The Rucking White Paper
SUMMARY
I recently had the pleasure to read through the GoRuck Rucking White Paper. It's basically 18,000+ words on everything you could ever want to know about moving long distances with weight on your back. A topic I am fond of reminiscing about.
Besides telling you to give it a read, print it out, and post it on your unit's knowledge board I figured I would pull some of the greatness out of it for you as a nice preview of what to expect.
Looks way better than going for a "jog".
(www.goruck.com)
On running in general
"And running sucks anyway, and the worst run is the first run, so there's that."
It sucks, but it's an occupational hazard for many of you. The paper does an eye-opening job of explaining that rucking is actually a lower burden on the body in general when compared to standard running.
Imagine that…
On Progressive Overload
"When I was a kid I thought that if I was going to start something new I needed to conquer Rome in a day...That's not the approach we're going for here. Your body needs to get used to the effects of a little extra weight on your back, then you need to back off and see how your body responds."
Sound logic anyone can get behind.
Ruck it out.
(www.goruck.com)
On posture
"Move a mile with the same rucksack on, and you'll notice that the last thing you want to do is collapse onto your front. The rucksack literally pulls your shoulders back.
Which is exactly where they should be."
The argument can be made that rucking will destroy your back and posture. The white paper very smart responds with:
"Form, bitch." ("my words, not theirs.")
Like all things, including staring at your phone screen all day, rucking could cause back issues...IF YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
In fact, when all the great gouge in this document is applied a proper diet of rucking and beer (more on that shortly) will make you stronger, more resilient, and more posturally erect.
This is the same argument I use when explaining the benefits of the deadlift or back squat to anyone.
There is a huge difference between doing something and doing it properly.
You can eat spaghetti through your nose, sure, but there's a better way that's much less likely to deviate your septum.
On working out solely to “look good”
"The point is not to have a set of pretty abs so you can take mirror selfies. One of our Cadre taught me with a smile on his face a long time ago that only an asshole brings a six-pack to a party."
Just an example of the types of life advice you can expect from the paper.
Log PT is always more fun with friends.
(www.goruck.com)
On #slayfest workouts
"Rucking goes counter to the online world of individualized fitness, and counter to the idea of fitness as punishment. Grab your ruck, put some weight in it, and go for a walk. It's that simple, and it's more fun with friends and when you're done, don't worry about how many calories are in your beer. How's that for a change of pace?"
One thing is overwhelmingly clear from this paper. You aren't going to be able to fill up your pack with 100lbs of weight and ruck 6-minute miles for 50 miles on day one. You'll probably never get to that point.
Who would want to anyway? That sounds miserable even if you are physically capable of it.
The community the folks at GoRuck have garnered is about community, healthy lifestyle, and enjoying a brew. Not necessarily in that order. It's not about being the hardest hammer in the shed.
There's a time and place for 150% efforts once in a while. It's not every day.
On what rucking actually is...
"Ruck Running — don't do it. That's one of the only main things I was always told. If you do, all of the risks from running are magnified, and it turns the low injury risk activity of rucking into the high injury risk activity of running…. But, there is a way to move faster than just walking, with a ruck on."
I have a brief history of rucking. I did not know this.
When first reading through the section on proper form, I just shook my head at how foolish I was.
You live and you learn, I suppose.
Do yourself a favor and learn here before you try to live it.
Rucking is not running. Learn the form, and it will become slightly more enjoyable and a whole lot nicer on your joints.
Pizza. That is all.
(www.goruck.com)
On experience being a great teacher
"My feet had blisters on the underside, I had wanted to test out our new boots so I thought it would be a good idea to not change my socks the entire time even though it was a monsoon the night prior and they were wet for over nineteen hours. It was a poor choice. My thighs and my calves ached, and all I really wanted to do was sit on the ground and eat my pizza."
I truly believe that Dominos may be the only thing on planet Earth calorically dense enough to replenish all of the lost nutrients after a 12+ hour effort.
Been there. Don't regret it.
On the intention behind GORUCK
"What I never wanted the GORUCK Challenge to become was some sort of bootcamp. Been there, done that, don't need to do that again."
I was pleasantly surprised to see this. Bootcamp style fitness is only effective in the short run. Since rucking is a long-run activity (pun intended,) they have their heads in long term adherence.
Rucking, fun for all ages.
(www.goruck.com)
The GORUCK Rucking White Paper
It has science, humor, history, military doctrine, and no-nonsense logic.
If your unit has you moving any distance with weight on your back, this should be required reading.
Oh, one last quote...
On post-workout beers
"...I started calling Beer ACRT, for Advanced Cellular Repair Technology. People seemed to get it immediately, especially when we'd be done with a Challenge and then I'd crack open a case of beers and start passing them out."
Cheers.
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