A friend recently asked me to help him with some exercise programming. He wanted to know how to exercise to perform at his best and not break Rule 2 (don’t die) while doing epic things outdoors. This requires a different approach than training to look good, get strong, or run far for the sake of it. We have to balance all sorts of critical skills like strength, endurance, mindset, and durability. His program included rucking—but not just the type you might imagine.
My views on rucking are evolving for the better. In my book,
The Comfort Crisis, I largely explain rucking as the act of carrying weight in a backpack, or ruck.
Rucking is that. But I also see “rucking” as a sort of catch-all term that encompasses carrying something that weighs something from point A to B to improve your health and fitness or reach a goal. For example, carrying gear to the summit of a mountain or a mission point.
The weight could be in a backpack. But it could be held at your side, slung over your shoulder, bear-hugged, etc. It’s all rucking.
The human body is built to ruck, to carry weight over distance. That’s our killer app. We’re the only animals that can carry stuff far. As we evolved, we’d use this skill to hunt and gather, move resources, and bring tools into the unknown. For example, one archaeological site discovered that ancient humans carried 20-50 pound boulders and stones anywhere from 10 to 62 miles. Early humans had “a willingness to carry stone for hours,” wrote the researchers.
And this was consequential. It allowed us to expand as a species, construct structures and tools, fuel our expensive brains, and, eventually, take over the world.
Our ancestors no doubt invented crude, backpack-like systems to carry weight more efficiently (
The Dawn of Everything is a fantastic if dense book that convinced me historians have misjudged just how brilliant and creative prehistoric humans were). But as far as I know, archaeologists haven’t unearthed, like, ancient Jansport Backpacks.
More often, we’d carry food, resources, and tools in all sorts of different positions.
Each carrying position offers unique benefits. They all work our body slightly differently. Traditional rucking with a backpack should be the foundation of rucking. But if we want to reap all the benefits rucking can deliver, we should mix it up sometimes. Carrying weight in different ways is the original total-body workout.
6 New Ways to Ruck
Carrying weight at one side
Gym example: Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, a sandbag over your shoulder, a weight in one hand in the “racked” position (up close to your chest with your elbow bent).
Life example: Carrying a duffel bag or grocery basket in one hand at your side, a kid in one arm, having a backpack or duffel bag slung across one shoulder.
Benefit: The side opposite the weight has to work harder to stabilize your body as you walk.
Research shows that this is killer for strengthening your core, helping you transfer energy to your legs (great for runners and ruckers!), and preventing and relieving back pain.
Carrying weight at both sides
Workout example: Farmer walk, Rack walk
Life example: Carrying a duffel bag in one hand and briefcase in another, grocery bags in both hands, etc
Benefit: Allows you to use heavy weights and work all of your muscles at once. Perhaps the best exercise for building real-world strength. Especially grip strength—which is one of the best predictors of longevity. A recent
review found that people with the strongest grips were 31 percent less likely to die over the study periods.
Carrying weight overhead
Workout example: Overhead walk, waiter walk
Life example: Moving something on a high shelf, Waiting tables, etc.
Benefit: Forces you to stabilize your core and shoulders. This carry is uniquely good for building strong and durable shoulders (shoulders are one of the joints people injure most).
Carrying weight in front of you
Workout example: Bear hug walk, Zercher walk, etc
Life example: Carrying a heavy bag of dog food or mulch, carrying a box, carrying your kid in a sling or pack at your front, etc
Benefit: Works your biceps and/or all the muscles behind you—the ones you can’t see. Your back, butt, hamstrings, etc. These muscles are often neglected, but they’re arguably most important for sports and outdoor activities.
Carrying weight between your legs
Workout example: Kettlebell or sandbag duck walk, (I’d even count sled pushes or pulls here)
Life Example: Basically moving anything really heavy, like a super heavy box or bag of mulch, dragging or pushing anything.
Benefit: Works your entire lower body and core. It teaches you to “brace” your upper body and use each leg to drive forward or backward. The aforementioned review discovered that people with stronger legs were 14 percent less likely to die during the study periods.
Carrying weight at your back
Workout example: Rucking for fitness, slinging a sandbag across your shoulders
Life example: Walking with a backpack, giving your child a piggyback, or carrying them in a kid carrier.
Benefit: All the benefits of regular rucking, which we've covered at length.
Here’s a quick video I made that shows all of these.
The aforementioned review on gym carries like the suitcase carry and farmer’s walk found that anywhere from 3 to 5 sets between 25 to 200 yards each was a sweet spot.
One of my favorite workouts is to pick a distance—say, one or two miles—and grab a weight (usually a sandbag) and get it from point A to B. Along the way, I’ll move the weight into a lot of different positions. For example, I might start with it on my right shoulder. When that gets tired, I’ll move it to my left shoulder. Then bear hug it. Then carry it like a suitcase on my right side. Then left side. Then toss it across my back. You get the point.
But the gym stuff is easy to dream up. How can we flow more different types of carrying into our everyday life? That’s the critical question. Being a 2-Percenter is all about taking opportunities to make everyday life a bit more challenging. The benefits pile up to something powerful.
- Ditch the cart. If you’re only getting a handful of groceries, use a basket. If you’re picking up dog food or mulch, sling it over your shoulder or bear hug it.
- Ditch the wheel bag. I travel with a ruck and/or a duffel bag. Any trip requires a lot of carrying. Truth told it is **so much** easier to navigate an airport and new city without a wheel bag.
- Ditch the stroller. Carry your child (in your arm(s), in a pack). Research shows that this improves bonds between the parent and child.
- Deliver manually. If you ever have to bring something to someone, resist the urge to drive. For example, let’s say your neighbor needs to borrow a weed whacker. Walk it over.
Finally, here are a few quick tips to carry well:
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Keep your back straight. Pretend you’re doing a “plank” as you walk.
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Keep your ribs flat and chin tucked or level. Some people “flare” their ribs out or crane their neck upward. Avoid that. Your back and neck will be better for it, and you’ll breathe easier.
