How Rucking Fits Into a Busy Life: Lessons from Weighted Steps Author Andrew Brandt

WEBVTT

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If you're already rucking, the real question

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becomes, how do you make rucking fit into your

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life for the long run? In this episode, Andrew

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Brandt joins me to talk about using rucking as

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a consistent, sustainable practice while balancing

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work, family, and everyday responsibilities.

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We get into how Andrew integrated rucking into

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his daily routine, why small repeatable efforts

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matter, and how rucking supports long -term health

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without demanding more time than most people

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actually have. This conversation is about making

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rucking something you can keep doing year after

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year. You're listening to the Rutgers Edge podcast,

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a show all about rucking that is designed to

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help you improve your rucking routine, lose weight,

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and ultimately gain your strength and energy

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back. Each episode dives into the science, stories,

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and strategies behind rucking. You'll learn from

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top ruckers, coaches, health experts, and performance

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specialists who break down what it takes to train

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smarter, recover faster, and stay ready for the

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next challenge. So whether you're new to rucking

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or an experienced rucker that's already logged

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hundreds of miles, this is the show for you.

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I'm your host, Spencer. Thanks for listening

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in. Andrew Brandt is a writer, business owner,

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and father who discovered rucking as a practical

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way to build fitness while managing real -world

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responsibilities. He's the author of the book

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Weighted Steps. It's a guide designed to help

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new and experienced ruckers build consistency.

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He also authored the book Push, which is focused

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on long -term personal growth through daily habits.

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All right. Here's my conversation with Andrew

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Brandt. Andrew, thanks for joining me today on

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the Rutgers Edge podcast. It's really great to

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have you here. No, thank you for having me. I

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haven't had a chance to check out your book,

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Weighted Steps, but I understand that you share

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your personal story and we have had conversations

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prior to recording today about sort of where

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you were and where rucking entered your life

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and you started improving your fitness. I really

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want to learn, you know, what worked for you,

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what didn't work for you. And I want to start

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with, you know, you're a parent, you're a business

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owner, you're... You have a very busy life. You

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talked about how your health suffered over the

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last, I guess, decade or so. If you can walk

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us through what your life and health was like

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before you started taking control of your fitness.

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Sure. So, you know, I'm I turned 40 next month.

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And so a year almost a year ago now, my wife

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scheduled our our summer vacation for the beaches

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of the Florida Panhandle. And it was on my 39th

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birthday. I stepped on the scale and didn't like

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what I saw. And I looked in the mirror and it

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was just this kind of flabby dad bod, which apparently

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women are into now, I guess. I don't know. I

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was not. I was about 30 pounds heavier than I'd

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ever been before and knew I needed to make a

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change there. And so very quickly, I started.

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With kettlebells, I started running and I started

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this thing that I discovered called rucking.

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And I discovered this through Peter Atiyah's

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book Outlive. And in Outlive, he talks about

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how walking with weight is something that humans

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have been doing since we were humans, since we

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became homo sapiens. I think there's the book

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that says born to run. And I don't think humans

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were born to run. We were born to carry. We're

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born to walk and born to carry weight. And we

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do that better than any other animal on the planet.

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And so rucking quickly became not just a way

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for me for my personal health, but also became

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this thing for my mental clarity as well. You

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know, be able to put 20 or 30 pounds in a sack

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on my back and walk a few miles. All of a sudden,

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I wasn't making extra time for workouts or anything

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like that. But I had this time. carved out where

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I could think and discuss in my head the things

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that I needed to do for myself. Why was it that

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your fitness was slipping in the first place?

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Was it just strictly your schedule being busy

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or were there other factors? There's a few other

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factors. One was a global pandemic. And, you

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know, in my in my late 20s, you know, 2016, 17,

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2018, I was I played soccer. I ran marathons.

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I wasn't elite, but I was definitely fit. And

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then, yeah, 2020 kind of ground to a halt. On

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top of that, my wife and I had a baby in the

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summer of 2020. So I went from having a lot of

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time on my hands as, you know, a young. married

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guy, relatively young to all of a sudden we had

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a baby and that took priority for a long time.

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And now that baby is five and a half years old

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and in school. So, you know, I don't want to

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make excuses for myself, but being able to take

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her to school and then I have time, you know,

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where I don't have to be at the office just yet.

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She's at school, you know, there's time there.

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And I decided to take that wisely and use that

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time for my personal and mental health. Awesome.

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And so at that time, like what did getting back

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into shape realistically mean for you? Yeah,

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it meant getting back to activity. You know,

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it's very easy for us to kind of live on our

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lively, oh gosh, what would you call it? Like

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the hamster wheel of life. You know, you wake

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up, you take the kids to school, you go to work,

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you come home, you make dinner, you take the

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kids to... Soccer practice, you come home again,

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you get the bath bed, you go to bed just to wake

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up and do it all again the next day. And so you

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have to stack on top of things there. Well, your

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partnership with your spouse, good time with

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your kids as well. And then if you prioritize

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those things, yeah, I think for a lot of guys,

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myself included, I think that we tend to put

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ourselves on the back burner. And there's nothing

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wrong with that, right? Nobody's ever going to

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fault you for being a good dad or a good husband

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or taking your kid to soccer practice or making

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sure that your wife has all of her honey do's

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that she has listed out for you. You have those

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done. Nobody's going to tell you you're a terrible

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dad or a terrible husband for doing those things.

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But at the same time, we have to understand that.

