What Is Rucking? Benefits and How to Start Rucking for Fitness

Are you looking for a holistic way to improve your strength, endurance, and overall health? Rucking may be the missing piece in your exercise routine. It’s simple, effective, and deeply connected to how humans naturally move. Whether you’re just starting your wellness journey or looking for a new challenge, learning how to practice rucking can be a transformative approach to fitness. 

Rucking definition: What is rucking?  

At its core, rucking is walking with a weighted pack on your back. It originates from ancient times when soldiers marched with heavy bags while traveling between battlefields. This concept continues in military training today, with soldiers around the world carrying heavy backpacks to build endurance and resilience. 

Today, this weighted marching has evolved into a powerful full-body exercise routine accessible to anyone, regardless of fitness level. Unlike many other high-intensity workouts, rucking is low-impact. It’s an excellent option for holistic health enthusiasts who want to build strength without doing high-impact activity. 

You may have already been doing it without knowing it. Whenever you’re carrying groceries, traveling, or even going to work with a backpack, you’re rucking. 

Rucking benefits: Why you should try it

Learning how to practice rucking is more than just a workout — it’s a functional, natural movement that improves your body, mind, and overall well-being. Here are some key benefits of rucking and why it deserves a place in your holistic health routine. 

1. Rucking for strength: How to practice rucking to build muscle

Unlike traditional walking, weighted marching engages the entire body — legs, core, back, and shoulders — making for simple and effective resistance training. Adding weight to your rucksack creates active resistance through incremental increases that force muscles to work harder. This improves muscle endurance and functional strength, helping you move better in daily life. 

As a bonus, it encourages good posture by pulling your shoulders back, helping to counteract the effects of sitting and screen time. 

2. Rucking for cardio: Boost heart health without running

Your doctor may be urging you to get some cardio in, but how do you do that without running and hurting your joints? Rucking is one way. You get the cardiovascular benefits of jogging with a lower impact on your body. 

Here’s why rucking is a great cardio workout:

• Increases heart rate and aerobic capacity without excessive strain
• Burns more calories than walking alone
• Strengthens the lungs and circulatory system, promoting endurance

3. Rucking for strong bones and joints: Strengthen your skeletal system

One of the lesser-known benefits of marching is its impact on bone density. Weight-bearing exercises strengthen bones, reducing the risk of age-related fractures and osteoporosis. Because rucking is low-impact, it increases joint strength with less strain than many sports and other physical activities.

By walking and climbing across small obstacles with a weighted pack, you develop bone integrity and joint elasticity, which can help guard your continued mobility. 

4. Rucking for mental health: Walk your way to tranquility 

Exercise isn’t just about physical health — it’s also about mental clarity, emotional balance, and stress relief. Rucking gets you outdoors, encourages mindful movement, and provides a sense of accomplishment. Studies have shown that 120 minutes of outdoor activities increases your happiness, reduces anxiety, and enhances cognitive function.  

Even better, rucking can be a social activity. You can do it with friends, family, or a local rucking group. It fosters community and connection — two essential pillars of holistic wellness. 

How to practice rucking: A step-by-step guide

Now that you know it’s such a powerful fitness tool, it’s time to break down how to start and enjoy the benefits of rucking today. 

Step 1: Choose your rucksack or backpack

You’ll need a sturdy backpack that won’t hurt your back or rip when you load it up. If you plan on regular rucking, investing in a high-quality rucksack to evenly distribute weight while maintaining comfort is essential. Look for:

• Padded straps: Thin straps will cut into your shoulders and cause discomfort and injury. Choose a padded and reinforced strap harness. 
• Hip belt: The harness should also include a hip belt or securing strap to ensure you carry the weight with your back and not your shoulders. 
• Durability: As you gradually add more weighted plates to the backpack, it should be durable enough to withstand greater combined loads without shifting or ripping. A pack with a high UV-resistance rating ensures that it won’t perish in the sun while you ruck.  

