Walking remains an accessible and popular exercise for many reasons — you don’t need any fancy equipment, it’s good for your heart health, helps you sleep better, feel better and is a simple way to get your daily dose of fresh air.
There are plenty of methods that can help keep your walks engaging and interesting. Lately, “rucking” ― a new walking trend ― has picked up steam on social media as a way to spice up your regular daily stroll.
“Rucking is simply just walking with weight on your body … weight on your back, technically,” said Nichele Cihlar, the director of training at GORUCK, a rucking gear company.
Like regular walking, rucking is an accessible exercise — and you probably even have all of the necessary gear in your house right now. All you have to do is put on a weighted backpack or rucksack and start moving.
“It’s a low-impact exercise that is pretty much based on military training — think about how the military trains a lot for endurance, they do a fair amount of running, but they also have to carry a lot of heavy equipment, so that’s kind of how rucking started,” said Mathew Welch, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
What’s more, this exercise offers some extra health rewards on top of a regular walking regimen. Here’s what experts say you should know about rucking and how to try it out:
Rucking adds resistance training to your walk, and has a host of other fitness benefits, too.
Rucking brings more of a challenge to your daily walk, which is a good thing for someone who is looking to work their body in a new way.
“Physically, walking is awesome, but sometimes we want to amplify that, and the easy way to do that is adding weight,” Cihlar said. “Resistance training is key, especially as we age, in helping our bone health and our muscle growth because that naturally deteriorates as we get older, starting in our 30s.”
Rucking takes your walk from a cardio exercise to cardio plus resistance training. It’s recommended that you do 20 minutes of strength training twice a week, but research shows that most people do not hit that minimum. Rucking can be one way to achieve that goal.
Rucking is also good for your cardiovascular endurance, Welch said. Specifically, rucking benefits your “cardiac output, it’s going to help with the efficiency of your heart pumping the blood out,” Welch explained. This can help lower your blood pressure and improve your heart rate, so it’s a win-win all around.
It’s also good for your posture and back strength. “The ruck is kind of pulling you back, so it really forces you to maintain your posture,” Welch said, who added that it’s a good way to offset the hours and hours and hours of sitting you likely do every day.
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Plus, rucking is good for your mental health.
Rucking is an exercise you do outdoors, and getting outside in itself is great for your mental health. According to Mental Health America, getting outside is linked to lower levels of stress and a better mood overall.
Additionally, the body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, which is important for bone health and can even help curb depression and anxiety symptoms.
“You’re going to always say you never come back from a ruck in a bad mood. It gives you time to clear your head,” Cihlar said.
There are simple ways you can start rucking.
Starting rucking doesn’t have to be complicated. “What’s nice is you can literally start with a backpack you have in your closet and … throw some magazines in it … your water bottle,” Cihlar explained.
You can also get a rucksack and rucksack weights if you want to use something that is officially made for the sport. Both experts said a rucksack is preferable because it’s safer. A regular backpack can sit pretty low on your back, which can cause issues if you’re carrying around a heavy bag. If you do decide to opt for a backpack, just make sure it isn’t sagging too low.
When it comes to how much weight you’ll want to carry on your back, that depends on your strength level and your size. “I always say start low because you can always grow from there,” Cihlar said. “You don’t want to start heavy and get discouraged.”
If you aren’t a frequent exerciser or weightlifter, starting with just 5 or 10 pounds and building on that is a good idea, she said. As for distance, start with a mile and see how you feel, Cihlar said.
“Now, if you’re someone that is regularly active and you lift weights, you could probably do a 20-pound plate, a 30-pound plate in your ruck,” Cihlar said.
Starting with a mile is a good idea here, too, said Welch, but you can bump it up to a mile and a half or more if you don’t feel challenged. For an additional challenge, take your workout to hilly terrain, Welch added.
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In the end, you can design your own rucking workout regimen to fit your workout goals and fitness level. You can start small with light weights and a short walk, or, if you’re up for it, take a heavier backpack on an incline walk.
As long as you listen to your body and know your limits, there’s no wrong way to start incorporating this exercise.