com
The load zones expressed as percentages of one-repetition maximum, with the repetition band each serves and the 10 kg ship-treadmill figure as a concrete anchor.
Load with a weighted vest is read as a percentage of one-repetition maximum, not as a fixed kilogram number. The National Strength and Conditioning Association splits its guidance into two zones: light loads below 60% of 1RM, and medium loads from 60% to 80% of 1RM.
Within the medium zone, the association recommends 8 to 12 repetitions per set. That band is the default for working sets on squats, push-ups, loaded carries and any other movement performed with the vest.
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Hypertrophy is a separate target with its own rule: it is maximised by taking sets to failure or close to failure, whatever percentage band the load falls in. Repetitions slower than 10 seconds markedly reduce that hypertrophy response.
A concrete reference point: crewmen on a ship treadmill ran wearing 10 kg (20 lb) weighted vests. The figure anchors what a loaded run weighs in practice, though it is a single documented case rather than a prescription.
To place a vest weight in a zone, compare its added load against the movement's 1RM. A 10 kg vest on a movement whose 1RM is 100 kg shifts the effective load by ten percentage points.
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