Rucking: The Most Underrated Workout You’re Not Doing

Rucking: The Most Underrated Workout You’re Not Doing

Rising Sun Community Fitness | East Nashville

You probably didn’t wake up this morning thinking, “I should put a heavy backpack on and go for a walk.” But hear us out — because rucking might be the single most effective low-tech, high-return fitness activity that almost nobody in the mainstream fitness world talks about seriously.

It’s ancient, it’s simple, and the science behind it is legitimately impressive. At Rising Sun Community Fitness, we’re always looking for ways to expand your training toolkit beyond the gym walls. Rucking earns a permanent spot in that toolkit.

What Is Rucking?

Rucking is simply walking with a weighted backpack (called a “ruck”). The term comes from military culture — soldiers “ruck march” carrying heavy loads over long distances as a core component of physical training. Special Operations units in particular have long known that loaded carries build a unique kind of fitness that nothing else replicates.

For civilian athletes, rucking has been popularized largely by GORUCK, a company founded by Special Forces veterans, but the concept is as old as human beings carrying things.

Why Rucking Works So Well

It Bridges Aerobic and Strength Training

Traditional cardio — running, cycling — is primarily aerobic. Strength training is primarily anaerobic. Rucking sits in a rare middle ground: it trains your cardiovascular system while simultaneously loading your posterior chain, core, and traps. It’s strength-endurance in its most natural form.

Brutal on Calories, Easy on Joints

A 180-pound person carrying a 30-pound ruck burns roughly 40–50% more calories per mile than walking without weight — without the joint impact of running. For athletes managing knee or hip issues who still want to move hard, rucking is often a game-changer.

Builds Real-World Functional Capacity

Functional fitness is about preparing for life’s demands, not just gym performance. Carrying groceries, luggage, kids, moving furniture — all of these require exactly the kind of loaded, upright endurance that rucking develops. This is as functional as it gets.

Mental Toughness

There’s something undeniably useful about putting uncomfortable weight on your back and walking anyway. Rucking teaches you to stay moving when things feel heavy — metaphorically and literally. Many athletes report that regular rucking has a noticeable spillover effect on their mental resilience in workouts.

How to Start

You don’t need fancy equipment. A standard backpack loaded with textbooks, water bottles, or a weight plate wrapped in a towel works fine to start. Aim for 10–20% of your body weight initially. A 30-minute ruck at a brisk pace (around 15–20 minutes per mile with load) is a solid starting point.

Progress by adding weight or distance — not both at the same time. And wear supportive shoes. This isn’t the place for minimalist footwear.

One important note: keep your posture upright. Rucking with a hunched forward lean turns a great workout into a recipe for neck and shoulder dysfunction. Chest up, shoulders back, eyes forward.

How to Incorporate Rucking Into Your Training at Rising Sun

Rucking works best as a supplement to — not a replacement for — your regular functional fitness training. A 45–60 minute ruck on a recovery day keeps you moving and building aerobic base without digging deeper into your CNS recovery budget. It’s also a fantastic weekend activity that doubles as time outdoors.

Some of our members have started informal Saturday morning ruck groups around East Nashville — the Five Points loop and Shelby Bottoms greenway are favorites. If that sounds like your kind of thing, ask at the gym. Community is kind of our whole thing.

The Bottom Line

Rucking requires almost no equipment, scales to any fitness level, and delivers cardiovascular, muscular, and mental benefits simultaneously. It’s also refreshingly analog in a world of screens and complexity.

Give it four weeks. Two or three sessions per week, 30–45 minutes each. We’d be genuinely surprised if you don’t feel a difference — both in the gym and in the world outside of it.

Have questions about programming rucking alongside your Rising Sun training? Our coaches are here for it. Come find us.