6 Rucking Workouts That Significantly Improve Your Conditioning (Training with a Ruck Series Part 1 of 3)

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If you think conditioning means lacing up your

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running shoes or suffering through a HIIT class,

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I want to challenge that idea today. Because

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your rut can build serious work capacity. spike

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your heart rate, and push your conditioning in

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ways most people have never tried. And you don't

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have to run a single mile to get there. A lot

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of people who ruck are walking the same route,

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same pace, with the same weight every single

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week. And that's fine. Walking with a loaded

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pack is genuinely good for you, as we all know.

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But if your goal includes building real conditioning,

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improving your cardiovascular capacity, or just

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getting more out of the time you're already putting

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in, there's a lot more you can be doing with

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a ruck on your back. Today, I'm going to walk

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you through six conditioning methods you can

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do with your ruck. By the end of this episode,

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you'll know exactly how to use each one, when

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to use them, and how to build them into what

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you're already doing. This is also episode one

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of a three -part series I'm doing on different

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ways to use your ruck beyond just the standard

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long ruck. Next week, we're covering strength

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training with a ruck. And the week after that,

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we're going into endurance and adventure style

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rucking. So if you've been in a rucking rut,

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stick around. This series is for you. This is

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the Rutgers Edge podcast, a show all about rucking

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that is designed to help you improve your rucking

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routine, lose weight, and ultimately gain your

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strength and energy back. Each episode dives

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into the science, stories, and strategies behind

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rucking. You'll learn from top ruckers, coaches,

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health experts, and performance specialists who

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break down what it takes to train smarter, recover

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faster, and stay ready for the next challenge.

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So whether you're new to rucking or an experienced

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rucker that's already logged hundreds of miles,

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this is the show for you. I'm your host, Spencer.

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Thanks for tuning in. All right, let's get into

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it. So here's where this series came from. When

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I first started rucking, I was in terrible shape.

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Many years of neglecting my fitness left the

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muscles in my legs, core, and back very weak.

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But after a few months of rucking, I started

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seeing some development. So I started progressing.

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I started adding more weight. I started feeling

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like I was building a strong foundation. While

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the long rucks I was doing was building some

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leg, core, and back muscles, I realized my conditioning

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was progressing much slower. To improve my conditioning,

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I considered starting to run, but decided with

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all my ankle issues, it's probably not the best

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idea just yet. To improve my upper body and core

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strength, I considered joining a gym, but looking

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at the prices, I remembered why I started rucking

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in the first place. Rucking is inexpensive and

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easily accessible. That's when it hit me. Mix

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it up. Use the ruck to improve my conditioning

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and upper body strength. Stop only going on long

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rucks and start doing conditioning workouts.

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Don't join a gym. Use the ruck and sandbag to

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develop upper body strength. Remembering that

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internal thought process is basically what sparked

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this series because the most common way people

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ruck is sort of what I did. To pick a distance,

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load up the ruck, and go for a walk. Maybe they'll

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try to beat their time from last week. Maybe

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they'll add a little weight every few weeks.

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And again, that approach totally works. It produces

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real results, but it's one dimension of what

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a ruck can do for you. And most people don't

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really explore beyond that. So this three -part

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series is about expanding your rucking toolkit.

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Today, in part one of the series, we're talking

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about conditioning. Before I get into the specific

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methods though of conditioning, I want to spend

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a few minutes on intensity because this is where

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people make mistakes in both directions. Some

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people ruck and never push. They keep it comfortable

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the whole time, which is fine for recovery days

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and long endurance rucks, but it's not really

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conditioning work. Conditioning requires you

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to get uncomfortable. Your heart rate needs to

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climb. You need to be working hard. On the other

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end, some people go too hard, too fast with too

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much weight, and they end up sore, beat, or nursing

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an overuse injury after a few weeks. The goal

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with conditioning is what coaches sometimes call

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capacity. And work capacity is essentially your

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body's ability to do more work over time, sustain

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a higher level of effort, and recover between

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efforts much faster. Building it takes consistency

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and progression. It doesn't happen in just one

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brutal session. So when I talk about intensity

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today, I want you to think in terms of a simple

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1 to 10 scale. 1 is a stroll. 10 is an all -out

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sprint where you're barely holding it together.

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For conditioning work with a ruck, most of your

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effort is going to live between 6 and an 8. High

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enough that you're working, not so high that

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you're redlining every session. The other thing

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I want you to keep in mind is weight selection.

