Ruck Harder - Go Further

Rucking, pack marching, tabbing, whatever your nation of warriors calls it, is an essential skill and task for the warrior athlete.

Improving your ability to ruck harder so you can move faster, go further, whilst remaining combat effective should be apart of every warrior athletes training routine. 

For those of us who have felt the searing pain of a heavy pack compressing your spine and everything else along with it, know that being pack fit is something that should never be overlooked in the combat professions.

Both in training and on operations, our ability to carry heavy loads whilst also remaining combat effective is a task we should take extremely seriously. If you are not fit enough to effectively patrol, watch your arcs and remain situationally aware, you become the weakness within your patrol, squad and or platoon.

Rucking is a necessary evil and there is only one way to get good at it, by doing it.

The biggest mistakes I see are people going too heavy, too long and too soon. Before they know it, they have shin splints, back and shoulder pain and a shortened career.

Not ideal of the career warrior.

To get strong in the gym, we increase our weight, volume and intensity over time, this is called progressive overload. Rucking is no different, we get exposure to the movement, over time we increase the weight we carry and distance we travel.

When you use proper methods of training you will drastically increase your rucking ability whilst preventing career shortening injuries.

Good things take time, take the time to get good.

Here are 3 tips to improve your ruck times: 

1. Build a strong cardio base. When your cardio vascular endurance is high so is your ability to ruck long distances. Building your base doesn't mean you have to run extreme distances, it simply means getting in a couple of 5km runs per week.

Get your running shoes on and start building that cardio base.  

2. Use the progressive overload method. Just like you don't go in and try squat 2x your body weight, the same can be said for rucking. Start with a weight that is comfortable, get use to the feeling of the pack, how your body reacts, the different methods of movement, running, shuffling and walking at speed.

As you train over weeks and months (remember above I said good things take time) increase the weight you carry and distance you travel, over time you will get stronger, faster and more efficient at rucking. 

3. Be Consistent. Just like anything in life, if you want to get better at it, you have to consistently train it. The problem is most don't enjoy this training because they put no effort into making it enjoyable.

Take the time to travel to a location worth walking, go hit a hike or trail you have always wanted to, make a day of it, explore the great outdoors and you will begin to love this type of training. 

Remember, rucking is a necessary skill set and demand the warrior athlete must meet. It is upon you to be the professional and to make sure you are not the weak link in the team. 

BE READY. STAY READY. LIVE READY. 

Due to a massive amount of requests we are making a rucking program. It will be designed as a supplement to your normal training so you can still get those gym gains in! 

Stay tuned for this to drop after the new Mental Toughness Program.