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Old Forum Rucking Questions

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Jeff

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In Al Ciampa's article about Rucking:

Al talks about the type of ruck sack to use. No mention is made of weighted vests. Is it better in general to wear the weight on the back rather than distributed around the body as in a weighted vest?

Al recommends rucking just once per week. Would rucking more often than that be counter productive?

I suppose it would be acceptable to walk or jog on days that I don't ruck, keeping my heart rate at or below 180-age?

In Original Strength, they recommending walking while dragging a chain or sled. Would rucking and dragging a chain be interchangeable, with each providing similar benefits, or would they each provide different benefits? Would one be more healing to the body than the other?
 
Jeffrey, I bought a vest thinking I would ruck with it. It didn't quite fit, so if I do ruck I'll just use a favorite backpack. McGill also recommends backpacks -- I forget why.
 
Weighted vests... adding weight will affect your HR, and load your structure. Adding weight in the form of a balanced vest may or may not train you specifically for a hiking trip, etc.

You can certainly ruck more than once per week. You will notice an overtraining effect in your lower back if you are also hitting swings and/or the barbell.

Walk or jog on opposing days... for what? Aerobic training? Yes.

Why don't you walk 8-10 miles dragging a heavy chain and report back? I have no opinion here.
 
Not sure if one is better, but I carry heavy things in a rucksack because it is very specific preparation for carrying heavy things in a rucksack.

From a strictly GPP standpoint, I would think either would be fine. A ruck may stress your torso differently because all the weight is behind your back. I don't know enough about physiology to say if that is good or bad though. I just know it's more specific to my fitness needs.
 
Does anybody know more about McGills opinion mentioned by Matt.

I would be very interested to hear more about that.
 
Jon, if I remember, it's in his first book and has to do with the torso being upright versus leaning forward slightly. He was writing more about rehab with, say, 15 lbs.

David, good point. If I knew I had 40 -- 100 lb. trips coming up, I would ruck.
 
I found out that the Alice Pack has an external frame and a backpack that attaches to the frame. What would be the downside to just getting the frame and then securely attaching load such as weight plates so that they can't shift around? An Alice a Pack frame can be obtained for around $50 or so.
 
Jeffrey, just get a pack and give it a try once a week in addition to whatever else you're now doing. Start light, ease in, and see what you think. Don't think too much about the details of how you carry the weight, just try to duplicate what a solider with a heavy pack would be doing, so use a pack and make it heavy.

You could duct tape the plates to your ribs, too - no reason to go crazy here. Take a heavy garbage bag, fill it with dirt, and when you get it to the right weight and/or size, duct tape it closed and carry it in your pack. If it's not heavy enough when it's big enough, take out half the dirt and put a few rocks or weight plates in then refill.

-S-
 
Steve,

I won't be duct taping weight to my ribs any time soon. LOL.

Since I don't have a backpack of any sort, I just wondered what people here have used. I don't want to spend more than I have to, but on the other end of the spectrum I don't want to go too cheap and get something that is not suitable.
 
Jeffrey,

When you settle on a pack, like Steve mentioned, sand or dirt is usually better for weight.
If you get tired or injured, you can dump it and it's not a big deal.

Good luck with the search for your first pack.
 
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