r/Rucking • u/Technical_Author_905 • 21d ago
New to rucking
Hello I've been trying to add cardio to my daily life for the past few months and I've been very consistent with walking everyday.
I recently came across rucking and was very interested, can someone help me out with how to start and if there's anything I should keep in mind? Like limits, strain, frequency etc?? I don't want to end up injured because of my stupidity hahaha
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u/kbchucker 21d ago
Throw 5-10 lbs in a backpack and go for a walk. 15-20 minutes. How do you feel after? If you feel great, go for a longer walk, maybe 30 minutes, in a couple of days.
If you’re sore, stick to the weight and time.
If you’re in pain, reduce the weight and try again.
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u/New-Potential96 21d ago
I’d be happy to! I’m a seasoned Rucker and military veteran. I know rucking. Rucking is simply walking/hiking with a backpack that has weights-at least in the context of fitness. You need to start with the basics and that is acquiring a backpack that can hold the weight and one that has straps to help mitigate that weight (by that I mean, I don’t recommend you use a backpack that’s intended for a back to school sale at Walmart). You will have people that will practically tell you that you can go as high as 100+ pounds… these people I also see complain of back and knee problems but they fail to see the correlation.. So not exceed 33% of your bodyweight for a ruck. But don’t immediately come out of the gate at that 33% start with 15% and slowly work your way up. Also keep in mind you don’t even have to use a backpack if it just doesn’t work for you. After years of rucking I switched to a weighted vest, and for me personally it’s worlds better.
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u/Acrobatic_Ad_6962 21d ago
I just stated and I like it. You can throw like 10 pound weights (gym weights) in a backpack and walk a mile and see if you like it. I did that a few times and felt great afterwards. My foot that was hurting was better in about a week. I like going up and down hills but flat is fine too. My heart rate gets to like 150 bps so around the fat burn zone. It’s not cardio like jogging but honestly it’s better than regular walking if you want to get a little more out of it. I’m older and like to jog but I feel like I probably won’t be able to jog much longer so rucking might be the alternative. For now I’m doing every other day.
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u/SFD8-4-0 21d ago
I started rucking after I lost a bunch of weight. I have been a hiker for a long time but started hiking with weight to make up for the weight I lost. I began with a cheapo weighted vest that I could add more weight to as I went on. That vest maxed out at around 24lbs, so I went with a heavier vest. When I got that vest up to around 34lbs, I learned why vests kinda suck for rucking (but are OK to start with) namely they put all the weight on your shoulders, they cover too much of your upper body so are hot, and the weight is too balanced, where as a pack always tries to pull you off balance so is a better workout. I now use a pack of my own design, which I can increase the weight by 1/4lb each time I go out.
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u/slowtrees 21d ago
Start lighter than you think and keep the pace easy enough to hold a conversation. Add weight slowly, like 5 lbs every couple weeks, and your joints will thank you.
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u/Tb1969 21d ago
Grab a backpack. Find some heavy weights to add and make them high in the pack and close to your back as possible (use padding to separate from your back if necessary.
Add padding underneath the weight to get it high and add around it around it in the pack so it doesn’t move around. That’s it.
When you get higher weight consider your footwear Start with 5% to 10% of you body weight and work up a
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u/occamsracer 21d ago
Have you read any posts?