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Our job as men and our job as husbands and dads

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is also to be around for as long as we can be

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for our families. And the major component of

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being around and not just being around, but being

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lively for as long as possible to have a long

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health span is movement. I share a very parallel

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story to you in that just, yeah, life's busy.

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I have kids. I have a wife. I have responsibilities.

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Fitness is not always on the front burner. How

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did you find time or where did you find time

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to work on your fitness? I'm going to be honest.

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I know that I'm very, very lucky and fortunate

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to have. I dropped my daughter off at school.

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7 .30, 7 .45. My office doesn't open until 10

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a .m. We're open 10 to 6. I know a lot of guys,

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they don't have that hour and a half between

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drop -off and being at work. But I do know that

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there are moments in our days that we can carve

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out 20 minutes, 30 minutes. Let's say you can't

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get to a gym. And what you can do, though, is

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you can put a rucksack on your back and you can

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let your kids ride their bicycle around the block

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and you walk with them. Or after dinner, you

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and your wife, throw a rucksack on your back

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and take a walk after dinner. It's the middle

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of winter right now. You have to do it in the

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dark. What I found that I love so much about

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rucking is that it didn't require me to... say

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oh i have to go to the gym at this time or i

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need to make sure that i have my workout gear

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ready to go in the morning you know rucking somehow

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fit into those busy times as well you know where

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my daughter wanted to ride her bike well let

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me let me throw a let me throw the pack on my

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back and i'll walk with you on the sidewalk We

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get an hour or a mile, mile and a half in. She

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gets some time outside. We get time to spend

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together. And you're working on your personal

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fitness. I don't think there's – that's not –

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luckily, rucking is not rocket science. Do you

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remember that first moment where you sort of

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realized or I guess rucking clicked that you

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can hang out with your daughter and get a workout

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in? Yeah, I think it was she just wanted to ride

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her bike around the around the block one Saturday

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morning and which is pretty normal. And usually

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I would just walk beside her. But then I it just

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clicked. I was like, wait a second. I can actually

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turn this into something for myself as well.

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I can I can throw my pack on my back and and

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do more than just walk, but walk with load, you

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know, get my heart rate up into that zone to

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category. You know, it's it's it's those. times

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where you find consistency over the intensity

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of the work. The author of Atomic Habits, James

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Clear, he says that the thing that separates

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the successful from the unsuccessful is not talent,

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but it's time. And it's not anything extraordinary.

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He says that The thing that separates the extraordinary

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from the ordinary is not talent. It's just doing

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ordinary things for an extraordinary amount of

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time. And so if you find consistency in your

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performance, if you find consistency in carving

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out time for rucking like that to elevate your

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heart rate, to walk under load, even if it's

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just walking around a little bit around your

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neighborhood, consistency like that is what's

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going to... This is what's going to put you over

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that edge. So you started working on your fitness.

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Did you jump straight into rucking or did you

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try some of other types of exercises or workouts

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that you previously did in, I guess, healthier

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lifetimes of yours? You know, I was a runner

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before. I played soccer before. I enjoy running

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a lot. But at the same time, like I can't always,

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you know, with a five and a half year old, I'm

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either going to. Wait till she's at school or

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wait till my wife is at home. Whereas rucking

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is something that we can kind of do together.

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Yeah. You know, playing outside or walking, even

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walking to the park. You know, I'll walk with

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a pack on my back. But no, I still I do a lot

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of different things. You know, I started with

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kettlebells. I started running. But rucking has

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been the thing that's it's not just the most

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consistent, but it's the thing that fits in to

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my daily life best. Yeah. Yeah, I get that. We've

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been with kids. Everything's a phase, their favorite

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food, their favorite fruit, their favorite activity,

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how you can hang out with them changes. And right

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now we're in the sweet spot of I get home from

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work. We immediately get outside. I throw a pack

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on and we walk to the park or I throw them in

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the stroller and they're playing with their toys

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and talking to each other while I'm rucking or

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running behind them. So I get it. It's definitely

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an exercise that you can fit into your life as

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opposed to making your life fit around going

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to the gym or hitting up the recreational league

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of softball or kickball, whatever you're... your

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community has, but yeah, that, that resonates

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with me. So you mentioned you, you first learned

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about rucking after reading or while reading

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outlive by Peter Tia. Yeah. My, my wife bought

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the book last year and I started reading it.

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It, it, the subject matter kind of struck close

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to home pretty quick. My, so I had a, I have

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a daughter who's just turned five. She's five

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and a half. And at the same time, my dad, his

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health started going downhill pretty quick. My

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dad did not take care of himself physically.

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He was a lifelong alcoholic, was a smoker, and

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suffered from depression. And my dad is 61 years

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old and lives in a nursing home. And whenever

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I started reading Outlive, all of these things

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just started clicking in my head. I fortunately,

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alcohol is not my vice. Nicotine is not my vice.

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Mine is caffeine. Man, I love coffee. But I started

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thinking a lot about how am I going to be around

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for my daughter who I was much older when she

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was born. I think my dad was 22 when I was born.

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I was 35 when my daughter was born. So when she's

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my age, I'm not going to be 60 or 61. I'm going

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to be 70. So how can I be around for her in,

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you know, as she grows up, as she goes to high

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school, as she graduates and goes on to college,

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you know, hopefully, you know, has a career,

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you know, all those all those things you hope

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and wish for that you get to see your child do.

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But at the same time, how am I going to be able

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to ensure my health span lasts to see those times?