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When you're using your ruck for conditioning,

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the weight isn't always the main variable. Sometimes

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the intensity comes from the pace, the incline,

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or the structure of the workout. Loading your

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pack too heavy can limit your ability to move

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fast enough to actually get the conditioning

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benefit. So for most of the methods I'm going

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to cover today, I'd recommend starting with a

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lighter load than you might be used to for those

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long endurance rucks. 20 to 30 pounds is a very

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reasonable starting point for most people. You

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can always add from there. And lastly, before

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jumping in, it's always worth pointing out that

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I am not a doctor. I'm just a guy who talks about

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rucking and has spent a lot of time learning

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about how to train smarter with a pack on his

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back. But I don't know your health history, your

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injury history, your current fitness level, or

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what your body is dealing with right now. Some

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of these conditioning methods are genuinely demanding.

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And if you have any... underlying health conditions,

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cardiovascular concerns, joint issues, or anything

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else that might be relevant, please talk to your

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doctor before you start adding structured conditioning

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workouts to your routine. I mean, the last thing

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that I want for you is to push too hard and too

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fast and you end up getting hurt. All right,

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now let's get into the six conditioning methods

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you can do with a Ruck. The first one is intervals,

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and this is probably the most familiar concept

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for anyone who's done any kind of structured

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cardio training before, and it's certainly my

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favorite of the bunch. I credit my cross -country

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coach going out for this one. During cross -country

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practices, we do these interval training workouts

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in the forest. We just had to stay close enough

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to hear his whistle. He let us pick any route

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or trail that we wanted for these interval trainings.

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And that was always a treat because for all the

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other practices, we always ran the same three

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mile loop over and over again, which got kind

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of boring. So picking our own route was a treat.

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And I realize now why he did that, because the

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interval training was intense. So he was trying

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to make it just a little bit better in any way

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that he could. But he let us choose any route

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we wanted. Just jog for the first minute or so.

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Then he would blow his whistle indicating that

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it was time to sprint. We'd sprint for a few

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seconds and then we'd go back down to jogging

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until he blew his whistle again and so on and

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so on. So the idea of intervals is pretty simple.

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You alternate between periods of higher effort

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and lower effort. You go hard, then you back

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off and recover a little bit. Your heart rate

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jumps back down and then you go hard again. With

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a ruck on your back, intervals look a little

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different than they do on a track. So, I mean,

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you're not sprinting. You're working with a certain

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pace and a distance. A typical work interval

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session might look something like this. You walk

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or shuffle at a fast pace for two to three minutes,

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meaning you're pushing it maybe a 15 to 16 minute

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per mile pace, depending on your fitness level

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and the load you're carrying. Then you slow down

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for 90 seconds to two minutes and let your heart

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rate come back down. And then you push again.

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You can structure this by time or distance. If

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you're on a track or a path with clear landmarks,

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distance works really well. You push hard for

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a quarter mile, recover for an eighth of a mile,

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and repeat. If you're out in the field or in

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a neighborhood with less clear distance markers,

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the timer on your watch works just fine. That's

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actually what I use. A lot of fitness trackers

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allow you to create your own workout. I programmed

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on my Garmin watch a program for me to push hard

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for a minute and back off for two to three minutes.

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The number of intervals depends on your fitness

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level. Beginners might start with four to six

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rounds. More experienced trackers can work their

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way up to 10 to 12. What you're looking for over

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time is that your push pace gets faster, your

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recovery time gets shorter, and your heart rate

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drops back down quicker between efforts. One

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thing I want to flag with intervals is the temptation

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to go too hard on the first few rounds. It's

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really easy to go out at a pace that you can't

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constrain and then completely die in the middle

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of the session. You know that feeling. You charge

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out of the gate. By round four, you're just shuffling

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along pretending like you're still trying. Save

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some for the back half. The best interval sessions

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are ones where you're pushing just as hard in

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round eight as you were in round two. Also, intervals

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don't have to mean running. I know I already

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said that, but I want to be specific here. Fast

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walking with a ruck is genuine work. If you're

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moving at a pace that's pushing your heart rate

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into the mid to upper zone, if you're loaded

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with 25 or 30 pounds, you're already doing conditioning

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work. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

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Next up, conditioning workout number two, hill

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repeats. And this is another fun one. During

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hill repeats, the incline does a lot of the work

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for you in terms of driving your heart rate up

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without requiring you to move at extreme pace.

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Hill repeats are exactly what they sound like.

