Do you love the idea of running—getting outdoors, burning calories, building cardio fitness—but you wish you could do it without, you know, running? Try walking with a weighted pack instead, an activity that’s become known as "rucking."
What is rucking?
Rucking means walking or hiking with a weighted pack. It’s the fitness version of what they do in the military: marching long distances while carrying supplies in a rucksack. (Rucksack, rucking, get it?)
When you ruck as part of a fitness routine, you probably won’t carry hiking or military supplies—especially if you’re just going for a short ruck around your neighborhood. Instead, your pack will hold weights, or you might just use a weighted vest.
What are the benefits of rucking?
Like running or other cardio, rucking is a form of steady-state cardio. It gets your heart rate up for an extended period of time, so it’s great for your cardio fitness. It also burns plenty of calories, so it can be useful in maintaining or managing your weight.
Why not just walk, without the weight? Once you’ve achieved a basic level of fitness, walking is a very low-intensity exercise. If you already walk, and you’re ready for more of a challenge, your next best options are walking faster, walking uphill, or walking with added weight. Rucking is that last one—but you can combine all of these factors when you ruck.
How fast should I walk when I’m rucking?
In the military, a 15-minute mile is considered a good pace. Most people walk at about a 20-minute mile pace, so a 15-minute mile is a good bit faster. And you’re doing it with a weighted pack! Again, see this as a goal, and work up to it over time if you aren’t ready to work at this pace just yet.
How often and how far should I ruck?
You can approach this like any cardio exercise, starting with whatever amount you can comfortably do right now, and increasing as long as you feel good and have the time to do it.
If you don’t currently do any cardio, two to three times per week for 20 to 30 minutes is a good place to start (or to work up to, if that is more than you’re ready for at first). If you already run, bike, or use the cardio machines at the gym, swap one or two of your weekly sessions for a ruck.
Once you’re in the habit of it, you can ruck pretty much any amount you want. Rucking counts as vigorous cardio, meaning 75 minutes per week meets the bare minimum exercise guidelines, 150 minutes is a good amount for an active person, and more is great if you’re up for it. Consider rucking three to five times per week, for 30 minutes or more each time, with one of those sessions being a longer one, an hour or more. That last one is perhaps best done as a weekend hike with friends. Tell them you’ll bring the snacks—you have plenty of room in your pack. Read more..