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I think Peter Attia says that, you know, at about

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70. There's a sharp cliff when it comes to health

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and health span. And the goal is to have a ramp

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to that sharp cliff, have that ramp as long as

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possible so that fall isn't so sharp. Thanks

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for sharing that. That can certainly be difficult

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to live with with someone that has a sort of

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addiction like that or a habit like that. But

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it certainly has given you some insight on how

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you want to live your life. And props to you

00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:13.490
for taking control of that and steering your

00:14:13.490 --> 00:14:14.990
life in the direction that you want it to. I

00:14:14.990 --> 00:14:17.330
think so many people, I don't want to say just

00:14:17.330 --> 00:14:20.490
accept it, but don't put the work in to kind

00:14:20.490 --> 00:14:24.049
of get the results that they want. I think John

00:14:24.049 --> 00:14:28.269
Daly has this newsletter, RTFU, where he... One

00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:30.870
of the episodes he recently has, I spoke about

00:14:30.870 --> 00:14:33.629
this on a previous episode of mine. One of his

00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:35.649
blog posts was about leading and lagging indicators.

00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:37.690
And, you know, lagging is kind of what you can

00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:40.110
measure what the results are. Leading indicators

00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:42.450
are like the work, the effort that you put in,

00:14:42.529 --> 00:14:45.110
how many times you show up, how much weight you're

00:14:45.110 --> 00:14:47.990
wearing. And so, yeah, it definitely sounds like

00:14:47.990 --> 00:14:50.330
you are putting in the work. You're definitely

00:14:50.330 --> 00:14:52.549
paying attention to all those leading indicators

00:14:52.549 --> 00:14:54.649
to get the result that you want in the end. And

00:14:54.649 --> 00:14:56.909
that being, you know, being able to show up for

00:14:56.909 --> 00:14:59.529
your kid when she's your age. I think that's

00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:01.690
that's really cool. This is a lot about your

00:15:01.690 --> 00:15:04.149
priorities and who you are as a person. It's

00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:06.769
really great, Andrew. Now, I think you previously

00:15:06.769 --> 00:15:09.379
mentioned something about some. sunlight outdoors

00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:12.240
and thinking time. Is that accurate? Did you

00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:14.879
mention that previously? You know, I think that

00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:18.980
was off air. Yeah, we kind of talked about, you

00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:20.899
know, getting outside, what sunlight does for

00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:23.720
you, the neuroscience behind that. And I mean,

00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.759
I will say, you preempt that with, I am not a

00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:28.940
neuroscientist. You know, I'm not, I don't have

00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:31.879
a PhD. I'm not Andrew Huberman. I'm a dad, I'm

00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:35.399
a business owner, and I'm just dedicated to living

00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:39.590
my life as well as possible. Gotcha. When I first

00:15:39.590 --> 00:15:41.210
started rucking, that was one of my favorite

00:15:41.210 --> 00:15:44.370
parts about the new activity that I discovered

00:15:44.370 --> 00:15:47.350
was just, wow, I have time to actually think.

00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:51.830
This was before I was taking the kids along with

00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:53.710
me. This was, I was just doing the, you know,

00:15:53.710 --> 00:15:55.909
the standard three mile ruck on Sunday or Saturday.

00:15:56.429 --> 00:15:58.450
And, you know, I'm just like, man, I actually

00:15:58.450 --> 00:16:01.730
have time to like put thoughts together and reevaluate

00:16:01.730 --> 00:16:03.889
decisions I've made throughout the previous.

00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.559
week or a month that was definitely one of my

00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:09.059
favorite parts about it just actually having

00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:12.500
time to to sit or to walk and and think through

00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:14.580
a few things and you definitely attribute that

00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:17.860
to being outside moving being in the sun and

00:16:17.860 --> 00:16:20.340
yeah just kind of being present with myself and

00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:24.320
my own thoughts forced presence you know that

00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.399
and one of the things i i really enjoy about

00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.220
rucking you know Yes, you can have force presence

00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:32.899
while on a walk, but the way that the weight

00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:35.379
shifts on your back, the way that it sits there,

00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:38.679
you have to pay attention to your posture. If

00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:40.659
the weight is too heavy, you find yourself moving

00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:44.820
forward, so you shift that weight through your

00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:47.639
posture on your back. It opens up your diaphragm,

00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.059
your chest, your breathing. You focus more on

00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:54.019
your breathing. I like to, I mean, I love headphones.

00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:55.980
I love listening to audio books and podcasts.

00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:59.259
But I also find myself a lot rucking without

00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:02.860
headphones. You know, give myself 30, 45 minutes

00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:08.000
of just my own thoughts. Or I'll take my rosary

00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.559
with me and I'll pray the rosary while going

00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:13.359
through the neighborhood. Those kind of things.

