Rucking Deep Dive Panel - Fit Talks Presented by Niantic at Sandlot JAX 2022

[@Islandmidfielder]

As a boy in west Africa, rucking as its called in the west was the basic method of transporting goods to local markets. What most people know is that image of African women carrying goods on their heads walking long distances with their baby tied to their back. We have always rucked. It’s our natural human state. To this day, I’m 55, i still ruck with a 25 lb pack and 2 large dogs (85 lbs each) for hikes averaging 80 miles per week. We do a 20 miler once a week which takes 5 - 6 hours at a 3.5 miles per hour pace or 17:30 per mile pace. We do elevation gain once a week of 1,000ft gain. It’s been a life long practice. I maintain the base fitness that gets me into ultra marathons (32 miles plus). Often I’m on the podium for my age group. My blood pressure lives around 115/63 and a pulse rate of 60. My contribution to this conversation is to drink lots of water. Keep hydrated even if you don’t think you are thirsty. It really helps the experience if you are new.

[@jonnyduckhunter8821]

I’ve been rucking for 6 months and ever since Jason was on “The Real AF” podcast and I have to say there is nothing like it. I started it because I was to fat to run or do any of the traditional exercises. Fast forward I lost over 50#s and am in terrific shape. Rucking will build muscle, stabilize your core and help you lose weight!

[@Badmemorycure]

Whats your start Ruck weight as a percentage of your body weight- start and end!? Please

[@jonnyduckhunter8821]

@@Badmemorycure I mostly ruck with 30# but I switch in 50# once a week or so just to switch it up. I started only walking 1.5 but now I do 4+ daily at a good pace. I weighed 300 pounds when I started rucking.

[@jonnyduckhunter8821]

@@Badmemorycure I started with 20# in the beginning fyi

[@Badmemorycure]

@@jonnyduckhunter8821 Thank you for promptly replying (a rare aspect on KZbin), as this is very helpful in my own journey I have invested in the Gravity (Brand) belt and started walking with 14kgs - (30lbs approx) and hopefully no long term impacts on ankles. Plan to hit 20kgs soon. I am 170lbs and 150 is the goal. On a side note prolonged fasting really helps as it spikes up the natural HGH. I really wish you all the very best in your journey.

[@robertdelorme8779]

This is great! My wife and I are paddlers and when we portage we are carrying half our body weight on some very difficult portages up here in the Canadian wilderness. On a tough trip with over 50 portages I hurt my left leg (popliteus), I just over did it. Now I'm going to start rucking in order to be ready for these long trips. We are 60 and want to be able to do this for a very long time, thanks to you all for all this info.

[@harpermcalpineblack8573]

I think of rucking as enhanced walking - and walking and carrying heavy things as basic human abilities we need to preserve into old age, and also during easy times in a sedentary culture of automation. Great discussion. Thanks.

[@nelbadelapena2115]

😊😊😊😊

[@stephenbrody2717]

You just made think about this and aging . Trying to be 70 and have better balance and mobility. I’m 59 don’t want to limited later in life life because I didn’t do anything but just be active on the weekends.

[@sdenhof11]

I started day hikes several times per week 10 years ago and that has transitioned to rucking daily for 3miles/1 hour with my dogs. I absolutely love Rucking while moving through nature every day. I use around 30lbs.

[@heathertuynman6592]

Carrying the groceries from the car to the house in one trip - I've been rucking all my adult life!😆

[@FreeKekistann]

😂😂😂

[@bdnelss8442]

A ruck panel discussion put on by Niantic!! They made Ingress and Pokémon Go with the intention of getting people out walking. Super cool. Go Niantic and GoRuck!

[@pjhosking4457]

My first intro discussion to rucking. Very comprehensive. I have never heard anyone talk about rucking down under in Australia 🇦🇺

[@bradeurich5183]

I've walked 1 mile (round trip) to a convenience store daily for years. Last month, I thought to add 10 lbs to a backpack I had laying around as a lazy way to maybe gain some muscle. Now i'm 100% into the rucking thing, and did 7.5 miles with 35 lbs of dry weight last week. As a 41 yo guy, I was shocked when a body part I can't probably mention on youtube woke up at full attenion every morning 2 weeks after I started doing it. I hate cardio, but rucking definitely counts.

