After reading The Comfort Crisis in June of last year, I decided I wanted to try out rucking. There were a few snippets from the book about rucking that piqued my interest:

Rucking is strength and cardio in one. It’s cardio for the person who hates running, and strength work for the person who hates lifting.

Rucking corrects for body type. Have too much fat or muscle? It’ll lean you out. Too skinny? You’ll get stronger and put on some muscle.

[...] Each running stride a 175-pound person takes loads their knee with about 1,400 pounds. For walking the figure is about 470. If that same person rucks with a 30-pound pack, the forces to the knee jump to about 555 pounds each step. That figure isn’t insignificant, but it’s roughly a third of that of running. And it delivers equivalent cardio benefits.

I don't hate running or lifting, but I wouldn't say I love those things either. Rucking seemed like an interesting experiment to try.

So, about a year ago, I purchased a 30-pound cast iron ruck plate and a backpack from Amazon, and for $72.70, I was ready to ruck.

After my first several trips out, I was always extremely relieved to get the backpack off. My shoulders and back were usually sore after my 30-minute walk. Having been a year now, I definitely notice a difference. I no longer struggle like I did my first several times out, and I don't feel the pain from the backpack straps. Maybe this means I need to add more weight now. 🤔

If you have ever considered rucking, I'd say give it a try!

#random