Rucking – Effective Training
I decided to add rucking to the mix a couple of years ago. While recuperating from an accident in mid-2023, I bought a TRX weighted vest and used it to good effect. It’s not perfect; I find the way it sits can slightly constrain my chest. But a few hill reps with it can deliver a quick and effective workout.
I used a Built for Athletes rucksack to transport my daily kit to the gym, and it’s robust enough to handle a few weight plates. That’s a nice change up for a workout. The weight sits differently, and while my chest is more open for effective breathing, it tends to cause me to lean forward a little.
The big advantage of the rucksack is that I can carry hydration, fuel, and other handy items such as a spare top and the keys to get back into the house on my triumphant return.
I’m building up running miles before I get into a hardcore marathon training schedule. But yesterday was a good day to add rucking to the mix. My sisters and brothers from Chaingang Cyclists were looking to cycle up the notorious Swain’s Lane climb in North London. Only 0.9 km long, it stings, given it pitches up to a 20% gradient in parts. My two-wheeled colleagues planned to ascend it 24 times, which is apparently the equivalent of cycling to the top of Everest or some blatant BS.
Get The Rucking Reps In
Given its proximity to my house, I thought I would join them, adding rucking to the mix in my training week, and do a few ascents. I did the first one, a 0.9 km climb from the base. Then, I focused on the steepest part from the Highgate Cemetery gates to the top for the successive efforts. This smaller section is around 0.4 km but is brutally steep from the start. Karl Marx is buried in the cemetery, and I thought maybe I would join him if my efforts were too much.
Before leaving home, I loaded small weight plates from my TRX vest into the backpack. Sometimes prone to being overly analytical, I placed the bag on my Garmin scale and added plates until it was precisely 20 kg.
Getting ready to add rucking to the mix, I threw a couple of Science in Sport Beta Fuel gels into the pack and added a bottle with Puresport electrolytes to the side pouch. On with the ASICS Gel Kayanos, add a Garmin HR Pro and Forerunner 965 watch, and out the door.
Ruck The Road, Jack
It was a beautiful spring morning and a great atmosphere for me to tackle my rucking effort. Around 25 cycling colleagues were climbing Swain’s Lane. As they spread out, I had company on the way up and down. A lot of much-needed encouragement came my way. I reciprocated, given that some of them were having to dig in hard. 18-20% on a bike is no joke.
I quickly made my first full-length ascent and then settled into a steady groove of descending to the Highgate Cemetery gates, tapping the gate post, turning, and heading back. I found that leaning slightly forward and touching my hands as though getting ready to pray was a good technique. Coming back down, I was aware that knees can take a lot of stress on inclines, so I struck with my heel first and my bodyweight slightly backwards. All good. Rucking in the mix, and my heart rate is firmly in zone two.
I hydrated at the top of each ascent, and halfway in, I hoovered down a whole stick of Beta Fuel chews. They come in handily grooved cubes, but not being one to stand on ceremony, I found that the whole stick easily fit into my big gob with a slight push. Properly fuelled.
I wasn’t sure how long I would go for, and at some stage, I decided 10 km was a good target. I’ve recently started to run that distance, so why not ruck that far? Up a steep hill. Perfect logic. At times, my heart rate touched the top of zone two. My quads were starting to burn from around climb six, and I was conscious I was starting to lean into the climb more. I was less vocally encouraging my cycling mates, too. Focus was needed. Around 8 km, another Beta Fuel stick was shoved into my mouth and was needed.
On my ninth ascent, I was getting close to my 10 km target, so I turned left at the top and headed back down Highgate West Hill to the start point, with 10 km coming up on my Garmin as I hit the informal finishing point.
Rucking In The Mix – Good Workout!
Looking at the TrainingPeaks data was a pleasant surprise. My Training Stress Score was 213, the equivalent of a decent bike ride. I scrolled back through my training calendar to find a bike ride where my TSS was at this level. The answer was a 5 hour 16 minute, 127 km loop from home to Windsor and back. I had titled it “Broken. Officially.”, so it wasn’t an easy ride. Two hours up and down Swain’s Lane with a rucking pack delivered the same training effect. The average and maximum heart rates for each activity were virtually identical. Rucking in the mix also gave me a better overall workout, as I could feel my shoulders and abdominals had done some extra work.
Summary? I enjoyed the novelty of the workout. Having rucking in the mix gives me new dimensions for my training. It’s a solid combination of cardiovascular and muscular workout—like Hyrox, but without the near-death sensation. Think about putting this somewhere in your training regime. You don’t need an expensive kit—an old backpack and a pair of trainers will do the job. As you can see with my comparison of two workouts, you can get much work done in a fraction of the time of a long bike ride.
I enjoyed a social with my cycling and running family after. As a footnote, my Sunday DOMS has revealed parts of my arse and hips I didn’t know existed. That’s always a plus in my book, as it means I’ve tapped into muscle regions that don’t normally get a run out.
Give rucking a go. Trust me, it offers many benefits as part of any effective exercise regime.