Step 2: Choose your weights

Start light, gradually increasing the weight as your body adapts. If you’re a beginner, 10-20 pounds, or about 10% of your body weight, is a good starting point. While hiking, keep the weight high and close to your back for better posture and to avoid the pack dragging on your shoulders. You can use:

• Ruck plates: These flattened plates evenly distribute the weight. 
• Dumbbells or weight plates: These may be a little bulky in the pack, but they will provide measurable loads. 
• Books, bricks, or sandbags: Ensure you measure these on a scale so you track how much you are carrying. These values are integral to your training plan so you don’t over- or undertrain and meet your goals. 
• Water jugs: Water bottles, jugs, and sealable bags can also add up to the desired bag load. In a pinch, these also provide vital hydration. Hiking with weight is hard work, and you can easily dehydrate. 

Step 3: Start walking

Load your pack evenly and begin walking. Start with one to two miles at a comfortable pace and maintain good posture. A friend can make it more fun, and you can help check each other’s form. You should walk tall, keep your shoulders back, and engage your core. 

If you feel the pack cutting into your back or bumping you, it’s important to adjust the straps. Check for signs of dehydration, such as sudden thirst, headache, and dizziness, which can signal that you’ve lost vital fluids. You should slow down or stop, drink more water, and take electrolyte supplements, which should resolve your symptoms in about 30 minutes or less.

While marching, aim for:

• 15-20 minutes per mile: For a moderate workout, this is an ideal speed. However, if you are a beginner, you can go more slowly or choose easier terrain. Aim for a speed that still allows you to talk but not sing. The national guideline for adult physical activity is 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week. This means if you ruck for two miles daily, five days a week, you’re doing great.
• Gradually increasing the distance: Use your training plan to ensure you stick to fair distances and only increase these gradually as you get stronger and fitter. 
• Varying terrain: Liven up the walk and add a little more resistance by changing the terrain difficulty. Slope, obstacles, and surface quality all affect how hard you work. 

Step 4: Progress at your own pace

You can scale your marching experience according to the desired difficulty level. You can:

• Add more weight, but keep to increments of 5-10% or 5-10 pounds at a time. 
• Increase your pace.
• Increase the incline by including hill work.
• Combine rucking with other exercises like box jumps, lunges, squats, and running.

Choose only one of the above at a time to increase intensity.

Rucking vs. other exercises: What sets it apart?

How does rucking stack up to other exercises, and can you combine it with other workouts while you learn how to practice rucking?

• Running: Rucking builds strength, while running focuses on endurance and speed. Running puts more force through the joints. Weighted walking burns a similar number of calories as jogging, but you can maintain the march pace longer. 
• Hiking: The two are inclusive, as hiking is weighted walking in the mountains, while rucking refers to walking with a weight in any environment. Both can improve cardiovascular health and mental well-being. 
• Weightlifting: Unlike weighted walking, weightlifting is a stationary exercise focusing on muscular strength. A good weightlifting program for the everyday person should also focus on functional fitness. Rucking develops functional fitness for daily movement and activities of daily living.  It is a full-body workout without any gym equipment, and it complements strength training by improving endurance. 

Should I ruck every day?

It depends on your fitness level and active recovery. Daily rucking is beneficial in small, balanced amounts. To optimize your experience, consider:

• Short, daily rucks: Aim for one to two miles to begin.
• Longer, heavier rucks: As your fitness increases, you can start doing three- to six-mile rucks twice a week. 
• Planned recovery days: Plan days without intense exercise to prevent overuse of muscles and injuries. These are great times for a stroll or gentle stretching to help your muscles recover. You must listen to your body.

Understanding rucking dangers

You’ve rucked since your school years when you carried a backpack with heavy books, and rucking is generally safe. However, using poor form or packing on weight too early in your training can lead to injuries. Avoid common mistakes like:

• Overloading too soon: Increase weight gradually and pay attention to any back pain that warns you’ve increased the load too much. 
• Slouching or bad posture: Engaging your core helps protect your shoulders and back from strain. 
• Neglecting footwear: Comfortable footwear designed to help you move naturally will help you avoid injuries and ensure correct foot landings. Beginners often neglect their footwear when they don’t know the basics of how to practice trucking. 

The holistic approach to rucking

Rucking isn’t just a workout — it’s a lifestyle choice that aligns with holistic health principles. Once you learn how to practice rucking sensibly, it can enhance physical, mental, and emotional well-being naturally and sustainably. Whether you’re looking to build strength, improve endurance, or simply spend more time outdoors, weighted marching can be a transformative part of your routine.