5 Expert Rucking Tips: How to Start Strong and Level Up Your Training and Mindset

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Welcome to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show

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all about rucking that is designed to help you

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develop a rucking routine, lose weight, and ultimately

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gain your strength and energy back. Whether you're

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an office worker with lower back pain, a fitness

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first timer, or a new parent trying to get back

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to your pre-kids weight, this is the show for

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you. I'm your host Spencer, and like a good friend

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of mine would say, I am jazzed for this one.

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Today's episode is different than the rest. It's

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sort of a roundup episode. where I reached out

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to rucking veterans and leaders in the rucking

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community and asked them for their top rucking

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tip. I had a lot of fun putting this together,

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and I'm excited to share it with you. The guests

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provided some really great advice for new ruckers

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and some good nuggets for more experienced ruckers.

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Before we start, just a quick sidebar. I see

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you guys are really resonating with the guests

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I've been having on lately, and I am thrilled

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to hear that. We'll return to interview episodes

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next week with the killer out of North Carolina.

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I'm looking forward to you hearing about him.

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But for now, let's hear from the experts I reached

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out to. There are five total. The first one is

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Bill Anthes. Bill is a former college athlete,

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a Special Forces veteran, and he's the co -creator

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of the Ruck Race League. The Ruck Race League

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is a new sport for people who ruck that want

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to challenge themselves and are curious how they

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stack up against others. It consists of a virtual

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season of five monthly events. and then it culminates

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in a finals that will be in person. It's in its

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inaugural season, and it looks like it's going

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pretty well, and it's got some really big names

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at the top of the leaderboard. This year's season

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is wrapping up, but if you are interested in

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the Ruck Race League, I'll put a link in the

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show notes if you want to sign up for next year.

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All right, let's hear what Bill had to say. My

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advice for someone new or experienced in rucking

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is to view it as a sport. viewing yourself as

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an athlete, as a ruck -based athlete. I'd be

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asking questions like, how does the rest of my

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non -rucking training support and even enhance

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my ability to ruck? I like looking at the components

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and the elements. So we're looking at strength,

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at speed, at stamina and endurance. And then,

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of course, there's the kind of mental, the psychological.

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your discomfort tolerance. If you were to train

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those individually and having the individual

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training pursuits and activities, you know, really

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contribute to when you go on short, medium, long,

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light, moderate, heavy, flat, steep rucks, I

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think people can really open a door into a whole

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new world of rucking where they view it as a

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sport, they train as an athlete. And they take

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what is a beautiful activity and exercise in

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walking with a backpack and, you know, really

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expand that experience. I like that take from

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Bill. I think it is geared more towards experienced

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ruckers. But, I mean, if you're into it, you

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can certainly turn it into a sport in which you

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can improve on. And, yeah, use your other workouts

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to improve your rucking performance. To see gains

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or improvement, it's a great idea to take it

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seriously and then compare how you stack up against

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others. It could be a fun, new, competitive hobby

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for yourself. Well, that was Bill's. Okay, so

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next up we have Kayla Citadino. She's a personal

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trainer, a DECA performance coach, and a two

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-time DECA world champ. She coaches people in

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person and online for general strength training,

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ruck races, and endurance races. I'll put a link

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to her website in the show notes. Looks like

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there's an option to schedule a discovery call

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with her if that's something you'd be interested

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in. Let's hear what she has to say. Hey, you

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guys. My name is Kayla Citadino, and I am a personal

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trainer at Pursuit Performance and Training in

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Windsor, Colorado, an online coach for a hybrid

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racing team called Underdog Fitness, and the

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2024 Spartan DECA World Champion for the DECA

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Strong Ruck. Now, if you are looking to get started

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in rucking and have no idea where to begin, my

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biggest tip for you is to not worry about how

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many miles you should go or how intense these

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efforts should be. Guys, rucking can be something

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as simple as throwing on a pack for your evening

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dog walk and the most important thing that you

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can do is just get started. Now, if you don't

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have the official rucking kit, seriously, no

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worries. Don't let that be the reason that it

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holds you back. Go grab a backpack. throw some

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weight on it, and that'll do just fine. Now,

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if you are in the market for something a little

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bit more comfortable, that will actually hold

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you accountable to doing more rucking efforts.