00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:16.839
Like I said, it allows me, it allows that discipline

00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.369
to show up. There's a little bit of discomfort

00:17:19.369 --> 00:17:23.130
without the chaos of discomfort. And that forced

00:17:23.130 --> 00:17:27.029
presence allows us to, if you do in the beginning

00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:28.990
of the day, it allows you to think about the

00:17:28.990 --> 00:17:31.250
things that you're going to accomplish that day,

00:17:31.289 --> 00:17:34.650
the things that you want to, the tasks that you

00:17:34.650 --> 00:17:37.470
have to tackle. If you do it at the end of the

00:17:37.470 --> 00:17:39.490
day, it gives a great opportunity to reflect,

00:17:39.769 --> 00:17:42.970
to think about what I did well, what I could

00:17:42.970 --> 00:17:46.410
have done better. You know, was I... Was I present

00:17:46.410 --> 00:17:49.049
whenever my family needed me? Was I present for

00:17:49.049 --> 00:17:52.970
when my teammates at work needed me? So yeah,

00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:56.329
you know, getting outside and having that force

00:17:56.329 --> 00:18:01.650
presence allows your brain to think in ways that

00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:05.630
I don't think that we allow ourselves in our

00:18:05.630 --> 00:18:09.109
modern society. You know, there's always something

00:18:09.109 --> 00:18:11.450
on. There's always something to listen to. There's

00:18:11.450 --> 00:18:14.250
always something to look at or to scroll. But

00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:17.609
if you force yourself to get away from that for

00:18:17.609 --> 00:18:22.029
a little bit, you'll surprise yourself. Yeah,

00:18:22.029 --> 00:18:24.230
excellent. And I think you might be the first

00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:27.549
person that I've heard talk about doing a rosary

00:18:27.549 --> 00:18:31.940
ruck. That is really cool. I haven't heard that.

00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:34.740
That's super unique. And I'm curious if anybody

00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:36.759
else is out there saying the rosary while rucking

00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:41.180
too. A lot of people use it as a time of reflection

00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:44.400
and deep thought, even meditation. But yeah,

00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:47.240
prayer, it's also a really good time to reconnect

00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:50.920
and say the rosary or a prayer. That's really

00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:54.259
cool, Andrew. Speaking about identity, do you

00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:56.460
ruck with your wife? Has she started to get into

00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:00.000
it? Yeah. You know, she has one of the, what

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.319
I call the white women weighted vests. You know,

00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:05.819
if you want to find out if you're in a good neighborhood,

00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:07.940
you sit on your front porch. And if you see,

00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:09.859
if you see the women with the weighted vests,

00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:11.640
you know, your property values are going way

00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:14.039
up, right? Get ready for that. Get ready for

00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:19.500
that tax bill. All joking aside, my wife has

00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.559
a 20 pound weighted vest. She she started a new

00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.140
career. She changed career paths recently, but

00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:28.839
she had some time off. And for us to we started

00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:30.900
our day, we would take our daughter to school.

00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.119
And then after school, after drop off, we'd come

00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:35.380
home and I'd put my pack on and she'd get that

00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:37.259
weighted vest on and we would go through the

00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:40.400
neighborhood. And it was cold, which was, I think,

00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.500
forced us to move a little faster. And but at

00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:47.970
the same time, it allowed us time to. To connect

00:19:47.970 --> 00:19:50.069
ourselves, you know, the first thing in the day,

00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:52.809
no kids present, anything like that, just the

00:19:52.809 --> 00:19:57.509
two of us. It's time well spent and time that

00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:00.769
I know that I'll cherish for as long as we're

00:20:00.769 --> 00:20:03.809
alive, you know. Has rucking changed the way

00:20:03.809 --> 00:20:07.210
that you show up for your wife or your kids?

00:20:08.789 --> 00:20:12.109
Yeah, I think so. I think, yeah, no, no. And

00:20:12.109 --> 00:20:14.990
absolutely, I think so. Just because, you know,

00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:19.119
it's an activity. Like my wife and I can't go

00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:22.059
swing kettlebells together. I mean, I guess we

00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:24.619
could, but you know, there's, you know, there's,

00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:27.099
there's an intensity to that kind of workout

00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:29.319
that you're, it doesn't, it's not conducive to

00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.640
conversation. We can't run together. My pace

00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.559
is sorry, babe. My pace is shorter than yours.

00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:37.420
Like I can run, I can run longer and faster,

00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:42.079
you know? So, but rucking it's, it doesn't matter.

00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:44.930
Her legs are a little bit longer than mine. She

00:20:44.930 --> 00:20:47.470
does walk faster than me, so it forces me to

00:20:47.470 --> 00:20:50.250
keep up with her. But at the same time, I can

00:20:50.250 --> 00:20:54.009
have 35 pounds. She can have 10 or 20. It's not

00:20:54.009 --> 00:20:56.650
a pace that's too fast where it's not conducive

00:20:56.650 --> 00:21:01.049
to conversation. You get into that zone two heart

00:21:01.049 --> 00:21:03.349
rate, so your heart rate is elevated, but you're

00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:05.789
not gasping for air. You're not sucking oxygen.

00:21:06.430 --> 00:21:11.720
It's your brain. physiologically is focused on

00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:16.259
your posture keeping your spine and your chest

00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:21.660
elevated with that monkey part of your brain

00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:26.579
you know busy you can you can have conversation

00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:28.920
with each other you can you can be grounded together

00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:33.799
and and talk with my daughter you know it's you

00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:36.630
know it's It's not just walking to the park now.

00:21:36.710 --> 00:21:39.769
It's walking to the park with a purpose. Again,

00:21:40.250 --> 00:21:43.630
if your body and the monkey part of your brain

00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:46.289
is busy with your posture and your heart rate,

00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:48.849
your elevation, all this stuff, then for me,

00:21:48.910 --> 00:21:53.549
my eyes are on her at that point. You're making

00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:54.970
sure we're crossing the road safely and that

00:21:54.970 --> 00:22:01.119
kind of thing. I think if I don't have... If

00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:02.759
I'm walking with a phone in my hand, if I'm walking

00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:07.059
with headphones, my attention could get lax.

