Rucking to lose weight isn’t a new concept, it comes from drills dating as far back as the Roman Empire for military formation. What it comes down to is a fairly quick walk or jog, usually in a backpack, whilst bearing weight on your back. It assisted soldiers to attain the discipline in the Roman days where they would need to march in formation for excruciating intervals of time. 

For a related purpose, contemporary armed forces have modified their central principles: training soldiers to endure long-distance walking while humping a full bag of supplies. Since the American Revolution, American soldiers have been performing a basic exercise practice, and it has transformed their military into the fittest, most dreaded combat force in the world’s history. This activity is called rucking or marching on your back with a weighted bag. 

This suggests that much of the new culture of rucking is largely military-influenced. It is recognized by the military to be a pretty excellent form of exercise besides being a part of standard training. The practice derives its name from the “rucksacks,” which refer to “backpack” as the military. “Rucking” marches or runs while carrying your rucksack (which is always loaded down with gear). 

Soldiers would ruck up to 25 miles (or more) per day in training camps and even in the field, grunting a load weighing well over 200 pounds. However, you do not have to (nor should you) carry a backpack carrying the weight equivalent of a grown man in order to build the physique of a Navy SEAL. All you need to do is add some weight to some old backpack that you have somewhere around the house, and you are going to begin a brand new fitness regime.

Also Read: Maintain Body Composition

What makes Rucking to Lose Weight an Ideal Exercise

There are some aspects that make rucking a perfect aerobic exercise. In regards to safety, rucking puts much less tension on my knees than biking or jogging; you often take fewer and faster steps when you are looking for a slower speed than such sports. This impacts the stress you place on certain joints while still retaining a high pressure. If performed right, it does not seem like much of a strain on the back to carry the weight along, either making it an ideal exercise for beginners. Rucking for beginners is thus relatively easier that some other exercises, but is equally effective.

Also Read: Cardio Workouts For Weight Loss

But what really generates returns is the added weight: it stimulates your heart to start working faster, pushing the heart rate as you ruck into a stable cardiovascular region. The load-bearing factor also implies that you perform a double function as you go, building strength and muscle mass.

1. Effective Calorie Burner

According to the Compendium of Physical Activity, just a 30-minute quick walk burns around 125 calories for an average person. However, according to the Compendium of Physical Exercises, put on a weighted backpack, and take the very same trip leaves you with somewhere around 325 calories burned. Thus, calories burned with rucking are much more than normal walking or even jogging.

Just by carrying a backpack with some weight inside it, rucking makes walking incinerate about three times the calories! Now, consider these results over a long period of time. Let us say, you take 30-minute walks thrice every week. If you begin to carry a weighted pack, over the course of a year, you can consume over 31,200 more calories making rucking to lose weight your ideal routine. That is the number of calories that four kilograms of fat produce making the rucking weight loss program so effective.

2. Corrects Body Posture

Rucking to lose weight comes with several other benefits as well. Rucking is the ultimate solution if you have developed Quasimodo shoulders due to hours of slumping every day at a desk. In fact, your shoulders and back are brought into proper alignment by the load of the backpack which corrects your overall body posture. If you ruck further and further, you will be preparing your body to remain in the ideal position even after you have completed the routine.

Ac correct and upright body posture improves the overall look of the body and makes a person look more athletic and fit even without losing any weight at all.

3. Builds Strength

Much as Croton’s famous historic wrestler Milo gained strength by carrying a bull on his shoulders, a loaded ruck would make you stronger. The additional weight on your back provides a healthy workout for your lower body. Your body always feels a bit stiff after rucking in hamstrings and quads, even more, so if you carry the ruck up and down the slopes. 

It is on the upper body where you can really get a power workout from rucking. Military personnel have huge, solid backs. It isn’t really because of a back exercise machine that is exclusive to those at the military gyms but because of the long durations of the weight training through rucking. 

4. Feel The Nature

You ought to increase your dosage of ‘vitamin N’ by investing time in nature if you want to improve your general health and well-being. Research has shown that time spent outdoors can alleviate stress, avoid depression, decrease obesity, strengthen the immune system, and improve cognitive skills. By converting your wilderness jaunts into a ruck, you will exacerbate the health advantages of being in nature. 

One of the best aspects of rucking is the Nature Component. After an hour of rucking in the great outdoors, you would definitely feel rejuvenated and refreshed. Additionally, the monotonous vibe of gyms does not provide the best environment for exercising, especially cardiovascular exercises.

5. Builds Endurance

You can notice that the heart rate increases rapidly as you walk with added weight, and stays up for the entire workout. Rucking transforms the lazy stroll into an endeavor that improves heart wellbeing and builds stamina. 

The cardio benefits of rucking are identical to those generated from other long, slow-distance workouts such as jogging. However unlike jogging, which, as per a report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, has an injury rate of 20 to 79 percent, rucking simply makes you highly resilient to injuries. It sets up your hip and postural support, and in all your other practices, it makes you more accident-proof.

Rucking is undoubtedly a great way to lose weight. With persistence and determination, rucking would not only help with the weight loss but improves the body posture and builds strength and stamina too. 

Also Read: 5 Weight Loss Workouts Routine and Exercises