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You find a hill, you ruck up it, and you walk

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back down. And then you do it over again and

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again. The structure is simple. The execution

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is brutal if you choose the right hill though.

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Here's what makes hill repeats effective for

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conditioning. When you add incline, Your cardiovascular

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demand goes up significantly, even at the same

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walking pace. Your glutes, your hamstrings, and

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calves, they're all working harder. Your core

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is working harder to keep you upright, and because

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you're coming back down at a slower pace, you

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protect your knees and ankles. And then during

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that time, you get built -in active recovery

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between those efforts. For the descent, go slower

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than you think you need to. Going downhill with

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a loaded ruck puts real stress on your knees,

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especially over multiple rounds. So control the

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descent, let your heart rate drop, and use it

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as a recovery window. In terms of volume, something

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like 6 to 10 repeats is a solid conditioning

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session, but track how you feel at the top of

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each climb. By the end, you should feel like

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you've earned it. Hill repeats are also one of

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the best tools for people who live in areas where

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flat terrain is the only option most of the time

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because a single good hill gives you an entire

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conditioning session. You don't need a lot of...

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geography for this you just need one decent incline

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and willingness to go up and down a few times

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okay workout number three stadiums this one is

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a little more situation specific but if you have

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access to a stadium or at least bleachers stadium

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rucking is one of the best conditioning workouts

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you can do the concept is the same as hill repeats

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but instead of natural terrain you're going up

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and down rows of stairs or bleacher steps the

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advantage is that stairs produce a higher step

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height than most hills so the demand on your

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legs and your cardiovascular system per step

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is higher. A stadium workout with a rut can be

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structured a few different ways. You can go straight

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up and straight down as you repeat. You can go

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across the row and down working your way around

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the stadium. You can set a time goal and just

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accumulate floors or you can combine stadiums

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with flat walking by doing a lap of the track

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between stadium climbs which makes it more circuit

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style situation. Now, accessibility is the obvious

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variable here. It's worth checking out what's

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available in your area if you have a stadium

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or if you just have bleachers in a park. Even

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a small set of bleachers with five or six rows

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can produce a solid conditioning workout if you're

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doing enough rounds. If stadiums aren't accessible

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to you, any set of stairs works. You can go to

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a parking garage, multi -story building you have

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access to, or outdoor stairs at the park. The

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principle is the same regardless of the specific

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condition. Before we discuss the last two workouts

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on my list, I want to take a quick break to ask

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you to share this episode with a fellow rucker

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that might have expressed interest in doing additional

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workouts with their ruck, other than the long

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ruck on the weekends. Sharing this episode not

00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.000
only helps the show grow, but it helps more people

00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.259
improve their fitness and their lives. Thanks.

00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.759
All right. Conditioning workout number four,

00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.700
EMOMS. All right. This next one is a little different

00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:17.600
from the previous three because it brings some

00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:20.159
structure that you might recognize from CrossFit

00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.769
or structured strength training. It translates

00:12:22.769 --> 00:12:26.629
really well to rucking based conditioning. EMOM

00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:29.009
stands for every minute on the minute. The concept

00:12:29.009 --> 00:12:30.990
is that at the start of every minute, you perform

00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:33.950
a set task. Whatever time is left after you complete

00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:36.570
that task is your rest. Then when the next minute

00:12:36.570 --> 00:12:39.590
starts, you go again. With a ruck, EMOMs can

00:12:39.590 --> 00:12:41.909
work a couple of different ways. The first way

00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:44.559
is movement based. Every minute you walk. or

00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:47.080
ruck a set distance as fast as possible. So let's

00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:50.759
say your goal is to ruck 100 meters within a

00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:53.179
minute. If it takes you 45 seconds to get 15

00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:55.240
seconds of rest before the next minute starts.

00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:59.220
As you get fitter, covering that distance takes

00:12:59.220 --> 00:13:02.919
less time and you end up with more rest. Or you

00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:05.960
can tighten the distance target to keep the rest

00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:09.509
period shorter. The second way is to combine

00:13:09.509 --> 00:13:11.629
rucking with non -rucking movements. This is

00:13:11.629 --> 00:13:13.549
where it starts to look a little bit more like

00:13:13.549 --> 00:13:15.429
a circuit, which I'll cover separately in the

00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.409
next section. But something like minute one,

00:13:18.549 --> 00:13:21.789
you're rucking at max speed. Minute two, you're

00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:24.269
doing ruck push -ups or squats alternating between