00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.099
I want to make sure that my attention is on her

00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:12.799
where it needs to be. So you sort of mentioned

00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:16.339
form when rucking. I think this is a good transition

00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:21.000
to get into maybe when new ruckers start out,

00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:23.279
maybe providing a little bit of insight, some

00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.579
tips, also mistakes. So what mistakes did you

00:22:26.579 --> 00:22:28.750
make early on when you started rucking? That

00:22:28.750 --> 00:22:32.150
you, I guess, later had to go and correct. You

00:22:32.150 --> 00:22:35.490
know, with lifting weights, you know, you want

00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:38.690
to go as heavy as you can. You know, let me see

00:22:38.690 --> 00:22:41.250
if I can do those 70 pound weights. But, you

00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:44.089
know, the point of rucking is not to do too heavy,

00:22:44.130 --> 00:22:46.569
too fast or thinking, treating it like it's some

00:22:46.569 --> 00:22:49.009
kind of CrossFit workout. You know, it's not

00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:52.069
like that. You know, if you have too much weight

00:22:52.069 --> 00:22:55.269
on you, your posture will collapse. You know,

00:22:55.289 --> 00:22:59.380
you start slouching. It's hard to breathe. You

00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:00.920
know, it's not, it's not like, it's not like

00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:02.660
swinging kettlebells where you try to grab a

00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:06.000
35 kettlebell, 35 kilogram kettlebell and get

00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:09.680
your hips into that because it's, it's consistent

00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.079
movement over a long period of time that, you

00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:16.259
know, common mistake is, oh, I'm going to, I'm

00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.380
going to get as heavy weight as I possibly can

00:23:18.380 --> 00:23:24.559
and start walking where in reality, you start

00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:28.619
with 10%, 15 % of your body weight. Go for a

00:23:28.619 --> 00:23:31.579
mile, go for two miles. When that feels easy,

00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:35.660
then you can transition to go for three miles

00:23:35.660 --> 00:23:38.619
or four miles or increase the weight. Ignoring

00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:44.660
recovery afterwards. I think I'm like this for

00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:47.500
sure, where if I get excited about something,

00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:49.980
I know I'm excited to go on a rock. I want to

00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.319
do it again. I want to do it again as quickly

00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:54.789
as possible, as soon as possible. you know you

00:23:54.789 --> 00:23:57.470
got to give your body time to acclimate to walking

00:23:57.470 --> 00:24:00.630
with weight if you're not used to it make sure

00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:03.269
you have proper footwear you know converse are

00:24:03.269 --> 00:24:05.970
great for weight lifting not great for walking

00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.789
around the neighborhood or on trails so yeah

00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:11.230
some of the common mistakes though i think or

00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:13.289
mistakes that i made in in the very beginning

00:24:13.289 --> 00:24:15.849
were those you know going too heavy too fast

00:24:15.849 --> 00:24:19.430
and kind of ignoring recovery interesting same

00:24:19.430 --> 00:24:23.049
here yep i always just balls to the wall situation

00:24:23.049 --> 00:24:24.970
when i find something new you know it's like

00:24:24.970 --> 00:24:27.109
oh this is great let's do it all day every day

00:24:27.109 --> 00:24:29.490
or let's do as much as we can as fast as we can

00:24:29.490 --> 00:24:32.849
and i i have done that with every other workout

00:24:32.849 --> 00:24:36.349
that i had you know previously created or put

00:24:36.349 --> 00:24:40.369
into my routine and just burnt out like two three

00:24:40.369 --> 00:24:42.970
weeks in just like you know what no but yeah

00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:46.200
with rucking I, yeah, I took it slow, started

00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:48.980
out just walking, then slowly added weight, slowly

00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:51.839
added distance. And then I started messing with

00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.460
time, but like time is not, it's not that important.

00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:57.640
I have found just like, just, just focus on the

00:24:57.640 --> 00:25:00.700
mission, just do the work, get it done. I don't

00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.940
really like to focus on timing, but yeah, you're

00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:05.980
right. You got to take it slow, add weight incrementally.

00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:08.420
What did you, yeah. How much weight did you start

00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:18.460
out with? I found taping bricks. And so I taped

00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:21.539
six bricks together and threw that in my pack.

00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:27.220
And those weighed about 30 to 32 pounds. And

00:25:27.220 --> 00:25:29.900
then this last Christmas, my wife gave me a 35

00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:34.079
-pound ruck plate. Sweet. Yeah, that fits in

00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:37.140
the plate holder of my backpack. And I was pretty

00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:40.259
stoked for that. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure it shifts

00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.220
around a lot less. I mean, yeah, you don't need

00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:48.049
a custom. built pack or or ruck plates but when

00:25:48.049 --> 00:25:50.190
you do eventually upgrade it's like oh yeah this

00:25:50.190 --> 00:25:53.329
is this is pretty nice yeah no i was rucking

00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:56.849
with with bricks for gosh six six eight months

00:25:56.849 --> 00:26:00.450
yeah yeah it was and then something felt kind

00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:04.549
of primal about it you know whereas a kettlebell

00:26:04.549 --> 00:26:07.450
or dumbbells are like custom made for that movement

00:26:07.450 --> 00:26:10.349
whereas it's just it's just bricks right there's

00:26:10.349 --> 00:26:13.500
right It's weight. I mean, it's not anything

00:26:13.500 --> 00:26:16.119
special. Right. Yeah, I mean, I was talking to

00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.160
Dan Vinson not too long ago, and he was saying

00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.680
how he'll still throw, like, a dumbbell in one

00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:23.859
of his packs and go out and not necessarily a

00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:27.000
dedicated ruck plate. So, yeah, definitely doable

00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.359
with whatever you have around the house. Here,

00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:31.019
kitty litter is also popular. I haven't gone

00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:33.279
that route. I typically also just want the bricks

00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:35.940
or cinder blocks. Kitty litter? Yeah. Kitty litter,

00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:37.759
sand? Yeah, whatever works. Shoot, go to Home

00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:40.640
Depot and get some pavers, you know? Yeah. Yep.

