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

0:09 Welcome to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show all about rucking that is designed to help you develop a rucking routine, lose weight, and ultimately gain your strength and energy back. Whether you're an office worker with lower back pain, a fitness first timer, or a new parent trying to get back to your pre-kids weight, this is the show for you. I'm your host Spencer, and like a good friend of mine would say, I am jazzed for this one. Today's episode is different than the rest. It's sort of a roundup episode. where I reached out to rucking veterans and leaders in the rucking community and asked them for their top rucking tip. I had a lot of fun putting this together, and I'm excited to share it with you. The guests provided some really great advice for new ruckers and some good nuggets for more experienced ruckers.

0:51 Before we start, just a quick sidebar. I see you guys are really resonating with the guests I've been having on lately, and I am thrilled to hear that. We'll return to interview episodes next week with the killer out of North Carolina. I'm looking forward to you hearing about him. But for now, let's hear from the experts I reached out to. There are five total. The first one is Bill Anthes. Bill is a former college athlete, a Special Forces veteran, and he's the co -creator of the Ruck Race League. The Ruck Race League is a new sport for people who ruck that want to challenge themselves and are curious how they stack up against others. It consists of a virtual season of five monthly events. and then it culminates in a finals that will be in person. It's in its inaugural season, and it looks like it's going pretty well, and it's got some really big names at the top of the leaderboard. This year's season is wrapping up, but if you are interested in the Ruck Race League, I'll put a link in the show notes if you want to sign up for next year.

1:49 All right, let's hear what Bill had to say. My advice for someone new or experienced in rucking is to view it as a sport. viewing yourself as an athlete, as a ruck -based athlete. I'd be asking questions like, how does the rest of my non -rucking training support and even enhance my ability to ruck? I like looking at the components and the elements. So we're looking at strength, at speed, at stamina and endurance. And then, of course, there's the kind of mental, the psychological. your discomfort tolerance. If you were to train those individually and having the individual training pursuits and activities, you know, really contribute to when you go on short, medium, long, light, moderate, heavy, flat, steep rucks, I think people can really open a door into a whole new world of rucking where they view it as a sport, they train as an athlete. And they take what is a beautiful activity and exercise in walking with a backpack and, you know, really expand that experience. I like that take from Bill. I think it is geared more towards experienced ruckers. But, I mean, if you're into it, you can certainly turn it into a sport in which you can improve on. And, yeah, use your other workouts to improve your rucking performance. To see gains or improvement, it's a great idea to take it seriously and then compare how you stack up against

3:20 others. It could be a fun, new, competitive hobby for yourself. Well, that was Bill's. Okay, so next up we have Kayla Citadino. She's a personal trainer, a DECA performance coach, and a two -time DECA world champ. She coaches people in person and online for general strength training, ruck races, and endurance races. I'll put a link to her website in the show notes. Looks like there's an option to schedule a discovery call with her if that's something you'd be interested in. Let's hear what she has to say. Hey, you guys. My name is Kayla Citadino, and I am a personal trainer at Pursuit Performance and Training in Windsor, Colorado, an online coach for a hybrid racing team called Underdog Fitness, and the 2024 Spartan DECA World Champion for the DECA Strong Ruck. Now, if you are looking to get started in rucking and have no idea where to begin, my biggest tip for you is to not worry about how many miles you should go or how intense these efforts should be. Guys, rucking can be something as simple as throwing on a pack for your evening dog walk and the most important thing that you can do is just get started. Now, if you don't have the official rucking kit, seriously, no worries. Don't let that be the reason that it holds you back. Go grab a backpack. throw some weight on it, and that'll do just fine. Now, if you are in the market for something a little bit more comfortable, that will actually hold you accountable to doing more rucking efforts.

4:43 I personally recommend the Wild Gym Ruck. Their original ruck pack is absolutely wonderful, super comfortable, and it is the best one that I personally tried thus far. I mean, that's perfect advice. I couldn't agree any more. Just get started. Don't overthink it. Just get going. Start with what you have already and fit it into your existing walks or your existing routines. But if you want to graduate, yeah, get something a little bit more comfortable. And she recommends the Wild Gem Rucksack. And that goes along with one of the ways you can help establish a routine, any routine, is just to eliminate all obstacles and make it easy for you to do. And if you have something comfortable that you're looking forward to using, then yeah, you're going to want to do it. It's going to motivate you to get out the door more frequently. Thanks for that tip, Kayla. I really appreciate that. Our next guest is Matty Hollingdale.

5:44 He's joining us from the UK. He's the co -owner and coach at HG Fit. I'll put a link in the show notes to his Instagram and HG Fit's website in case you're looking for a gym in the Bedfordshire area in the UK. Matty is also one of the winners of the Foot Foot Award for the Ruck Race League's Stairway to Heaven event. More on that in a little bit. First, let's hear Matty's tip. His tip is very similar to Kayla's. Let's give it a listen. Coach Matty H here, co -owner of HG Fit in the UK. And my advice for anyone looking to get started with rucking is to quite simply just... Get started.

