8 Reasons I’m Committed to Rucking
If you’ve been following my content (on this blog, on Instagram, or on YouTube) you know that I’ve been rucking regularly for nearly a year. Even though rucking has been breaking in to the mainstream training world, I still believe it’s a relatively unknown form of performance development.
Below are the reasons I’m committed to rucking as part of my regular training routine. Maybe some of these reasons will inspire you to give it a try.
Before we get into the reasons I enjoy rucking, let’s clear the air on a few things.
Rucking is not better than running. It’s just different. I believe running and rucking are separate forms of training. They’ve got different demands, work different energy systems, and each have their respective place in a well-rounded training program.
This is not military standard rucking. While my rucking times and loads have certainly improved dramatically, I’m not hammering the frequency of military training protocols. Throughout the last year most of my rucking has occurred on Saturday or Sunday morning, with some weighted walks around the neighborhood with my family sprinkled in sporadically through the weekdays. If I increased the frequency to military standards, some of my “benefits,” listed below may not apply anymore. I believe my weekly volume - or lack of volume to some of you - is what contributes to the psychological enjoyment and long-term physical benefits that I’ve found from rucking.
Enough caveats. Let’s get into the reasons I’m committed to rucking.
Rucking is a new challenge. I’ve been training my whole life, but I didn’t start rucking until I was nearly 30 years old. It’s a completely new challenge physically, and it’s a different stress release mentally. I’ve enjoyed engaging the new stimulus.
Rucking fits my overall training goals and priorities. Rucking, as opposed to running, still tends to work the strength end of the spectrum. Of course there’s an endurance challenge and a metabolic stress, but I find that my muscular system is still the limiting factor. I know this because if I’m sore the next day, I’m sore in the musculature of my hip flexors, glutes, quads, arches of my feet, or upper back. I’m rarely sore in the joints of my knees, ankles, or low back. As I continue to pursue relative muscular strength with my overall training programming, rucking is a better option for me than running.
It’s easy to track progress. Tracking my improvement has been easy because there are multiple variables I can adjust. My rucking regimen can be modified by increasing/decreasing the load I carry, increasing/decreasing the distance I cover, or even by increasing/decreasing the time in which I cover a distance. Over time, I’ve built personal benchmarks for load, distance, and time that are easy to compare each ruck to. I like the simple options in variety, and the trends show me how much more efficient I’ve gotten.
Rucking gets me outside. Simple enough. I love being outdoors and rucking gets me out. Typically I ruck in the early morning, which is even better.
Rucking can be a multitasking activity. I’ve spent so much time in a gym that I’m a little desensitized to workout music. However, I can easily listen to a podcast or an audiobook while I ruck. There have even been multiple occasions where I’ve made phone calls on my ruck and the person on the other line had no idea I was 20 minutes into a workout.
Rucking is more appropriate for my clients and athletes. Every day I work with a wide range of people. In many cases, telling a client to go for a run isn’t appropriate for them. If a client is battling any kind of injury, a light ruck (around 20lbs) for 30-40 minutes isn’t too stressful. However, that’s enough load to count as active recovery for a competitive athlete or as bonus work for a lifestyle athlete that wants to go the extra mile. Pun intended.
Rucking is great postural feedback. If your posture is weak, it will be exposed on a ruck. Naturally, you’ll need to pull your shoulders back and keep your core tight to carry the load of your pack. Additionally, over time, you’ll learn to optimize your stride. Increasing your posture awareness and stride movement will have direct translation to every day life and activity.
Rucking is work. Don’t get it twisted. In many of my previous points I’ve compared the demand of rucking to high impact running. Rucking isn’t the same stress as running, but it’s no cakewalk. You’ll be forced to use your muscular system, your aerobic capacity will be stretched, and you’ll rip through calories. Think rucking is an easy option? Think again!
Tools you need.
A rucksack (aka backpack).
I made a blog post about a budget ruck build that I used for about six months. The build is functional, no question. But it’s not the most comfortable.
If you want a more padded, stylish, and ergonomic option, you need to check out GORUCK. GORUCK makes the best rucksacks on the planet, and they’ve built an entire company around the rucking community. The best of the best.
Learn to ruck.
The guys at Building the Elite have designed some of the best training programs for Special Forces Selection. They are expert ruckers, and last December they wrote an article called Rucking 101 that I highly recommend.
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I hope this has inspired you to try something new. If you have any questions about my rucking experience, or how I use rucking with clients, pease drop them in the comments below.
Train hard. Live full.