00:26:41.049 --> 00:26:43.809
Exactly. Pro tip, tape them up because if you

00:26:43.809 --> 00:26:45.210
don't tape them up, they will scratch the inside

00:26:45.210 --> 00:26:47.589
of your backpack. And if you want to use that

00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:49.890
backpack for other things besides rocking, it

00:26:49.890 --> 00:26:52.529
might incur some damage. But yeah, how do you

00:26:52.529 --> 00:26:56.589
personally define progress now compared to before?

00:26:57.109 --> 00:26:59.730
So are you still bumping up your weight at this

00:26:59.730 --> 00:27:03.670
point after rocking for over a year now? I'm

00:27:03.670 --> 00:27:05.309
not really bumping up the weight. You know, like

00:27:05.309 --> 00:27:09.269
I said, I got this 35 -pound plate that is...

00:27:09.630 --> 00:27:11.650
about the same weight as my six bricks i think

00:27:11.650 --> 00:27:17.230
it might be a couple pounds heavier but the great

00:27:17.230 --> 00:27:20.589
thing at least for me that i've found with rucking

00:27:20.589 --> 00:27:25.809
is that the con it's the progress is is the consistency

00:27:25.809 --> 00:27:32.609
right it's the the action is the juice whenever

00:27:32.609 --> 00:27:35.269
you're able to do something consistent you know

00:27:35.269 --> 00:27:38.009
that that ordinary movement But done consistently

00:27:38.009 --> 00:27:42.710
changes everything. Progress for me is the consistency.

00:27:42.849 --> 00:27:48.509
Is it something that you're, you know, it's easy

00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:51.490
to get burnt out on high intensity workouts.

00:27:51.710 --> 00:27:56.190
It's easy to get burnt out on things like, you

00:27:56.190 --> 00:28:01.849
know, running 5Ks. But rucking I have found because

00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:05.910
of the way that I can also tackle my mental load

00:28:05.910 --> 00:28:09.740
as a... as well as the physical load. The consistency

00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:12.839
is the progress. More with Andrew in just a moment,

00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:14.980
including his inspiration for writing his book,

00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:17.099
Weighted Steps. But I want to take a quick break

00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:19.440
to say thanks for listening to the podcast. If

00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:20.920
you're finding this conversation interesting,

00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:23.240
please text this episode to a fellow Rucker or

00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:25.440
a friend that could benefit from Rucking. Showing

00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:27.259
this episode would help the show grow and help

00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:30.160
more people improve their health and lives. Okay,

00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:33.650
back to it. Let's move into talking about the

00:28:33.650 --> 00:28:35.490
book. So you have a book out, Weighted Steps.

00:28:35.490 --> 00:28:40.710
What inspired you to write it? So I wrote Weighted

00:28:40.710 --> 00:28:43.250
Steps after I wrote a book called Push. I wrote

00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:46.990
a book called Push last year. Let me rewind just

00:28:46.990 --> 00:28:49.690
a minute. I spent five years writing fiction.

00:28:49.869 --> 00:28:53.910
I wrote several young adult mystery novels that

00:28:53.910 --> 00:28:56.809
I really enjoyed. I enjoyed those five years

00:28:56.809 --> 00:29:01.529
until I didn't. But I found myself. tackling

00:29:01.529 --> 00:29:05.150
being an author with a capital A author. And

00:29:05.150 --> 00:29:08.789
I found myself not really enjoying the process

00:29:08.789 --> 00:29:11.930
of writing so much as the attention that it brought.

00:29:12.190 --> 00:29:14.829
And so I was no longer writing because I enjoyed

00:29:14.829 --> 00:29:18.769
it. I was writing fiction because I wanted to

00:29:18.769 --> 00:29:21.750
have a product to sell, to do book signings,

00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:24.170
go to book conferences, and appease a publisher

00:29:24.170 --> 00:29:28.190
and all that stuff. And so I stopped. I stopped

00:29:28.190 --> 00:29:31.230
for several years. I thought I was done with

00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:33.789
being an author, and in a lot of ways I am. I

00:29:33.789 --> 00:29:38.210
don't consider myself capital A author anymore.

