WHAT IS RUCKING?
People have carried weight for long distances since our earliest days as hunter-gatherers. Compared to most other animals, our species has unique abilities for carrying weight.
Rucking is walking with weight on your back. Walking with a weighted rucksack (aka backpack) is a low impact exercise based on military training workouts. You've probably already spent time rucking—traveling, school, or commuting to work.
Rucking Benefits
- It's simple, and anyone can do it
- It gets you outside
- It's active resistance training
- You burn up to 3X more calories than just walking
- It's good for your back and posture
- It's social fitness that is good for mental health
We want to thank GORUCK for inspiring us to ruck, creating high quality gear, and creating content to learn more about our favorite fitness activity. We fully encourage you to invest in GORUCK products if you learn to love rucking like we do at Backcountry Bard.
How to start rucking in 3 steps
1. Grab a backpack. If you're new to rucking, don't worry about the type of pack you use; grab any backpack you have. Then, if you discover you love rucking, invest in a great ruckpack.
2. Add weight. You can use just about anything, like bricks, books, and even ziplock bags filled with dirt, rocks, or sand, and it will work. Find a comfortable starting weight (usually 10-20 lbs.) If you love it, buy ruckplates.
3. Put your pack on and walk at a comfortable pace. Over time, you'll increase weight, speed, and distance as you continue to ruck.
Happy rucking!
Community Rucks