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I personally recommend the Wild Gym Ruck. Their

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original ruck pack is absolutely wonderful, super

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comfortable, and it is the best one that I personally

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tried thus far. I mean, that's perfect advice.

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I couldn't agree any more. Just get started.

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Don't overthink it. Just get going. Start with

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what you have already and fit it into your existing

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walks or your existing routines. But if you want

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to graduate, yeah, get something a little bit

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more comfortable. And she recommends the Wild

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Gem Rucksack. And that goes along with one of

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the ways you can help establish a routine, any

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routine, is just to eliminate all obstacles and

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make it easy for you to do. And if you have something

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comfortable that you're looking forward to using,

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then yeah, you're going to want to do it. It's

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going to motivate you to get out the door more

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frequently. Thanks for that tip, Kayla. I really

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appreciate that. Our next guest is Matty Hollingdale.

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He's joining us from the UK. He's the co -owner

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and coach at HG Fit. I'll put a link in the show

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notes to his Instagram and HG Fit's website in

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case you're looking for a gym in the Bedfordshire

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area in the UK. Matty is also one of the winners

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of the Foot Foot Award for the Ruck Race League's

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Stairway to Heaven event. More on that in a little

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bit. First, let's hear Matty's tip. His tip is

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very similar to Kayla's. Let's give it a listen.

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Coach Matty H here, co -owner of HG Fit in the

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UK. And my advice for anyone looking to get started

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with rucking is to quite simply just... Get started.

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You don't need anything fancy at the beginning.

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A sturdy rucksack, something to put inside it

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that makes it feel slightly heavier. It could

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be some books. It could be a Ziploc bag full

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of sand. But then you are literally good to go

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and can incorporate rucking into your everyday

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activities. For example, strap your ruck on when

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you're taking the dog for a walk. incorporate

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it into the school run. Maybe invite a work colleague

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out for a 20 -minute walk during your lunch break.

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Rucking doesn't need to be something else that

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you're having to make time for, but it can be

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something that enhances your everyday life. All

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you've got to do is put one foot in front of

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the other. Thanks for that, Maddie. Yeah, sounds

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very similar to Kayla's tip. Just get started.

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And, you know, I'm kind of glad that we have

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two people hitting on this one item or this one

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subject because it's just so important to just

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get started and then figure it out from there.

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Don't overthink it. Just throw your heaviest

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book or books in the pack and hit the pavement.

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Throw it on when it's convenient for you. Walking

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the dog, walking the kids to school, grocery

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shopping, you name it. I like both these tips

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because they're arguably the most important one.

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Just get started. And I'll add to it, get started

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and start off slow and light. And also some excellent

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advice there at the end about just putting one

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foot in front of the other. Like I mentioned

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before, Maddie won the Foot Foot Award for the

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Ruck Race League Stairway to Heaven event. The

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Foot Foot Award is given to one male and one

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female participant for each Ruck Race League

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event that demonstrated the foot foot mindset

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of putting one foot in front of the other through

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difficulty, adversity, and challenge. Here's

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what he had to say about that. And a quote. When

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the going gets tough, I put one foot in front

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of the other because moving forward physically

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helps me move forward emotionally. The ruck itself

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represents my struggles with anxiety and grief.

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Completing the event gives me a sense I can prevail,

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providing opportunities for reflection, peace,

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and gratitude. Truly inspirational stuff, Maddie.

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Thanks again for sharing your experience and

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motivating us to start and keep going. Next up.