00:29:39.349 --> 00:29:43.869
But like you, Spencer, you express yourself with

00:29:43.869 --> 00:29:47.430
a podcast. Matt D 'Avella expresses himself with

00:29:47.430 --> 00:29:51.289
YouTube, and I express myself with the written

00:29:51.289 --> 00:29:57.799
word. And I started detailing my... weight loss

00:29:57.799 --> 00:30:02.839
and fitness journey with a book called push last

00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.920
year. And push is all about embracing process

00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.519
over inspiration to achieve your goals. So, you

00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:13.359
know, you may have a moment of inspiration for

00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:16.140
something, but if you only depend on inspiration,

00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:19.460
you'll never finish anything is the thesis of

00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:23.059
the book drew on stoicism, neuroscience, and

00:30:23.059 --> 00:30:27.740
like personal. face plants and successes, but

00:30:27.740 --> 00:30:32.900
with while writing push, I also did a ton of

00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:34.519
research on this thing that I was also doing

00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:39.819
called rucking and the push was coming out. And

00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:43.740
I, and I started writing this, this ebook didn't

00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:45.500
even intend for it to be its own thing is going

00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:48.380
to be kind of a more of an appendix to push of,

00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:52.059
Hey, here's this, this thing I've discovered

00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:54.480
called rucking. Here's what it is. It's, you

00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:57.730
know, weighted, weighted walking or walking with

00:30:57.730 --> 00:31:00.509
weight. Here's how it can help you. Here's how

00:31:00.509 --> 00:31:02.269
to stay consistent with it. Those kinds of things

00:31:02.269 --> 00:31:05.509
ended up being about 10 ,000 words on its own.

00:31:05.529 --> 00:31:08.450
So it's not, it's not a long book at all. I mean,

00:31:08.490 --> 00:31:12.849
it's a short ebook and I decided instead of making

00:31:12.849 --> 00:31:16.869
it an appendix to push, I created it as its own

00:31:16.869 --> 00:31:22.730
thing so that you can read weighted steps for

00:31:22.730 --> 00:31:25.599
very inexpensive. And if you want to go deeper

00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:30.579
with the ideas of processes, of being consistent,

00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:32.619
of achieving your goals, that kind of thing,

00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:35.839
you can read Push from there. If not, you can

00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:38.579
still get a ton of great information out of Weighted

00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:41.500
Steps itself. So that's how I wrote Weighted

00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:43.700
Steps. It was meant to be kind of an appendix

00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:46.289
to a book that I'd already written. Very cool.

00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:49.210
Who is the target audience for Rated Steps? Is

00:31:49.210 --> 00:31:51.349
it new ruckers or is it existing ruckers or is

00:31:51.349 --> 00:31:53.829
it just people in general that want to kind of

00:31:53.829 --> 00:31:56.170
take charge of their fitness again? Yeah, so

00:31:56.170 --> 00:31:58.890
it's targeted for new ruckers who want to take

00:31:58.890 --> 00:32:00.490
charge of their fitness, who are looking for

00:32:00.490 --> 00:32:03.769
something that they can, you know, something

00:32:03.769 --> 00:32:06.430
that will fit into a busy life. You know, if

00:32:06.430 --> 00:32:09.490
you're a dad, if you're, you know, working full

00:32:09.490 --> 00:32:12.730
time, you're a spouse, you know, those things

00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:18.490
should and do come first. You have to be present

00:32:18.490 --> 00:32:20.529
for your spouse, present for your kids, present

00:32:20.529 --> 00:32:23.990
for work, and then present for yourself. And

00:32:23.990 --> 00:32:26.230
that's very important because as we talked about

00:32:26.230 --> 00:32:28.230
earlier, you want to be around for as long as

00:32:28.230 --> 00:32:30.069
possible. You want to have a long lifespan and

00:32:30.069 --> 00:32:33.710
a health span to be there, to be able to do those

00:32:33.710 --> 00:32:36.029
things for your family and for your teammates

00:32:36.029 --> 00:32:39.109
at work and that kind of thing. And so I found

00:32:39.109 --> 00:32:43.009
that rocking fit that so well that I wanted to,

00:32:43.009 --> 00:32:45.619
like I said, it was originally an appendix. to,

00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:49.099
to the book push of, Hey, here's something if

00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:51.059
you're, if you're looking for a way to stay consistent

00:32:51.059 --> 00:32:53.759
with your, your physical health and your physical

00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:55.900
fitness, here's something that, that worked for

00:32:55.900 --> 00:32:58.799
me. Here's the things I did and hopefully it

00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:01.019
can work for you too. And then it, it kind of

00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:03.099
spun out as it got longer and longer. I could,

00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:07.299
I couldn't make a 100 page appendix to a 250

00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:10.480
page book. Right. So it became its own thing.

00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:13.450
Awesome. That's really cool. Yeah, I'm going

00:33:13.450 --> 00:33:15.529
to go check it out. I know you can get it on

00:33:15.529 --> 00:33:18.730
Amazon. Is that correct? It is on Amazon. It's

00:33:18.730 --> 00:33:21.230
called Weighted Steps. Or you can go to weightedsteps

00:33:21.230 --> 00:33:24.869
.com. At weightedsteps .com, you can sign up

00:33:24.869 --> 00:33:26.250
for the newsletter. There's also a link to the

00:33:26.250 --> 00:33:28.910
e -book there. It's available in paperback on

00:33:28.910 --> 00:33:32.009
Amazon. Again, it's 90 pages. Don't expect a

00:33:32.009 --> 00:33:34.170
Stephen King novel to show up on your front porch

00:33:34.170 --> 00:33:36.869
if you go the physical route. But if you want

00:33:36.869 --> 00:33:39.539
a physical book, it's available there too. That's

00:33:39.539 --> 00:33:41.839
awesome. Tell me a little bit about push. I am

00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:43.819
very curious because you mentioned how it doesn't

00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:45.920
go in the direction of, you know, trying to help

00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:48.859
people find their inspiration for improving their

00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:51.000
health, but more of a more of a process. Can

00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:52.460
you talk a little bit about that? I'm very curious.

