Category: Rucking Essentials

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Prepare for Rucking, Avoid Mistakes

Prepare for Rucking, Avoid Mistakes

Posted on by Charles

Rucking – Preparation and Avoiding Common Mistakes

Note how extensively we have talked about rucking in our previous articles. By now you are surely well acquainted to some of the pros and cons of rucking. Diving further let’s talk about this awesome workout or training program. Let’s look at how we can properly prepare for a ruck march, some common errors and how to avoid them.

Preparation – Important items to have

Whether you are a beginner or experienced at rucking, this is the first thing you should do. Decide when, where and how long you want to ruck for. You can do short rucks  on pedestrian walks (by the road side). You’ll want to do longer rucks out in the wild (forest reserve, mountain and hill tops). Going on rucks involves more than just carrying a weighted backpack from your start point to your finish point and back. You’ll need to know the essential gear or items that are needed in order to have a successful ruck workout.

Some of these essential rucking items include:

Standard Boots: Avoid going on rucks with fancy or substandard boots.  Always ensure that your boot has enough space in it in order to reduce foot and ankle injuries.

Water: Going on a ruck without water is like going a on a road trip without gas. Take as much water as possible for the ruck and ensure that you drink as much as possible to keep yourself hydrated throughout the ruck.

Snacks: Take snacks that are quite easy to consume on the go in order to keep yourself energised.

Electrolyte: Take some electrolyte drinks or tablets along. This is because you are likely to sweat frequently and those lost electrolytes needs to be replace.

Hat/Cap: This is helps to keep rain, sweat and even the sun rays out of your face and eyes.

Clothing: Strive to go on rucks with extra clothes and clean pairs of socks because you may decide to change your clothes as a result of sweating.

Torchlight: If you’re rucking at night, having that extra eye (a torchlight) might just come in handy.

Cell phone: This can be very handy when you’re out rucking alone. This is because you may hurt yourself and will need to call 911 (for help) if there’s an emergency.

Rucking Errors to Avoid

If you’re an amateur or just about to ruck for the first time, here are some mistakes you should never make;

  • Maintaining a proper diet is highly essential before going on rucks. This is because the human body is a fuel burning machine and it needs food to function efficiently.
  • Always avoid carrying a too heavy weighted backpack. Know what the perfect fit is for you and do not exceed your limit. You will be tempted because you want get a faster result and prove a point that you’re stronger than you look.
  • While rucking, avoid walking too fast or running in order to avoid impact injury.

 

5 Benefits of Rucking You Need to Know

5 Benefits of Rucking You Need to Know

Posted on by Charles

Rucking can be enjoyed by nearly anyone capable of walking or going on a long stroll. Rucking takes its origin from before the medieval times. Soldiers (like the Greeks or Romans) would march for hours, days or even months while journeying to their destination. Modern rucking developed as soldiers packed up supplies and equipment in a rucksack (backpack) and then marched with it. Many people still call it “ruck marching” today.

Rucking today has evolved to being not just an exercise carried out by soldiers, rescue worker and firefighters. You will find that ordinary civilians, athletes and average individuals who are looking to keep their body healthy also enjoy rucking. Folks who ruck can do it with a minimum of equipment. Typically with a backpack or rucksack that weighs between 10% to 30% of their bodyweight or even more. This is depending on each individuals capabilities, naturally. Of course there are a lot of rucking start up programs popping up seemingly every day. These can help the participant push themselves beyond their physical and mental limits. Though anyone can ruck on their own with a minimum of guidance.

Here are five significant health benefits of rucking;

  1. Creates A New Experience

For quite a few people who work out much time is spent in the gym or behind closed doors. This is often the only cardio they do. Rucking will give you the first class treat of experiencing nature in a whole different way. Exercising outdoors wards off depression and reduces stress in an individual, according to research that has been done.

  1. Cardiovascular Exercise

Rucking is a great way to increase your heart rate and blood flow. Achieve that goal without running or engaging in other high impact or somewhat dangerous workouts. Rucking definitely helps your body to maintain a healthy heart rate and blood flow. The additional burden of a weighted backpack increases the resistance. This is especially noticeable on an inclined path.

  1. Improves the Body’s Physique

Do you hate jogging, running or even hitting the gym? Do you still want to ignite those calories? Rucking might just be the answer you need to maintain a healthy body weight. Studies illustrate that you can burn calories up to 40-50% more effectively while rucking or walking carrying added weight. Compare that to the 65-75% more effective calorie burn while jogging. Let’s just say that rucking seems like a better idea. Less impact while also exploring the great outdoors facilitating an avenue for you to embrace your imaginative powers.

Can you see the benefits of rucking in your own training?

  1. Less Impact on the Body

Compared to running or jogging, rucking has lesser negative impact on your body as a whole. One reason why a lot of individuals detest jogging is because of pressure on your lower body. This often results in pains and discomfort in your knees, hamstrings and ankles. Running over any distance or even on a treadmill can cause injury. Rucking creates greatly less stress on your body and you are definitely yielding a similar result at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.

  1. Improves Your Body Endurance and Strength

This is one thing typically people don’t understand. Having the added load or weight on your back helps builds your lower body strength. This is because rucking over a long distance helps your body to develop improved body balance (agility). Thus likewise improving your all round work ability and physical endurance level.

Rucking outdoors, for many of us, is just not something we can do every day. For you I’ve written my Rucking Simple Treadmill Training Guide – available on Amazon. Check it out now and learn everything you need to know and do to get results quickly.