6:26 You don't need anything fancy at the beginning. A sturdy rucksack, something to put inside it that makes it feel slightly heavier. It could be some books. It could be a Ziploc bag full of sand. But then you are literally good to go and can incorporate rucking into your everyday activities. For example, strap your ruck on when you're taking the dog for a walk. incorporate it into the school run. Maybe invite a work colleague out for a 20 -minute walk during your lunch break. Rucking doesn't need to be something else that you're having to make time for, but it can be something that enhances your everyday life. All you've got to do is put one foot in front of the other. Thanks for that, Maddie. Yeah, sounds very similar to Kayla's tip. Just get started.

7:23 And, you know, I'm kind of glad that we have two people hitting on this one item or this one subject because it's just so important to just get started and then figure it out from there. Don't overthink it. Just throw your heaviest book or books in the pack and hit the pavement. Throw it on when it's convenient for you. Walking the dog, walking the kids to school, grocery shopping, you name it. I like both these tips because they're arguably the most important one. Just get started. And I'll add to it, get started and start off slow and light. And also some excellent advice there at the end about just putting one foot in front of the other. Like I mentioned before, Maddie won the Foot Foot Award for the Ruck Race League Stairway to Heaven event. The Foot Foot Award is given to one male and one female participant for each Ruck Race League event that demonstrated the foot foot mindset of putting one foot in front of the other through difficulty, adversity, and challenge. Here's what he had to say about that. And a quote. When the going gets tough, I put one foot in front of the other because moving forward physically helps me move forward emotionally. The ruck itself represents my struggles with anxiety and grief.

8:32 Completing the event gives me a sense I can prevail, providing opportunities for reflection, peace, and gratitude. Truly inspirational stuff, Maddie. Thanks again for sharing your experience and motivating us to start and keep going. Next up. We have Megan Cohen. Megan is the founder of Ruck Loops. Ruck Loops solve the problem of swollen hands during long rucks. If you haven't experienced it, you certainly will. The loops hang from your shoulder strap and they're handles to grab onto while you ruck. The purpose is to keep your hands above your heart so that fluid doesn't pool in your dangling extremities and they don't swell up. If you've ever found yourself raising your hands up like you're on a roller coaster during your rucks, you might want to look into picking up a pair of these things. If you're interested in picking up a pair, check out the link in the show notes. Alright, here's what Megan had to pass along to new and experienced ruckers. Hey guys, this is Megan with Ruck Loops. The biggest advice that I have for everyone out there new to rucking or been rucking for a while. is that your body is incredible. It will carry you so much further than what you think. Now, sure, there's a balance in between listening to your body and honoring whenever you need to stop, absolutely. You don't need to punish and push yourself, grueling, unless that's just what you're into. But your body will carry you so much further than what you think. Sometimes the biggest hurdle

10:03 that we have to overcome is mental. Our mind will tell us this is a crazy goal. Either, you know, getting 12 miles under three hours or maybe you just want to hit your first 10 to 15 miler ruck. You can do it. Sometimes you have to shut out the noise of your mind and just go for it. Happy rucking, guys. Excellent words of encouragement there, Megan. Self -belief is so important. New workouts can feel intimidating, the gear, the miles, the weight, the limits others are reaching, but you have to start somewhere and trust your body that it's capable of starting the new workout and progressing to the point where you will start achieving goals. It's also important to balance effort with listening to your body. Don't push yourself to the point of punishment, but also don't underestimate what you can do. There's a happy medium where you sustain and endure the workout while achieving the results that you strive for. And that brings us to our last guest.

11:08 You might recognize his voice. It's Chris Hayes from Ruckwell. He's revisiting us on the podcast. As a reminder, he's the founder and developer of Ruckwell, an app that has been helping thousands of ruckers track their rucking and wellness journeys. I'll put a link in the show notes if you're interested in trying it out yourself. In his message, he passes on some of his knowledge on proper rucking form. Take a listen. Hi, it's Chris from Walkwell, and here's a rucking tip that most beginners will never hear. Forget about increasing distance and weight and focus on your stride. When you strap on your ruck, your natural walking gait changes, and you need to shorten your stride to adjust for it. Instead of reaching out with your foot like you normally would, Plant it directly underneath your center of gravity. It may feel awkward at first, but you'll have better balance, less impact on your joints, and way more control with that extra weight. Find a rhythm that feels sustainable, not rushed. Think controlled and consistent rather than fast and far. Master this technique early and you'll prevent injuries while building the foundation for longer and heavier rucks down the road. Very technical tip there.

12:13 Thanks, Chris. This definitely came from someone that's been around the block a few times and sharing their expertise here. Well, that was it. Those are our five tips for this episode. Again, my sincere thanks to all the guests that provided insights to this podcast. Really appreciate it. I hope you walk away from this episode with some new insight that you can apply to your own personal rucking journey. You can connect with all the guests at the links I've provided in the show notes and check out some of the resources that they've provided to me as well. If you want to reach out to me, head on over to theruckersedge .com or on Instagram at theruckersedgepod. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to follow or subscribe to The Rucker's Edge so you are notified of new episodes. And you're not going to want to miss the next one. As I mentioned earlier, we have a real one coming up next week.

13:05 We're speaking with Giovanni Svetti. He's one of the finalists in the Ruck Race League this year. Okay, that's it for today. Thanks again for listening to this episode of The Rucker's Edge.