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We have Megan Cohen. Megan is the founder of

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Ruck Loops. Ruck Loops solve the problem of swollen

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hands during long rucks. If you haven't experienced

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it, you certainly will. The loops hang from your

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shoulder strap and they're handles to grab onto

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while you ruck. The purpose is to keep your hands

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above your heart so that fluid doesn't pool in

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your dangling extremities and they don't swell

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up. If you've ever found yourself raising your

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hands up like you're on a roller coaster during

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your rucks, you might want to look into picking

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up a pair of these things. If you're interested

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in picking up a pair, check out the link in the

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show notes. Alright, here's what Megan had to

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pass along to new and experienced ruckers. Hey

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guys, this is Megan with Ruck Loops. The biggest

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advice that I have for everyone out there new

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to rucking or been rucking for a while. is that

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your body is incredible. It will carry you so

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much further than what you think. Now, sure,

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there's a balance in between listening to your

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body and honoring whenever you need to stop,

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absolutely. You don't need to punish and push

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yourself, grueling, unless that's just what you're

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into. But your body will carry you so much further

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than what you think. Sometimes the biggest hurdle

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that we have to overcome is mental. Our mind

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will tell us this is a crazy goal. Either, you

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know, getting 12 miles under three hours or maybe

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you just want to hit your first 10 to 15 miler

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ruck. You can do it. Sometimes you have to shut

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out the noise of your mind and just go for it.

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Happy rucking, guys. Excellent words of encouragement

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there, Megan. Self -belief is so important. New

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workouts can feel intimidating, the gear, the

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miles, the weight, the limits others are reaching,

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but you have to start somewhere and trust your

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body that it's capable of starting the new workout

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and progressing to the point where you will start

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achieving goals. It's also important to balance

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effort with listening to your body. Don't push

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yourself to the point of punishment, but also

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don't underestimate what you can do. There's

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a happy medium where you sustain and endure the

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workout while achieving the results that you

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strive for. And that brings us to our last guest.

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You might recognize his voice. It's Chris Hayes

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from Ruckwell. He's revisiting us on the podcast.

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As a reminder, he's the founder and developer

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of Ruckwell, an app that has been helping thousands

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of ruckers track their rucking and wellness journeys.

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I'll put a link in the show notes if you're interested

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in trying it out yourself. In his message, he

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passes on some of his knowledge on proper rucking

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form. Take a listen. Hi, it's Chris from Walkwell,

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and here's a rucking tip that most beginners

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will never hear. Forget about increasing distance

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and weight and focus on your stride. When you

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strap on your ruck, your natural walking gait

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changes, and you need to shorten your stride

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to adjust for it. Instead of reaching out with

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your foot like you normally would, Plant it directly

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underneath your center of gravity. It may feel

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awkward at first, but you'll have better balance,

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less impact on your joints, and way more control

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with that extra weight. Find a rhythm that feels

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sustainable, not rushed. Think controlled and

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consistent rather than fast and far. Master this

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technique early and you'll prevent injuries while

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building the foundation for longer and heavier

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rucks down the road. Very technical tip there.

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Thanks, Chris. This definitely came from someone

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that's been around the block a few times and

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sharing their expertise here. Well, that was

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it. Those are our five tips for this episode.

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Again, my sincere thanks to all the guests that

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provided insights to this podcast. Really appreciate

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it. I hope you walk away from this episode with

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some new insight that you can apply to your own

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personal rucking journey. You can connect with

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all the guests at the links I've provided in

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the show notes and check out some of the resources

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that they've provided to me as well. If you want

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to reach out to me, head on over to theruckersedge

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.com or on Instagram at theruckersedgepod. If

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you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to follow

00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:58.259
or subscribe to The Rucker's Edge so you are

00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:00.919
notified of new episodes. And you're not going

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to want to miss the next one. As I mentioned

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earlier, we have a real one coming up next week.

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We're speaking with Giovanni Svetti. He's one

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of the finalists in the Ruck Race League this

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year. Okay, that's it for today. Thanks again

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for listening to this episode of The Rucker's

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Edge.