Care To Go Rucking?

 Simply put, go walking with weight attached (Backpack, Weight Vest, ect.). Sounds easy right? It depends on the weight you use and the distance you walk but it's great for cardio and strength building. Every now and then (even recently) I would go for a walk wearing my 20 lb weight vest for a good 20 min to an hour around my neighborhood. Beautiful scenery with lake views, lots of trees and practically quiet. 

When I was living in Santa Cruz, CA, I would walk practically everywhere but it wasn't until a few years ago that I actually started really walking with weight on me consistently. When I was in High School, the only form of Rucking I ever did was carry a backpack full of stuff up to about 25-30 lbs at times and it helped build my shoulders and back at the time but now, it's more of an enjoyment than a requirement. 

I didn't really understand the benefits of carrying weight around until I was experiencing it on a more consistent basis and it's nowhere near as hard for me as some cardio workouts until one day recently I went for a walk up and down a hill near my house. I slapped on my 20 lb vest and put on some ankle weights (5 lbs each leg) for a total of 30 lbs and walked as a warm up to the hill, it's a bit steep but I figured I'd give it a shot. Walked up and down that hill (about 75-80% of it) 6 1/2 times and that was enough for me. From the time I left the house to coming back home took almost an hour and I was ready to drop dead lol. 

I literally hate jogging mainly because of the damn rod and pins in my legs but for other reasons, I never found jogging to be very beneficial. Sprints however, were a favorite and occasionally do them but Rucking seems to be a bit more interesting to do and I can get in some great cardio just by carrying weight around for a little while. Quite frankly, I find it relaxing and it's a great teacher on how you control your breathing as you walk. 

Investing in a weight vest can do wonders and build incredible cardio and strength training at the same time. They even have plate loading vests these days which one of these days I may invest in. The next vest I'm looking into goes to 50-100+ lbs which would be a hell of a workout just by walking. Some like to do other exercises with vests which is awesome, gives you more of a challenge, I'll do step ups on occasion wearing a vest and that's incredible strength and cardio training for hiking. 

We often carry the weight on our shoulders, let's make it worth while and build our bodies with it and make it interesting.