[@mauort6870]

lol

[@fool9111z]

Lol 😂 unexpected benefits 😊

[@roc-88]

Now that's the motivation I needed

[@JohnReynoldsYeah]

Never too late to say THANKS to this panel. Beginner rucker and learned a lot from this

[@createlovehappy]

After a knee injury my doc said ice, a brace, and don't use it. My chiropractor said the opposite use it, no brace, go walking. Rucking for me started by carrying my child on my back in a carrier and walking up and down the hills of Oakland, CA. I usually walked for an hour and my kid was asleep in the first 5 minutes. The point was to get out there and do it. As they grew and got heavier, I got stronger. I did this at least 4 days per week. I did not realize it was "Rucking" until recently looking back.

[@C2B1303]

big fan! 6 miles 60 pounds in the woods for 90 minutes 2-3x week - never seen another rucker and that's OK

[@MrAmitdaswani]

I can’t imagine carrying 100 lbs. I’m struggling carrying 30 lbs for more than an hour and a half to 3 hours. These guys are amazing.

[@FreeKekistann]

I just started but if someone said they can carry around 100lbs…..holy cow. My dog hurt himself the other day, he weighs 55-60lbs. I carried him home about 8 houses. Every 2 houses I had to take a break. 😂 Thought I was in decent shape but quickly found out I wasn’t.

[@229glock]

100 is an astonishingly high amount no matter who you are. Really hard to even get on your back.

[@kevincruikshank9371]

Melissa’s input is essential !!

[@IanCowboy]

Wow...that guy at 11 minute mark really explains this very well! Hes excellent

[@rontiemens2553]

Absolutely outstanding presentation by all. Extraordinarily helpful to this new Rucker. Melissa, on the last question that you responded to, you really knocked it out of the park. Really gave me some tracks to run on. Thank you

[@nikitaw1982]

It's of a bunch of BS so far. What are the affects on my blood work? Heart rate and cholesterol? Muscle mass. Not hearing those answers.

[@094340]

​@@nikitaw1982 Yes, they could be more specific and detailed, but it wasn't a deal breaker bc they weren't. Think about it...if you're new to weightlifting, running, etc., you aren't really asking those questions right off the bat. The idea here is to just get people started, the finer points can come later as people get more acclimated.

[@nikitaw1982]

@@094340 title is "deed dive".

[@bike_run_lift_ruck]

Thanks for this panel discussion!

[@grantmartin6094]

Very cool. I’m a lifter, cyclist and runner. Just made a DIY kit with sand, 100mph tape and a SOC Bugout Bag. Tried out a friends GR1 tonight and it was awesome! Think this may replace my runs after multiple knee/foot injuries.

[@StellaM22]

Its like urban hiking!

[@varnellhopkinsiii6863]

I think "unsaddling" would best describe the feeling when drop that load. Back in the service I remembered how my horse would seem so happy once I got off her back and took her saddle off after a long day of carrying me. For me, taking that pack and body armor and web gear seemed to have the same feeling.

[@billieball1]

"doffing" I think is military term from dropping your ruck instantly. Don vs. Dof, right?

[@the_kestrelstudios]

Holy crap! Were you in the WW1?! 😉

[@joshb2419]

I watched this while rucking on my desktop treadmill :D

[@jt.8144]

Saw that documentary on Hulu. Very cool!

[@stephanieroberts4164]

Fantastic discussion!!

[@prestonshirley9864]

The other version of "ruck shuck" in the military is when we are done with a TIC and we can take off body armor. That is true bliss!!!

[@nikitaw1982]

I have a weights vest but feel like people will think I look like wearing a bomb. Stop giving a stuff what other people think, or else weight till winter and wear a jacket over the top.

[@xander423]

Amazing I can’t. Wait to do this and add this to my routines

[@bensebob868]

I think the German word you are looking for is „Erleichterung“: feeling of relief, inner freedom. Best regards from Berlin 😊

[@GoneCarnivore]

I've carried deer stands into the woods for years. I feel like carrying bulky things creates some dangerous conditions for your back. I think the weight needs to be as close to your body as possible. I think a vest is your best bet. This is my opinion based on carrying large bulky climbing deer stands into the woods for a mile or so.

