I tried rucking for the first time ever, and started by biting off more than I could chew.
So I just used a treadmill and a 20-pound rucking weight plate in a backpack. It felt great at first and I was feeling super enthusiastic, so I cranked the incline to 10 and turned up the walking speed to what I’d consider relatively fast.
But after 5 minutes, I realized it was unsustainable and my posture started getting ugly. So I came up with this plan:
10 minutes: Loaded with low incline, moderate speed
10 minutes: Take off weight, high incline, faster speed
10 minutes: Loaded, low incline, moderate speed
10 minutes: Take off weight, high incline, faster speed
I was able to remove my backpack and hang it on the side rails while keeping up the pace. At this point, the goal is to walk a full 40 minutes with the weight on AND with good form. That means no slouching or leaning forward. Just a strong, upright posture.
So here’s my main thought for the day. If “rucking” is just loaded walking, you know who’s probably the best at it? Moms. Women who carry their babies around all the time have got to be champs at this!
If I get moderately okay at it I’m going to start a women’s rucking club, and participants can carry their babies, their dogs, or weight plates.
Fantastic, lovely to be able to be a positive force in the community!
I did some similar training on the treadmill last year, pushing incline and speed, after a week or two I went out and did a trail, taking the same sort of intensity I did on the treadmill - my goodness my shins and calf’s let me know that the terrain makes a massive difference! Looking at your fairly frequent hiking photos that won’t be a factor for you.
Moms are great at holding babies in their arms for long long times. When my middle daughter was little, 6 months to 18 months, she had some allergy issues that meant she woke and cried for round 2 hours in the middle of the night (every night). My wife and I would take turns in walking around holding her. My arms used to get tired really quickly where as it seemed my wife could just hold her for ages.
All Marines have combat training for both men and women. We do the same exact things, fitness related.
Most female injuries were from hip fractures, all of which happened during ruck marches with 20-40lb packs. (Relatively slow pace and distance compared to what we did in boot camp tbh).
Practice with caution, y’alls hips are meant to open during labor. Men’s aren’t.
This kinda reminded me of this thing many firefighters do in honor of the 9/11 fallen firefighters: 110 flights of stair (the number of Twin Towers flights) in full gear, which is 45 pounds.
I can see that being a problem for sure. Thank you for the heads-up because it would be just like me to get to that point too. That’s what happened with overdoing it on farmers walks.
OH DANG. Do you remember about how long a distance you guys went, or the duration of time? I’ll drop that incline way down and ease up on the pace even more now. Maybe I should back up and start with 10 pounds. That seems almost too light though.
Do you think the terrain made a difference?
Thank you so much for this info and for saving me from a future hip replacement!
I saw some women drop out of 5k rucks with a 20lb pack for medical reasons. This was just with a regular backpack.
The longest in this specific leg of training i think was 10k with a 40lb hiking pack (chest clip and hip band).
The design of these packs is such that your hips carry the majority of the weight.
The incline was typically flat or with a mild incline/decline, paved or dirt roads.
I think with the style of weight vest (hips are not primary load carrier) youd be fine with 20lbs, just pay attention to your hips. If they feel funky, take it easy.
This is interesting. We didn’t have women in combat units when I was in, so I simply have no experience here. I could load men pretty recklessly, and really only had to worry about their feet (for rucking - running or jumping were different stories)… and even if their feet hurt, I just called them mean names and we all got back to work.
Definitely pay attention then, ladies! Nobody wants a broken hip from taking a walk!
If you’re also in the market for adjustable kettlebells and dumbbells, I can vouch for the Ironmaster vest. They all use the same plates, so it’s cool to have a single system to employ. You can scale from 2.5lbs up to 80, with 2.5lb increases along the way.
