How to load Rucking?

[John K]

There is a guy who has posted on this forum who has done research with the military on optimal weight ratio and ruck performance. He has written a couple of articles. There was good info and tips. In short, like KB swings, a third of bodyweight no more is optional if I remember correctly. More weight tips the scale to strength, less to endurance. I can't seem to find that info. Anyone know the name and link?

Are you thinking Mike Prevost?

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 1 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? Because of its history as a means of military conveyance, there’s plenty of information out there on rucking. Mike Prevost sorts through it with you to help get you started.

www.otpbooks.com

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 2 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? In Part One, Mike Prevost covered the research. Here he puts it all together in two programs to get you rucking.

www.otpbooks.com

 

[guardian7]

Are you thinking Mike Prevost?

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 1 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? Because of its history as a means of military conveyance, there’s plenty of information out there on rucking. Mike Prevost sorts through it with you to help get you started.

www.otpbooks.com

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 2 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? In Part One, Mike Prevost covered the research. Here he puts it all together in two programs to get you rucking.

www.otpbooks.com

Yes, that is the one. Thank you.

It is good reading for anyone wondering about how they might fit rucking into their overall program, particularly with regard to load. For example, you may want to concentrate on increasing load or speed or distance depending on how it fits into your overall goals and other activities and programming.

 

[Ege]

Are you thinking Mike Prevost?

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 1 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? Because of its history as a means of military conveyance, there’s plenty of information out there on rucking. Mike Prevost sorts through it with you to help get you started.

www.otpbooks.com

Mike Prevost: Ruck Training Programs - PART 2 - On Target Publications

Interested in the potential offered by ruck training? In Part One, Mike Prevost covered the research. Here he puts it all together in two programs to get you rucking.

www.otpbooks.com

Very good information!

 

[Gypsyplumber]

No expert by far, but I’ve found back packs to be much more comfortable than weighted vests because you can distribute the load better.

Some rookie mistakes I made: loaded the pack with weight but didn’t fill my pack out so the weight was bouncing around a lot. Solution was stuffing a few towels and blankets from the bottom up to make it stable. Also made some weights with grocery bags, sand, and duct tape.

Start lighter than you think and add weight slowly. Try not to add weight and incline on the same ruck unless you’re prepared to be wrecked lol.

Get proper shoes or boots especially if you’re going to go on trails

Remember to always try and breath diaphragmatically and brace your core.

Lastly don’t get lost lol download some trail maps. My first few times hitting some local trails ended up with me missing a path and heading way away from my intended location lol.

I’ve grown to love Rucking especially on trails. I do at least 1-2 a week. Probably a good idea to not do 2 days back to back either at first.

 

[Ege]

Thanks to all responding as well as the entire community whom helped me evolve in the way I approach fitness big time in a short amount of time. I guess a bit of long walks and rucking or some sort of Liss was indeed the important missing part in my thinking. And I was able to get to the information very effectively because of your help once I was educated about importance of at least a minimum dose of regular Liss.

SF community brings in a lot more to the table than any other I know.

 

[MikeTheBear]

At the risk of sounding like a shill, I'll tell you my story. I started rucking over the past summer. I started with my Camelback pack and added a wimpy 10 pound weight plus 1 liter of water. I took this hiking and was immediately hooked. I decided to go ahead and spend the money on a Goruck pack. When I first saw these packs some years ago I had sticker shock - it was $200+ for a backpack. Fortunately the price hasn't gone up much, and since money was not as big an issue today as it was several years ago, I went ahead an bought one. I purchased the "beginner" set consisting of a pack and a 20-lbs. ruck plate. I briefly did some comparison shopping and saw that most "military-grade" rucksacks were in the same price range. For the beginner set I spent $286. Yeah, not cheap, but I do not regret the purchase at all and here's why.

1. Goruck said that they redesigned the straps so that they would not rub your shoulders raw. So far I've had no issues with the skin on my shoulders. This is a real issue. Goruck had a clearance sale on their plate carriers so I bought one. Yes I recognize I have a problem because whenever a fitness product is on sale I'll buy it whether I need it or not. Anyway, a plate carrier is a thin pack that will only fit a ruck plate and nothing else. I guess the clearance ones did not have the same strap redesign because it did rub my shoulder to the point where it broke skin. This is not a problem in colder whether where I wear a fleece jacket and I only use the plate carrier for shorter walks around my neighborhood.
2. The Goruck pack has a built-in pocket that will securely store a plate, keep it from moving around., and it sits high on your back. These are comfort features that really make a difference on longer hikes.
3. It's pretty roomy and always me to store a rain jacket, water bottles, and some protein bars. I went hiking almost every weekend last summer and once I hit the trails I could end up miles away from my car. Being able to carry "supplies" was very important for me.
4. The back of the pack has padding which includes a lumbar pad where the pack contacts the lower back. Once again this makes things comfortable for longer hikes.
5. The pack is rated to be able to hold 75 lbs. No, I'm not ready for that yet, but perhaps in the future.

I am very happy with the Goruck pack and ruck plate and would buy again. The comfort features are huge for me. When I go for longer hikes on rocky terrain I don't want to be distracted by an uncomfortable pack.

My one complaint is that I wish the packs came with the hip belt already attached. You can buy a hip belt from Goruck that attaches to the pack, but I that's extra money. I can still be a little cheap.

