Tools
Load progression planner
From where you are to where you want to be, one variable at a time, with the deload weeks already in it.
Load progression planner
kg · km — change in the header| Wk | Load (kg) | Dist (km) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10.0 | 5.0 | Start |
| 2 | 10.0 | 5.5 | Distance + |
| 3 | 11.0 | 5.5 | Load + |
| 4 | 11.0 | 5.5 | Deload |
| 5 | 11.0 | 6.0 | Distance + |
| 6 | 12.0 | 6.0 | Load + |
| 7 | 12.0 | 6.5 | Distance + |
| 8 | 12.0 | 6.5 | Deload |
| 9 | 13.0 | 6.5 | Load + |
| 10 | 13.0 | 7.0 | Distance + |
| 11 | 14.0 | 7.0 | Load + |
| 12 | 14.0 | 7.0 | Deload |
| 13 | 14.0 | 7.5 | Distance + |
| 14 | 15.0 | 7.5 | Load + |
| 15 | 15.0 | 8.0 | Distance + |
| 16 | 15.0 | 8.0 | Deload |
| 17 | 16.0 | 8.0 | Load + |
| 18 | 16.0 | 8.5 | Distance + |
| 19 | 16.0 | 9.0 | Distance + |
| 20 | 16.0 | 9.0 | Deload |
| 21 | 16.0 | 9.5 | Distance + |
| 22 | 16.0 | 10.0 | Distance + |
One variable per week, never both — connective tissue adapts more slowly than muscle. Every fourth week holds, because the adaptation happens during recovery.
The rules behind the plan
One variable at a time
The plan never changes load and distance in the same week. That single rule prevents more rucking injuries than any amount of stretching, footwear or technique work.
The reason is that tissues adapt at different speeds. Muscle responds within days; tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone take weeks to months. Your muscles will tell you a session was easy while the slower tissues are still catching up — and those slower tissues are what gets injured.
Step sizes
Load moves in 1 kg steps, distance in roughly 10% increments. Both are deliberately conservative, because the cost of progressing too slowly is a few extra weeks and the cost of progressing too quickly is a few lost months.
Pace is not a variable in the plan at all. Under load, pace improves as a by-product; chasing it deliberately is how people acquire shin splints.
When to ignore the plan
Repeat a week whenever the readiness test fails: soreness two days later, a changed gait, joint pain rather than muscular fatigue, or an inability to hold a conversation at your current load.
Nobody has ever been set back by an extra week at a weight that was working.
Common questions
How fast can I add weight to my ruck?
About 1 kg every two to three weeks, and only when you can do your current load without soreness two days later. Never add weight in the same week you add distance.
Why does the plan hold every fourth week?
Adaptation happens during recovery, not during the session. Three weeks of progression followed by one deload produces more progress over three months than progressing every week and then losing a fortnight to an overuse injury.
Why does it cap my target weight?
At roughly a third of bodyweight, gait changes measurably and injury rates climb in the load-carriage literature. If you enter a target above that, the plan caps there and tells you why.
How long should it take to reach 20 kg?
For someone starting at 10 kg, typically four to six months to reach 20 kg while also building distance. That sounds slow and is far faster than reaching it in six weeks, getting hurt, and starting again.
The reasoning in full is in when can you go from 10 kg to 15 kg? — including what specific pains mean and when to stop.