00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:27.549
the two for a set number of rounds. One thing

00:13:27.549 --> 00:13:29.629
I want to mention about EMOMs and really with

00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:32.129
all these methods that I'm discussing today is

00:13:32.129 --> 00:13:34.649
that the ruck weight needs to make sense for

00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:36.870
the task. If the goal is to cover ground quickly

00:13:36.870 --> 00:13:39.789
within a time window, a lighter load is going

00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:43.690
to allow you to actually move. Use a weight that

00:13:43.690 --> 00:13:46.169
lets you move well and still push the pace. You

00:13:46.169 --> 00:13:47.970
can always add weight once the movement pattern

00:13:47.970 --> 00:13:52.230
is solid. Okay, conditioning workout number five,

00:13:52.350 --> 00:13:55.379
circuits. Circuits are another format that transfer

00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.659
really well to ruck based conditioning and they're

00:13:57.659 --> 00:13:59.879
probably the most flexible in everything I'm

00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:01.879
covering today in terms of how you structure

00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:04.860
them. A ruck circuit is basically a sequence

00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:07.720
of exercises or tasks you complete back to back

00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.480
with minimal rest. The ruck stays on your back

00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.559
for most or all of them and the variety of movements

00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.039
keeps the stimulus fresh and keeps different

00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:18.659
muscle groups working through the session. A

00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:21.120
simple example of a ruck circuit might look like

00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:24.360
this. You start with a 400 meter ruck walk at

00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.519
a solid pace. Then you stop and do 15 ruck squats.

00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.299
And then you do 10 ruck pushups. Then you do

00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:33.500
a farmer's carry style walk where you're holding

00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:35.759
the ruck out in front of you or overhead for

00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.659
20 meters. And then you start the 400 meter walk

00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:41.970
again. You repeat that. four to six rounds. What

00:14:41.970 --> 00:14:43.809
makes circuits effective for conditioning is

00:14:43.809 --> 00:14:45.889
the density of the work. You're moving continuously

00:14:45.889 --> 00:14:48.509
with very little downtime. And because you're

00:14:48.509 --> 00:14:50.750
switching between different demands, different

00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:53.610
muscle groups, you stay fresher longer, even

00:14:53.610 --> 00:14:55.929
with your cardiovascular system stays elevated.

00:14:56.309 --> 00:14:58.629
Over the course of the circuit, you're accumulating

00:14:58.629 --> 00:15:01.029
a lot of work in a relatively short period of

00:15:01.029 --> 00:15:03.450
time. For people who don't like doing the same

00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:05.710
thing for a long time, circuits are probably

00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:09.049
the most engaging format on this list. There's

00:15:09.049 --> 00:15:12.429
enough variety that the mental load stays lower

00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:16.490
even as physical demands stays high. And the

00:15:16.490 --> 00:15:18.889
sixth one, the last one on our list today is

00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:21.389
pace work. Pace work is exactly what it sounds

00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:23.710
like. You pick a target pace and you hold it

00:15:23.710 --> 00:15:26.269
consistently for a set distance. There are no

00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:28.730
intervals, no rest breaks. You're just locked

00:15:28.730 --> 00:15:32.370
in a pace and you're sustaining it. The reason

00:15:32.370 --> 00:15:34.309
this matters for conditioning is that a lot of

00:15:34.309 --> 00:15:37.190
ruckers have a pace problem. There are other

00:15:37.190 --> 00:15:40.309
ruckers like me. I suffer from staying on pace

00:15:40.309 --> 00:15:44.110
significantly. We go out fast, we slow down in

00:15:44.110 --> 00:15:45.850
the middle, and maybe pick it back up at the

00:15:45.850 --> 00:15:48.950
end if we're feeling good. Or conversely, they

00:15:48.950 --> 00:15:51.909
walk at a comfortable conversational pace for

00:15:51.909 --> 00:15:54.610
the whole time without really pushing it or creating

00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:57.230
productive work. Neither of those approaches

00:15:57.230 --> 00:15:59.389
builds the kind of steady state cardiovascular

00:15:59.389 --> 00:16:02.250
capacity that translates to better performance

00:16:02.250 --> 00:16:04.350
over time, and I think that's what I was suffering

00:16:04.350 --> 00:16:06.789
when I first started rucking. when I wasn't really

00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.730
seeing a difference in my conditioning changing.

