What’s the best exercise for a fish? Swimming of course. And for a bird? Flying! And what about for humans? It might not be such a simple answer because we can do so many things. But undoubtedly, our primary method of moving is walking.

Walking is easy and we can do it for ages. A great way to make it more challenging and turn it into an exercise is by carrying something heavy, either in your arms, on your shoulder, or on your back in a rucksack. That’s what rucking is.

Recently, I had to carry a big bag of soil from a nearby store to my home. I don’t have a car so I just had to shoulder it for the 1.5km (1 mile) walk.

I’m fitter than the average person — I lift weights and do bodyweight exercise — but I was surprised to feel so wiped out when I got home, and very sore the next day. Why was this? I was supposed to be fit according to all gym lifting standards…

I realized that carrying heavy things long distances was an important aspect of fitness that I was neglecting.

The missing element

If you’re into functional fitness, you might already be doing exercises that make you stronger in everyday life. Things like Deadlifts, Squats, Rows and Presses. And if you’ve ever done Crossfit you’ve taken the functional fitness idea to the next level — likely you are pushing or pulling sleds, climbing ropes, or doing farmer’s walks.

However, walking with weight for long distances seems to be forgotten in almost every modern fitness discipline — except for one….

Arguably the most ‘functional’ fitness there is can be found in the military, and the number one skill soldiers must master is ruck marching. They will frequently practice weighted ruck marches for various distances while carrying food, water, and equipment usually weighing 20–40kg (45–90lbs).

It’s not just for the military though. As any father of a toddler will tell you — being able to carry 20kg for a long time is no joke, and a useful skill! It’s also very healthy. And after trying it out the past few weeks, I’ve realized how incredibly important and underrated this type of fitness is.

Why Ruck Walking Is Awesome

1. It’s natural

  • Walking is the fundamental human movement. There is nothing else that we are so good at, and that we can do for so long. The natural activity of a human being is to walk at least 10km per day. This is without even going anywhere, simply working physically (as all our ancestors did) will get you at least 10km a day of walking around.
  • People were originally nomadic. Crossing large distances while carrying food, water, and all their belongings on them. That means carrying heavy loads is a fundamental human movement also. Granted, they didnt have as many belongings, but they had small children to carry, and I would suspect at least 10kg of gear to carry across difficult terrain.

2. It's practical

If you’re into functional fitness this is as functional as it gets. And it’s not just for the military.

  • Prepare for crisis situations. In modern-day disasters, like floods or fires, the ability to grab your essential belongings and walk 30–40km to get out of the city in a single day is very important. If the need to exit the city arises — traffic will be at a standstill, and walking is actually faster than driving.
  • Stay energetic while hiking or travelling. Often you might travel with a rather heavy bag — going out for the whole day or carrying all your travel stuff. Maybe you have your whole family with you, and carrying food, water, a camera, clothing for everyone isn’t easy, especially in hot weather. If you practice ruck walking with heavier weight, you will feel much less burdened on your ‘vacation’ .
  • Everyday carrying becomes way easier. Walking with a heavy rucksack transfers over to everyday weight-bearing activities like carrying groceries, furniture, or children. We don’t think of it as fitness, but we really do need to carry moderately heavy things quite often in our modern lives.
  • Walk longer distances with ease. When you’re used to walking with a heavy rucksack, walking without one is extremely easy. You will also know exactly what kind of distance you can cover in what time. I usually walk 3km in 26 minutes.

3. It's healthy

Walking is the fountain of youth, it is great for fat-loss and overall health, and ruck walking is simply taking it to the next level. You can think of it as ‘high-quality walking’.

  • Burns twice as many calories as normal walking. Your heart rate should be around 100bpm and your legs should be slightly burning. You should still be able to maintain a conversation though. You can keep going in this heightened fat-burning state for a long time.
  • Less impact on your joints than running. This is cardio for those who don’t like cardio. Personally, I never enjoyed running, and I have an old knee injury (ACL tear) that complains when I run.
  • Constant deep breathing and fresh air. You never get really puffed with rucking, rather you just breathe heavily. This is great because you can focus on breathing well. Not the fast and short breaths of running, but a healthy and regular deep breathing with your entire lung capacity.
  • Whole-body strength. Rucking is especially beneficial for your primary walking muscles — your glutes. A muscle that is so important for overall athleticism and an aesthetic body.
  • Improves your posture. When rucking with proper technique — I’ll get to that later — you need to keep your abs tight, your upper back straight, your shoulders back and down. You focus on keeping this ideal posture during your entire walk. This will quickly teach you the habit of standing and walking around with excellent posture all the time.

