If you’re new to rucking, this is a great place to start. The term “rucking” began as a military technique designed to train and prepare troops for carrying weight on their backs while on the move. But don’t let that intimidate you! The act of carrying weight around while on the go dates back as long as we have been walking the Earth! You have probably rucked already many times without even realizing it. Whether you’ve been on a hike with gear, carried a small child on your back, or even been in school wearing a backpack, these are all examples of rucking.

The only difference with the “sport” of rucking is that it is more deliberate with an emphasis on either pace or distance, making a decision about how much weight to carry and doing your best to do it with others! The final point is probably the most interesting to me because, while yes, you can technically ruck on your own, what I believe sets rucking apart from cycling or running, is that it keeps you as a group and at a pace that makes it easier to engage in conversation with friends or family. Even if I go for a ruck alone, I usually try to bring our dog Remmi for the sake of company. Plus, she rarely argues or disagrees with me 😊

I prioritize pace over distance when rucking and again, I try to keep the weight manageable. The goal is to be able to get up and ruck any day without needing something crazy like a week off to recover. You don’t want to burn yourself out!

Over the past month, we have had MANY new faces join the Forge Ahead Rucking Club and if you’re not following us on Instagram, you can see many of the great pictures in the Newsletter here too. The social aspect of rucking leads to some incredible conversations and per the Forge Ahead mission, provides a great forum for people to connect, share and learn.

FAQs:

What pace should I keep while rucking?

Technically, any pace is fine; however, for maximum benefit we try and coach people to get into, what’s called, Zone 2 Cardio. Zone 2 is typically defined on paper as ~60-70% of your max heart rate. If you want to burn fat and spare muscle, this is the zone to be. While many people have wearable devices that can help you track this metric, an easier way to figure it out without technology is to engage in a conversation with someone while rucking. If you need a decent size breath at the end of most sentences, you’re there! If you’re walking too comfortably and never need to interrupt your speaking for air, you’re probably just a little below Zone 2 and may need to increase your pace.

Is there a minimum distance I should be thinking about?

Any distance is better than none. I like the idea of getting multiple trips in per week to split up the distance and make it more manageable to get out and ruck more often. When we get together as a group, we usually ruck anywhere from 2-4 or so miles. Most people can achieve approximately 4,000 steps in 2 miles, so if you’re someone trying to hit that 10,000 step marker per day, even just getting the 2 miles in will give you a nice head start in the morning.

Thanks for reading and if you have more questions, please pass them along and I will do my best to answer them!

-Mike