Rucking is an easy way to fitness

If you enjoy walking for exercise, there’s a simple way to maximize your efforts — change your walk into a ruck. Rucking is walking with weight on your back, and it’s an increasingly popular form of exercise.

“I see people rucking in my neighborhood all the time now,” said former US Navy SEAL Stew Smith, a fitness instructor and coach for the special ops training team at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The term “rucking” comes from ruck marching, a core skill used by militaries around the world. One of the tests the US Army gives recruits looking to earn an Expert Infantryman Badge is a 12-mile ruck, or foot march, which they must complete within three hours while carrying at least 35 pounds of gear. But you can start with a lighter load and gradually add weight as you develop strength.

One of the reasons rucking is growing in popularity may be due to the fact that it’s an easy, low-impact, all-body exercise that boosts cardiovascular and muscular health. One small September 2019 study showed 10 weeks of weighted walking and resistance training improved physical performance in men while significantly reducing their rate of perceived exertion.

Weighted step training improved lower-limb muscle power and functional ability in older women, another study from January 2019 found, indicating the exercise could potentially prolong their independence by almost 10 years.

What’s more, rucking torches calories. A person burns 30% to 45% more calories with weighted walking than when strolling sans backpack, Smith said. A 180-pound soldier carrying 35 pounds while walking 15 minutes per mile for 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) burns 680 calories, according to the US Army. Since, in general, the more you weigh, the more calories expended during any activity, that 180-pound soldier is burning calories at the rate of someone who weighs 215 pounds.

“It’s a simple math equation,” said Mark Stephenson, senior director at the Center for Sports Performance and Research at Mass General Brigham in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Another bonus: Since rucking is typically performed outdoors, it’s also good for your mental health. “There are lots of studies showing the mental health benefits of being in a natural environment are huge, so if rucking gives you a purpose to be outside, that’s some encouragement I’d use,” Stephenson said.