00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:14.330
Pace work trains you to sustain a specific effort

00:16:14.330 --> 00:16:17.070
level and it teaches your body to be efficient

00:16:17.070 --> 00:16:21.009
at that pace. So over time, a pace that used

00:16:21.009 --> 00:16:23.830
to feel hard starts to become manageable. A GPS

00:16:23.830 --> 00:16:25.789
watch or a phone app that tracks your pace in

00:16:25.789 --> 00:16:28.110
real time is really useful for this. You can

00:16:28.110 --> 00:16:30.570
see when you're drifting above or below your

00:16:30.570 --> 00:16:34.250
target and adjust. So over time, you start to

00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:37.019
develop a sense of what different paces feel

00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:38.779
like, and you won't need to look at your watch

00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:41.700
as often. And lastly, on pace work, it pairs

00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:44.360
really well with the intervals concept I covered

00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:46.019
earlier. You might spend the first couple of

00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:49.059
months doing interval style workout to build

00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:51.639
your ceiling, then introduce more pace work to

00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.259
extend how long you can hold your effort near

00:16:54.259 --> 00:16:56.720
that ceiling. Those two methods together cover

00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:02.179
a lot of the conditioning spectrum. Okay, so

00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.519
I've just thrown six conditioning methods at

00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.289
you. I want to zoom out for a second here before

00:17:07.289 --> 00:17:09.250
I wrap this up because I think there's a bigger

00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:12.170
idea worth talking about here. I think conditioning

00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:15.470
is often the missing piece for us ruckers who

00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:18.109
feel stuck. We're building our endurance by going

00:17:18.109 --> 00:17:20.490
long, which is great, but we're not building

00:17:20.490 --> 00:17:23.130
our work capacity. The conditioning methods I

00:17:23.130 --> 00:17:25.569
covered today are how we can develop that side

00:17:25.569 --> 00:17:27.950
of our fitness. And what I love about doing this

00:17:27.950 --> 00:17:30.970
with a ruck is that it's sustainable. We're not

00:17:30.970 --> 00:17:33.170
pounding our joints with high impact running.

00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:35.900
We're not doing exercises that require a gym

00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:39.759
full of equipment. We're using one piece of gear

00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.619
that we probably already own in whatever outdoor

00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:46.119
environment we have access to. And we're getting

00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:48.259
genuinely high quality conditioning sessions.

00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:51.160
The last thing I want to say about conditioning

00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:53.400
is that conditioning built through rucking transfers.

00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:56.319
If you ever do want to run a stronger cardiovascular

00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.640
base from ruck conditioning will make it easier.

00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:02.799
If you're preparing for a go -ruck event or any

00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:04.759
kind of physical challenge, this kind of conditioning

00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:07.660
work is directly relevant. And if your goals

00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:10.000
are just to feel better, have more energy, and

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.460
capable of more in your daily life, work capacity

00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.440
built through structured rucking is exactly the

00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:17.420
kind of fitness that shows up in real life. I'm

00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:21.119
talking all the grocery bags from the car to

00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:24.279
the house in one go. All the luggage up the stairs

00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.460
at the Airbnb on summer vacation in one go. All

00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:30.829
right, let me... quickly recap the six conditioning

00:18:30.829 --> 00:18:33.950
methods we discussed today. The first one was

00:18:33.950 --> 00:18:37.150
intervals. The second, hill repeats. The third

00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:41.250
were stadiums. The fourth, EMOMs. Fifth, circuits.

00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:45.710
And sixth, pace work. Pick one or two of those

00:18:45.710 --> 00:18:48.410
to start with and build consistency before building

00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:51.190
complexity. Add weight and volume gradually and

00:18:51.190 --> 00:18:53.750
remember that intensity, not just load, is the

00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:56.789
main driver of conditioning adaptation with a

00:18:56.789 --> 00:18:59.990
rug. Next week in part two of this series, we're

00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:02.650
joined by Frontline Athletic founder Drew Snary.

00:19:03.089 --> 00:19:05.309
We'll talk about strength training workouts you

00:19:05.309 --> 00:19:07.410
can do with a ruck. So make sure you're subscribed

00:19:07.410 --> 00:19:09.789
to the show on whatever podcast app you're using

00:19:09.789 --> 00:19:11.650
right now so you don't miss it. All right, that's

00:19:11.650 --> 00:19:13.230
it for today. I'll see you next week for part

00:19:13.230 --> 00:19:15.410
two. Thanks for listening to this episode of

00:19:15.410 --> 00:19:16.009
The Rucker's Edge.