[@JediKnife]

To echo some other comments here; it’s great to see Niantic and GoRuck share a stage. I’m a fan of them both.

[@kevincruikshank9371]

Love Kelly Starrett!

[@carpediem4413]

My son plays college hockey … can do a 24 minute wall sit 😮 … crazy how freak-of-nature strong hockey players legs (and overall body) can be - especially if they take training seriously. All High-level athletes have a high tolerance for pain/suffering ... but hockey players are on a whole ‘nother level… crazy. The military should be recruiting hockey players because they are often pretty intense mentally and physically.

[@GoneCarnivore]

Walk before you Ruck.

[@nikitaw1982]

I think I'm going to use lots of water bottles. If gets to heavy empty the water bottles. 10kg is 10 liters of space.

[@094340]

Crawl b4 you walk.

[@MichaelLeopold1]

Informative listen

[@Bulwark515]

When I finish and my Ruck comes off, I call “index”. Same term used to end all training events while in the Army.

[@lonniesmith352]

Best single word to hear next to zonk

[@brettharsanye5939]

I think you guys like to hear your self talk

[@kittyha7745]

NeedIBeginner an idea for a beginner rucksack with hip belt?

[@edwardaligonzalez123]

Tactical Yoga! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾🧠💥

[@kencarey3477]

Can I use trecking poles

[@jasonmccarthy3551]

Yes, of course. Especially useful on uneven terrain.

[@fool9111z]

Why not?

[@GarrettWatts]

1:17:44 took me out 😂

[@marthachapman6707]

P

[@094340]

Good panel, great topic. The gist of this, as I see it, is to just do it. Not in the hard ass, regimented and commanding Nike ad way of the past, but more in the sense that we all have to get off our collective asses and realize that we are creatures of movement, and that we can never get too far away from that reality. So, go do it, or something...anything, and try to be consistent. This isn't rocket science.

[@daliab8493]

I think the weight you carry in the rucksack should be based on a percentage of your body weight.

[@kittyha7745]

In addition to a ruck, what about footwear?

[@nikitaw1982]

Don't squish Ur toes?

[@darksidecyclist]

Good place to start would be just walking if you want to lose weight we are all carrying 30lbs or more. Once you break in to walking then add weight to a backpack. If you do too much too soon they come to me with plantar fasciitis 😊

[@benson5478]

RUCK!

[@wenmockan]

I think I can guess what Jason was thinking a few times.

[@ghjong001]

The most important timestamp: 32:07 - Doggo!

[@ookiee1]

Thoughts on ruck vests?

[@fool9111z]

Just get an old unused computer backpack, should be sturdy enough for up to 50 pounds 😂

[@rgh622]

@@fool9111z, true dat! I have an old Camelbak I took the water bladder out of and filled with 25 lbs of steel weight plates wrapped in hand towels. It's still going strong and is my grab-n-go rucksack.

[@nikitaw1982]

​@@rgh622that sounds perfect. ATM I walk empty back pack to supermarket and buy canned food and bags of rice and walk home. Once pantry full will do something else. I'm thinking fill waterholes and walk to the supermarket, then empty and replace weight with food.

[@1966johnnywayne]

Ruck It!

[@pedromiguel1228]

I never thought about this as an exercise at all. I cringe every time the guy mentioned that you need to build up to it. However, I understand where he is coming from. Only in first world countries will you need to train up to it. Growing up in Cuba, it was normal to carry a backpack all day full of books and notebooks one for each class. Math, English, Spanish, history, geography, chemistry, physics, some with more than one book, add the note books one for each, your pencils and any other stuff that you wanted to carry in there. I think 20 lbs is a happy low compared to when you carry all this. Maybe because of this being normal to all of us I didn't look at it as an exercise, and it was funny because I will forget I had the back pack on until my mother told me to take it off. I now understand and hope that if I take that habit up I could go back to burning nearly as many calories as I did then.

