Community, Comradery, & Cardio
Newtown Ruck Club
Getting Started
Grab A Pack
Any backpack will do. Be sure the straps are padded and fit comfortably on your shoulders. Ruck weight should sit against your back so placing weight in a laptop pocket can help stabilize the weight.
Add Weight
Wrap weight plates, books, bricks, etc. in a towel for your first ruck weight. It’s recommended to begin at ~10% of your body weight. We recommend 10-15lbs to start for women, and 15-20lbs for men.
Get Outside
Be sure to wear comfortable, structured, well-fitting shoes as the little bones and tendons in your feet need support as they get used to carrying more weight. Start rucking on paved, even ground until you feel comfortable going off-road. An ideal ruck pace is 15-17 minutes per mile. If you’re slower, lower your weight. If you’re faster, increase your weight. It’s always best to start light.
Find Your Ruck Weight
Start Light
Your starting ruck weight may feel too light at first, but after a few miles you will feel it! Resist the urge to go hard right out of the gate. Overloading your pack will only result in injury. Once you can comfortably ruck at a 15-17 minute mile pace, you can increase your weight. Start light and progress in 5 lb increments every few weeks until you reach your peak weight. If you max out both pace and weight, increase your distance.
EXAMPLE: I weigh 140 lbs and I started rucking with a 10 lb weight for 30 minutes. I have slowly increased my ruck weight to 25 lbs and now I typically ruck for 1-1.5 hours and cover 3-5 miles.