How to Start Rucking

Your rucksack/backpack

The gold standard of rucksacks is the GoRuck GR1. GoRuck is a company that specializes in the sport of rucking, and the bag is apparently so durable that it will outlive you. It is really expensive though. In general, you’re going to want a rucksack that is designed for the military. That’s the only way to be sure that it can actually carry 20–30kg without ripping or breaking somewhere.

It’s ok to start out with a normal backpack. I haven’t purchased a military bag yet, because I’m only using 20kg on my regular walks for now. It isn’t ideal because it hangs a bit too low, but does the job. I have my eye on the 5.11 Rush 12 for when I want to increase the weight.

Which weight to use for rucking? And how to DIY rucking weights?

Firstly, it’s recommended to start with around 10% to 20% of your bodyweight. Secondly, ruck weight plates exist. Like many niche products, they are difficult to find outside of the USA and they are expensive, but if it’s an option for you it’s probably the best solution.

For everyone else, the most popular solution will be to DIY your own sandbags, either from sand or cement, or to wrap bricks in duct tape to soften them up. You can also carry weight plates or kettlebells, but they can be uncomfortable or tear your rucksack.

How to make sandbag pills for rucking.

The most important rule of packing the weight in your rucksack is to keep the weight at the top of the bag.

I can’t emphasize enough how important this is, because if you have a heavy weight at the bottom of your bag, it will constantly be pulling you backwards. You will be forced to lean forward and round your shoulders when walking, destroying your posture and turning a health benefit into a detriment.

Keep the weight at the top of your bag by packing something light but bulky under it, like a pillow.

Your shoes and socks

This becomes really important if you’re going on longer walks and through difficult terrain like your local forest trail.

Personally I mostly walk in the city, and with only 20kg, my sneakers are good enough. If I ever go to the forest I will definitely be wearing my comfortable hiking boots and some thick socks.

Rucking technique

I disagree with the phrase “Practice makes perfect” . Practice actually just makes permanent. Meaning if you practice using the right technique, you will become perfect, but if you practice bad technique, you will ingrain that into a habit.

The main thing you want to avoid when rucking is the schoolboy posture, with shoulders rounded forward, head forward and back slouched. This will give you back pain in the long run.

  • Walk tall. Imagine you’re being pulled upwards and your spine is lengthened.
  • Don’t lean forward or bend too much at the hip. This will have you staring at the ground looking burdened and tired. To develop good posture, remember to walk tall and confident, observing what’s around you and far in the distance, toward your goal. Contract your abs if the rucksack is pulling you backwards.
  • Don’t shrug. Keep your shoulders down and back. If your backpack straps slide off your shoulders, a chest clip will help.
  • Take slightly larger strides than usual. Try to walk with your entire leg starting from the hip, not just with bending the knees.
  • For beginners, just load up your pack with 10%-20% of your bodyweight, and walk for around 3 to 6km (2 to 4 miles). Don’t worry about your time or walking speed.
  • When you get more experienced, you want to aim for a 15-minute mile. This is the standard for militaries worldwide. In metric units that’s about 1.6km in 15 mins.
  • To simplify it in my head, I round it down to 1.5km in 15 mins, meaning 100 metres per minute, and 1km every 10 minutes. A speed of 6km/h.
  • Use an app like Strava to measure your speed and get a map and summary of your walk when it’s finished.
  • Once you can keep a good pace with ease, gradually increase the weight.

Just Start Rucking

Want to get started right now? The easiest way you can go for a ruck walk immediately is to fill some bottles with water and throw them in your backpack, together with some bags of rice, potatoes, or whatever you have lying around the house.

Try to go somewhere nice. Breathe in the fresh air and take in your surroundings. And stay conscious of your body and what you’re doing.

Most importantly, enjoy your training!