WHAT IS RUCKING?
Rucking is simply walking with a weighted rucksack (or backpack) for an extended period of time. It's nothing more complicated than that.
WHY SHOULD I RUCK?
If you have any plans for the military, getting comfortable under a heavy backpack will be invaluable to your preparation. If you're Joe/Jane Average, rucking is a simple but effective workout that provides a number of benefits. Because of the increased weight, you will notice an increase in your heart rate and calories burned - often giving you the same benefits as running without having to run. It can also correct posture and back pain. We often spend our days with our torsos in a flexioned state due to hunching over computers, phones, or a steering wheel. The straps on a weighted backpack pull your shoulders back and can help correct your posture to counteract some of these effects. Weighted carries are often neglected by most strength trainees, so rucking can help strengthen you in ways you might otherwise be overlooking while increasing your overall work capacity. It gets you outside and moving which can often be tremendously positive for your mental health and well-being. And, best of all, it's cheap - just get a backpack and something heavy to put in it, and get walking.
WHAT DO I NEED TO START RUCKING?
You need a backpack to start. You can get very expensive ones, but for general purposes start with what you have - you can always upgrade from there. If you don't have a backpack, a weight vest will also work but I would encourage you to get a rucksack as weight vests don't provide all of the same benefits as above (e.g. postural correction). Some packs have hip belts, some do not. For the most part, it doesn't matter if it has a hip belt or not unless you plan on doing some strength-endurance work with them. If so, then a hip belt is a must (the first time you smack your weight off the back of your head doing ruck burpees, you will understand why).
Now you need something to put in it. I recommend red construction bricks - they're cheap, durable, and will last a long while. For the average man, four bricks (approximately 20 pounds) is a good starting weight. For the average female, two bricks (approximately 10 pounds). Obviously you can start with two or even just one brick if 20/10# is too difficult but this tends to be a good starting point for most folks.
If you have more than one brick, I recommend duct taping them together. Simply stack them in a way that fits well in your backpack, then liberally use duct tape to hold them together. Make sure you focus on the corners and edges as well - you want some tape covering these so they don't rip up your pack from the inside.
Wear good footwear and socks. You don't need to have the latest and greatest high speed gear, but you don't want to take a stroll in your sandals either. I'll cover foot care later on.
This is pretty much all you need to get started. A few things I would add as you get comfortable and take a liking to it - a water bladder that you can store in your ruck makes hydration much easier, and some reflective strips on your pack are good for safety if you ruck near roads. A headlamp is also useful if you start your long ones when it's still dark out. If you plan on going on trails where you might be away from human contact, a fully charged cell phone is a good idea in case of an emergency. If you start doing long (multi-hour) rucks, snacks and a foot care kit are important. And last, but certainly not least, keep a small packet of baby wipes in your ruck somewhere. You will thank me for that someday.
Tracking mileage is important as you progress, so if you're not on a known distance course I would recommend a GPS tracker of some kind. You can get really fancy with them if you wish, or you could download a simple app on your phone (I like Map My Hike). Though not the most accurate, they will still give you a pretty close idea of how far you have gone and how fast you are.
HOW DO I PROGRAM IN A RUCK WORKOUT?
For most folks, rucking once a week is plenty. Obviously make sure you are doing conditioning on other days, but unless you're preparing for a long distance ruck march (like say a GORUCK event) or looking at a military selection course once a week is plenty. I recommend walking with a purpose for 60 minutes tops at first. Don't worry about distance, just get used to moving under the weight.
Once you get comfortable, try to get 4 miles in in under an hour. That's a 15 minute pace, which is military standard. You will occasionally see people with paces in the 13-14 range if they are really stepping it out or shuffling, but unless a timed event stick with 15 minutes as your ideal. DON'T run with a ruck on as part of your regular training, it's way too hard on the body for the long term. You shouldn't feel wrecked after it, you should feel like you did some work but still feel fine. That's what we want.
From here I would repeat the workout again, this time with 25#/15#. Same standard as before (4 miles in under an hour). Once you hit that go to 5 and then 6 miles, finishing each ruck twice at the same pace (75/90 minutes). Repeat 6 again, this time with 30#/20#. If you can finish 6 in under 90 minutes with that weight, you have a solid foundation of rucking and can look at doing longer ones. I'd cap it at 12 for the average Joe or Jane, and I wouldn't do that every weekend. Maybe every other or every third weekend. Go longer before you go heavier. If you can hit 12 in under 3 hours with 30#, then you can ultimately progress to 45#/30# with the same standard. Reduce miles when you add weight (add no more than 5-10 pounds at a time), then slowly build back up. At this point you don't have to ruck every weekend either - you can choose to do every other if you wish.
For TB principles - keep the Easy Week principle in mind with your ruck marches. I like to half the distance on my Easy Weeks or break it up somehow (e.g. ruck a few miles, then run a few miles). Once you have a solid foundation, you can even do a short ruck on the 70-75% week (say, 6 miles), a long ruck on your 80-85% week (12 miles), and then on your Easy Week do a nice long run and take a break from the pack for a while.
HOW CAN I MAKE MY RUCK MARCHES HARDER?
I'm so glad you asked. You can use the TB version of "fun runs" with your ruck to add in some conditioning as you go (you can wear your ruck as you PT, or shamefully remove it for the PT before putting it back on). You can carry something extra with you - a 10 pound sledgehammer, a 25 pound kettlebell, a 50 pound jerry can, or a heavy sandbag. Bring a friend or two to trade out with, as these can tend to suck quickly. You can do a strength-endurance session before your ruck, or one right after. Ruck-specific SE exercises that I like are push-ups, squats (goblet or overhead), lunges (ruck on back or ruck overhead), man makers, bear crawls, crab walks, and so on. It is only limited by your own imagination and personal deviousness.
MY FEET HURT, WHAT CAN I DO?
For a lot of folks, the friction and weight of rucking can be tough on your feet at first. If you follow my progression above, you shouldn't have any real issues but just in case, here are some methods of tackling that.
Wear a good quality sock. I like Darn Tough socks the best as they have a lifetime warranty, are comfortable, and are made of wool so if they get wet my feet stay warm. Some people wear two socks - a thin one covered by a thick one. I personally dislike that method, but your mileage may vary. Make sure you keep your toenails trimmed and check your feet before and after any march - if you have a rough callus, file it down. Before long hikes (anything over 6 miles) you can lube your feet for extra protection. Use plain old Vaseline and just smear it all over your foot and especially between your toes before you put on a sock (sexy, I know). On some of my longer rucks, I bring a small tube just in case. On my marathon ruck where we hiked almost 27 miles in 8 hours, I lubed up my feet again at the halfway mark and had no foot issues whatsoever (muscular soreness, however, was a different story...). If you get a blister, typically you don't want to pop it unless it's full of fluid. If you do have to pop it, sterilize a sewing needle with a pocket lighter before you prick it slightly and squeeze out all the goo (even sexier stuff, I know). Moleskin can be applied if necessary.
WHAT NEXT?
If you really catch the rucking bug and aren't looking at a selection course anytime soon, I recommend looking into GORUCK events. I caught the bug over two years ago and they are a lot of fun and keep you honest both fitness-wise and mentally as you are frequently pushed past your comfortable limits.