[@juusoristo354]

A lot of city dwellers lack basic physical preparedness nowadays. I remember talking with a lot of old timers about their childhood growing up in rural areas. There were very few cars back then and kids traveled long distances to school. When they got home, they fed the animals, chopped some firewood etc. They were propably a lot healthier than most people nowadays.

[@strong_slav]

I grew up in the US and also "rucked" a backpack full of heavy textbooks to and from school.

[@nathanielcolston7770]

Any reason the events are getting softer?

[@zxsw85]

You’re soft

[@nathanielcolston7770]

@@zxsw85 doubt you could handle the soft version.

[@kensiblonde4203]

Our ancestors didn’t have backpacks.

[@steveforde7475]

It's called "the lightness"

[@roc-88]

Niantic wants us to catch pokemon while rucking 🤣

[@johns6426]

2x35 in pack... 2x 10 plates in hands... 6 miles 1-2x per week. 55 yrs old 230 lbs. Complete Annihilation

[@insidiousmaximus]

Imagine the kind of person who needs an hour and half anx five people to discuss putting weigjts in your backpack. 😂 Fitness industry is absolutkey ridiculous

[@kathya1956]

They take a normal thing and give it a different name and monetize it.

[@nikitaw1982]

Modern people seem to need that. Crappy family life crappy public school, no one has any confidence to do anything other than what the crowd doing.

[@TheAngryyTroll]

Rucking specifically as exercise has ALWAYS been a military endeavour they’re bringing it more main stream

[@094340]

Yup, I'm sorry I didn't think of it first. 🙂

[@martinosvath5285]

GoRuck is silly. I own every possible combination of rucking equipment and I use them extensively. GoRuck is poor because there’s no frame to put weight on your hips, it just torques the spine. Get a weight vest for neutral weight loading Or a real military ruck with a frame that allows your hip to work. People are going to learn their lesson delaminating discs by such an odd way to carry load. I can sprint hills with my 30lb vest all day long, would dare do to with my 30lb GoRuck.

[@kathya1956]

Hiking

[@trevermccall6762]

👍

[@christopherpike9464]

What a bunch of geniuses. They should get a Nobel prize. They discovered walking with a load on your back. Amazing.

[@almasalazar8318]

Why so cynical? I'm 69. I'm so excited. I'm going to start with 10 lbs...😂

[@094340]

C'mon man, you know there is nuance to everything, even walking with a backpack. I thought it was a good discussion, but yeah, the bottom line is to just grab your pack and head out the door.

[@rubenrobles8813]

Started rucking again this month for memorial day events. I haven't rucked in over 10 years since i served in the army 🪖. I like running but love rucking. It seems like a better workout. GoRuck and Rogue are making great weight training gear.

[@bladeking2013]

Needs chris henshaw

[@gregfalconer5488]

Melissa: Those shoes look great on you, but.....they are counter to the topic ! Counter to healthy feet and anatomy....but, they do look good. The "hurdle" many people need to get over.

[@thefraseman]

this would be great if you could skip kelly - completely disagree with his approach

[@nikitaw1982]

Which bit? I'm not enjoying this talk as not enough physiology talking points. I want to know what does to Ur hips vs jogging.

[@jt.8144]

Lose Weight first. Before embarking on an activity. IT WILL BE LESS PAINFUL... and YOU MORE THAN LIKELY WON'T GIVE U.

[@michaelstone9701]

Easier said than done. I’ve lost 27 pounds since Christmas but have hit a plateau, despite following Weight Watchers, lifting weights and wearing a Continuous Glucose Monitor. I’m hoping rucking will help me break through this stagnation of results, as I probably need to lose another 25 to 35.

[@nikitaw1982]

If 20 pounds over weight then Ur whole life is rucking.

[@nikitaw1982]

Or start with a heap of calf raises. PS my gran would walk around the mall as seats every few hundred meters. Lots to look at.

[@almasalazar8318]

​@@michaelstone9701Do you watch MindPump? Sal DiEstefano is great. You sound discouraged. You've done great.

[@Ripper218]

Anyone ever try camping? Lol

[@rgh622]

Backpacking, FIFY

[@85PN]

you just KNOW that Viet Vet committed brutal atrocities wearing a Goruck :)

[@almasalazar8318]

Veterans don't need those kinds of comments😮