Know-how
The questions people actually ask
Load progression, technique, gear and the honest comparisons. Written for someone about to put a weight in a bag, not for someone reading about it.
Getting started
Your first ruck, start to finish
Pick a weight, pick a distance, walk. The shortest useful version of everything else on this site.
5 min read · updated 16 Aug
How heavy should your ruck be?
Percent-of-bodyweight rules of thumb, why 20% is the usual ceiling for beginners, and how to test whether a load is right for you.
6 min read · updated 16 Aug
What rucking actually does for you
The claims worth believing, the ones that are marketing, and who gains most from carrying weight on a walk.
7 min read · updated 16 Aug
Training
When can you go from 10 kg to 15 kg?
A progression that adds weight or distance, never both in the same week — and what knee pain is actually telling you.
9 min read · updated 16 Aug
Rucking vs running: what each one costs your body
Comparable calorie burn at a fraction of the joint impact — and where that comparison stops holding.
8 min read · updated 16 Aug
Training for a ruck march
Twelve weeks from ordinary fitness to a 20 km event under load, and what changes for multi-day marches.
8 min read · updated 16 Aug
Technique
How to pack a ruck so it stops pulling you backwards
Dense items high and against your spine, the reason your shoulders hurt, and what belongs where.
7 min read · updated 16 Aug
How to walk under a load without wrecking yourself
Posture, stride, what to do on hills, and the descent habit that saves your knees.
7 min read · updated 16 Aug
Gear
Boots, socks and the blister problem
Load changes how your foot moves inside the shoe. What to do about it before 20 km, not after.
8 min read · updated 16 Aug
What to put in your ruck
What to carry for an hour, for a half day, and for a serious march — and what to leave at home.
7 min read · updated 16 Aug