If all I wanted to do was go for walks around my neighborhood then I may have gone with a less expensive pack. I might have even gone with a weight vest. But because I like to hike in areas were I could be miles from civilization, i.e., my car, having a comfortable high-quality pack was very important to me.

When I'm ready to add more weight I'll probably use additional weight plates - plain old plates not more ruck plates - or I would make small sandbags. As some have mentioned, a kettlebell would not be comfortable as its shape would cause it to dig into your back. In your case I'd go with a bunk of mini-sandbags.

For footwear I use trail running shoes. I wear good hiking socks - I learned this the hard way when I wore a cotton socks and got a blister. I have no issues with hiking socks.

Whatever you decide on equipment, rucking is great.

 

[Ege]

At the risk of sounding like a shill, I'll tell you my story. I started rucking over the past summer. I started with my Camelback pack and added a wimpy 10 pound weight plus 1 liter of water. I took this hiking and was immediately hooked. I decided to go ahead and spend the money on a Goruck pack. When I first saw these packs some years ago I had sticker shock - it was $200+ for a backpack. Fortunately the price hasn't gone up much, and since money was not as big an issue today as it was several years ago, I went ahead an bought one. I purchased the "beginner" set consisting of a pack and a 20-lbs. ruck plate. I briefly did some comparison shopping and saw that most "military-grade" rucksacks were in the same price range. For the beginner set I spent $286. Yeah, not cheap, but I do not regret the purchase at all and here's why.

1. Goruck said that they redesigned the straps so that they would not rub your shoulders raw. So far I've had no issues with the skin on my shoulders. This is a real issue. Goruck had a clearance sale on their plate carriers so I bought one. Yes I recognize I have a problem because whenever a fitness product is on sale I'll buy it whether I need it or not. Anyway, a plate carrier is a thin pack that will only fit a ruck plate and nothing else. I guess the clearance ones did not have the same strap redesign because it did rub my shoulder to the point where it broke skin. This is not a problem in colder whether where I wear a fleece jacket and I only use the plate carrier for shorter walks around my neighborhood.
2. The Goruck pack has a built-in pocket that will securely store a plate, keep it from moving around., and it sits high on your back. These are comfort features that really make a difference on longer hikes.
3. It's pretty roomy and always me to store a rain jacket, water bottles, and some protein bars. I went hiking almost every weekend last summer and once I hit the trails I could end up miles away from my car. Being able to carry "supplies" was very important for me.
4. The back of the pack has padding which includes a lumbar pad where the pack contacts the lower back. Once again this makes things comfortable for longer hikes.
5. The pack is rated to be able to hold 75 lbs. No, I'm not ready for that yet, but perhaps in the future.

I am very happy with the Goruck pack and ruck plate and would buy again. The comfort features are huge for me. When I go for longer hikes on rocky terrain I don't want to be distracted by an uncomfortable pack.

My one complaint is that I wish the packs came with the hip belt already attached. You can buy a hip belt from Goruck that attaches to the pack, but I that's extra money. I can still be a little cheap.

If all I wanted to do was go for walks around my neighborhood then I may have gone with a less expensive pack. I might have even gone with a weight vest. But because I like to hike in areas were I could be miles from civilization, i.e., my car, having a comfortable high-quality pack was very important to me.

When I'm ready to add more weight I'll probably use additional weight plates - plain old plates not more ruck plates - or I would make small sandbags. As some have mentioned, a kettlebell would not be comfortable as its shape would cause it to dig into your back. In your case I'd go with a bunk of mini-sandbags.

For footwear I use trail running shoes. I wear good hiking socks - I learned this the hard way when I wore a cotton socks and got a blister. I have no issues with hiking socks.

Whatever you decide on equipment, rucking is great.

That is a great review. I am also quite surprised about Goruck’s informations and programs I respect that a lot.

My life is quite hectic nowadays, literally a lot. I moved out from U.S. living in Turkey so on so forth. I feel like a nomad nowadays.

That is why I am trying to buy as little equipment as I can. (DIY is not a big thing in Turkey, I wish there was a Homedepot here, I would do some stuff myself, but don’t have time to hunt for the right tools in Turkey)

That is one of the reasons that I showed interest in to Kettlebells in first place mid last year.

I will keep Goruck not only in mind but will look in to their website to get more information about their programs for the fun of it if nothing else. Looks high quality, to the point. But at this stage of my life I will go for a “cheap” solution by keeping the tips you and others provide to me in this thread. Decathlon is not a big brand in US, but I think they have online sales. In Turkey they are big. And they have amazing price/quality performance in everything they do (not comparing them w Goruck, in general I go a Decathlon store and buy the cheapest of whatever I need. Or at least I think I need . Not recommending their backpacks or comparing them to Goruck. Since you have taken your time and energy to give me feedback, I am just sharing a brand name for general purposes for you that has nice price /quality ratio. (Though their prices in US might not be as competitive as in the prices in Turkey.

Thanks a lot sir, not only about the Goruck, but also those are great tips to consider while buying any brand.

PS: I am on a buying programs binge , that I am about to slow down ) well it is funny, while I will be criticizing some people because they love shopping a lot, when it comes to fitness equipments and programs, I just spend a lot ))

Best