Rucking weight?

[Poser]

I’ve squatted 400+ before in a different stage of life, but, as noted above, it doesn’t seem compatible or realistic when combined with an extremely active lifestyle. When I get some time to focus on the gym between seasons, I’ll often push my numbers up a bit in anticipation of losing weight and strength when outdoor activities kick back up: snowboarding, summer backpacking, scouting, backcountry fishing etc. Maintaining a squat in around the neighborhood of 300 lbs for reps seems to be lifestyle compatible and around the upper end of what is practical for such pursuits. During the off-season breaks, I may push that back up to more low to mid 300s, but I don’t foresee squatting in the realm of 400 lbs again unless I hit a stretch of life where I’m only focused on strength training for consecutive months.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always of the mindset that stronger is better and I’d love to be that strong and still be as lifestyle focused as I am, but it’s just too much cumulative stress. I snow board 80-100 days a year, spend 50-60+ out in a sleeping bag. I don’t foresee backpacking 10 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing on The Weeknd and then coming into the gym on Tuesday and squatting 395# for 3x5.

 

[*zap*]

I just loaded a filled 6.7 cummins block into the back of my truck by hand. Does that count as a front squat?? Should be 450ishlbs.

loading dock and dolly?

 

[MBAlex]

45-60 pounds for 1-5 miles a couple times a week. I’ll finish with a few minutes of step ups on my front porch.

Echoing what others have said in that there’s a pretty strong carryover between what I’m lifting in the gym and how comfortable I am walking with a heavy load.

 

[ptpalpha]

Bumping this because it's interesting.
New to rucking for exercise, but I'm loving it.
Takeaways: hips need lots of stretching. If I don't stretch enough that first mile is uncomfortable.
Boots. Tried it with trail runners and definitely prefer hiking boots (Asolo 525's).
Weight: I'm at 30# total, with my body weight at 180. 5' 11" tall, 58 yrs old, in good shape.
I've been at 30# for 3 weeks of 3x per week, and am adding 5# every 2 weeks until I hit 50#.
Seems do-able, at least so far. Focusing on form, pace, and protecting the knees as much as possible.
Running a Mystery Ranch NICE frame rigged up with barbell weights.
Fun stuff.

 

[Professor]

This is a complex issue. personally I think it is good to vary weight, distance, and pace. But, somewhere in there I want to be rucking at about 125% of the weight I will cary hunting. Not the weight of an animal I hope to pack out but the weight of my pack, gear, rifle, etc. Plus, where you are in your development will also influence how much weight. I ruck 60 pounds, but I started at 20.

 

[1jeds]

This is a long podcast, but it has a ton of information in it that is useful for this discussion. It's with Jason McCarthy - founder of GoRuck and he talks about his time rucking as part of the US Special Forces:

#292 ‒ Rucking: benefits, gear, FAQs, and the journey from Special Forces to founding GORUCK | Jason McCarthy - Peter Attia

“There's so much benefit that comes from your ability to move yourself and to carry weight, and you are built and born and have evolved in order to do this.” —Jason McCarthy

peterattiamd.com

You can check out the show notes/time stamps if you want to skip to specific topics

 

[Souvlaks]

I do wonder how much cardio benefit rucking has vs just getting use to walking with heavy weight. I can’t ever seem to get my HR high enough unless going uphill for extended periods of time rucking.

 

[mtwarden]

I do wonder how much cardio benefit rucking has vs just getting use to walking with heavy weight.

Walking there is obviously is cardio benefit, w/ or w/o weight. Walking with weight should ramp up the heart rate some vs w/o- it's going to vary w/ how much weight, paces, elevation gain, terrain, etc.

If a person hikes (or rucks) a lot, your overall hear rate will go down (with the same conditions), that just shows you're successfully building your cardio base.

An extreme example would be world class mountain racers (or any world class endurance athlete) —they can maintain speeds that normal folks could barely get to, all with a heart rate that is much lower than normal folk (at the same work load).

Personally other than backpacking several times a year, I don't get "excited" about rucking until about 8 weeks out of hunting season. I ruck w/ weight 2-3/week with an increasing load each week. For me that has worked out pretty darn good.

 

[Cwagsta]

This is good info! I just threw a taped up 80# bag on concrete in my pack. My thought process was just to get used to the weight. It has worked so far, but maybe I need to be more calculated…


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[Yoder]

I started rucking off and on about a year ago. I'm 5'8 175lb and 50 yrs old. Lately I've been using a 50lb pack and averaging around 5 miles each time I go. I don't have huge mountains and never pack out animals, but I do pack a tree stand almost every time I hunt. My hunting setup is probably 35lbs. I figured If I get used to 50, hiking the biggest hills I can find, hunting season will be easy. I really don't know how you western guys do it. I did 6 miles and about 2400ft of elevation my last hike and I was struggling. It took me almost 4 hrs. I can't imagine carrying 80lbs that far at high elevation and making multiple trips.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I usually keep it to about 45lbs. If I’m going heavier I do it indoors on a step box to avoid injuries.

 

[JMonty]

This is good info! I just threw a taped up 80# bag on concrete in my pack. My thought process was just to get used to the weight. It has worked so far, but maybe I need to be more calculated…


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That leads to the path of injuries. Start off with a comfortable weight, 30-40 as others have mentioned which would mimic a day pack, and then gradually increase the weight to what you might expect to pack out.

 

[grfox92]

Is there a benefit to rucking with weight on flattish paved ground?

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[Divide93]

Hear me now, believe me later.....heavy loads carried equals years of pain management later! I blew my cherry with heavy loads jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. We thought we were indestructible, today .....not so much! God created horses and mules for a reason!

 

[mtwarden]

Is there a benefit to rucking with weight on flattish paved ground?

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Yes, absolutely—if you can find less flat, even better, but hiking with weight on flat ground still has benefits; as does just plain hiking on flat ground

 

[schmalzy]

Is there a benefit to rucking with weight on flattish paved ground?

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Definitely. When I lived in a flat area at sea level I’d also look for parking garages and drainage ditches/culverts to practice side hilling. Worked pretty well all things considered.


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[grfox92]

Definitely. When I lived in a flat area at sea level I’d also look for parking garages and drainage ditches/culverts to practice side hilling. Worked pretty well all things considered.


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I live in a mountain town, but in the city limits. In the spring and summer I will go for runs every morning at 5am. I'm wondering if I should be working weighted pack rucks (in town) into that routine.

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[schmalzy]

I live in a mountain town, but in the city limits. In the spring and summer I will go for runs every morning at 5am. I'm wondering if I should be working weighted pack rucks (in town) into that routine.

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Imho it certainly wouldn’t hurt. I think something that’s often overlooked is training the rest of your body gets with a heavy pack. Joints, shoulders, core etc. From my experience there’s no way around it other than time and miles. Obviously weight training, stretching, running and biking all help a ton and part of the bigger picture, but for me, the more time with a pack on the better.


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[grfox92]

Imho it certainly wouldn’t hurt. I think something that’s often overlooked is training the rest of your body gets with a heavy pack. Joints, shoulders, core etc. From my experience there’s no way around it other than time and miles. Obviously weight training, stretching, running and biking all help a ton and part of the bigger picture, but for me, the more time with a pack on the better.


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I feel like rucking will actually serve almost as a break from running every single day.

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[*zap*]

Best to go slow and stay healthy.
You can always do more after a week or so.