00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:55.160
Yeah, absolutely. And almost like this could

00:33:55.160 --> 00:33:58.779
be its own episode to of embracing your process

00:33:58.779 --> 00:34:01.000
to achieve your goals as opposed to the moments

00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:03.400
of inspiration. We've depended on inspiration.

00:34:04.019 --> 00:34:06.319
You know, the first chapter of the book talks

00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:10.269
about the muses, how. How Homer began his poems,

00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:12.969
The Odyssey and the Iliad of singing me, oh,

00:34:12.969 --> 00:34:16.389
muse, you know, channel your divine inspiration

00:34:16.389 --> 00:34:18.809
through me. And I think a lot of times that we

00:34:18.809 --> 00:34:21.289
we have a moment of inspiration. Like I want

00:34:21.289 --> 00:34:24.150
to I want to lose 20 pounds is a is a moment

00:34:24.150 --> 00:34:26.150
of inspiration or I want to write a book or I

00:34:26.150 --> 00:34:29.550
want to run a marathon. And you're super stoked

00:34:29.550 --> 00:34:32.630
right at that moment of inspiration. But inspiration

00:34:32.630 --> 00:34:36.750
doesn't finish things. Process does. And so the

00:34:36.750 --> 00:34:40.650
book Push. That title is two things. One is that

00:34:40.650 --> 00:34:43.889
initial push of the inspiration, but it's how

00:34:43.889 --> 00:34:46.070
to push through. Push through the days you don't

00:34:46.070 --> 00:34:49.610
feel like doing it. Push through whenever you're

00:34:49.610 --> 00:34:52.110
in that low. You hit really high. You've got

00:34:52.110 --> 00:34:55.630
that serotonin coursing through your brain and

00:34:55.630 --> 00:34:58.650
the anticipation of doing something awesome,

00:34:58.829 --> 00:35:02.389
which is great. It's a great feeling. But then

00:35:02.389 --> 00:35:08.719
you have to create steps. and processes to achieve

00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:11.300
your goals. I think Ryan Holiday says it best.

00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:13.880
He says, apply yourself to a process and product

00:35:13.880 --> 00:35:17.900
is pulled out of you. He doesn't say, you know,

00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:20.340
depend on your inspiration or find that moment

00:35:20.340 --> 00:35:22.280
of inspiration and product is pulled out of you.

00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:24.460
It's apply yourself to a process. And that's

00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:27.400
what the book is about. Cool. I think Rutgers

00:35:27.400 --> 00:35:30.239
are really good at pushing through and keeping

00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:32.119
their head down, staying the course. So I feel

00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:34.630
like that's a... That's another book Rutgers

00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:36.670
should probably check out. And I'll include links

00:35:36.670 --> 00:35:39.650
to both in the show notes. I'm curious, you know,

00:35:39.650 --> 00:35:41.469
you're talking about process, one of my favorite

00:35:41.469 --> 00:35:45.329
coaches. So I'm an LSU fan and was a huge Nick

00:35:45.329 --> 00:35:50.449
Saban fan before he left. Yeah. Before he left

00:35:50.449 --> 00:35:52.750
and went to the NFL and back to Alabama. But,

00:35:52.750 --> 00:35:54.969
man, I have so much respect for him and how he

00:35:54.969 --> 00:35:58.590
coaches his teams. And he is very much so dead

00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:01.630
set on. the process. Like it doesn't matter what

00:36:01.630 --> 00:36:04.389
happened on that last play. We have a new play.

00:36:04.469 --> 00:36:06.250
It's his third down now and we're going to get

00:36:06.250 --> 00:36:08.829
the first down. So I kind of spoke about him

00:36:08.829 --> 00:36:11.030
on previous episodes, but I totally agree with

00:36:11.030 --> 00:36:13.469
you. Definitely following a process, not getting

00:36:13.469 --> 00:36:16.289
overly emotional about certain failures or anything

00:36:16.289 --> 00:36:17.869
like that, but just kind of keeping your head

00:36:17.869 --> 00:36:20.050
down and stay in the course is really critical.

00:36:20.190 --> 00:36:22.130
And I'm curious about your book. I definitely

00:36:22.130 --> 00:36:25.500
will be checking that out as well. Andrew. I

00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:27.320
have one last question for you before we wrap

00:36:27.320 --> 00:36:29.320
up the podcast. But before that, I just want

00:36:29.320 --> 00:36:31.440
to say I really appreciate you taking the time

00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:33.199
to have this conversation with me. Thanks so

00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:35.300
much for that. And I'm looking forward to checking

00:36:35.300 --> 00:36:37.000
out the book. Thanks for writing that and contributing

00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:39.679
something to our wrecking community. It sounds

00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:41.539
like it's being well received based off of some

00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:44.119
of the reviews that I read. So appreciate you

00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:46.780
doing that. Thanks for coming on. Well, and more

00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:49.059
than that, Spence, it's thank you so much for

00:36:49.059 --> 00:36:52.219
giving a platform, you know, not just for myself

00:36:52.219 --> 00:36:54.360
for this conversation, but just for rucking.

00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:57.239
As a whole, I think it's incredibly important.

00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:01.460
I know myself, you know, whenever I was discovering

00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:03.139
what, what rucking was, one of the first things

00:37:03.139 --> 00:37:05.000
I did was I went to Apple podcasts. I just type

00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:08.139
in rucking, see if anything that anybody was

00:37:08.139 --> 00:37:09.800
talking about, you know, what could I learn?

00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:12.340
And so what you're doing is, is way more important

00:37:12.340 --> 00:37:15.320
than some, you know, 90 page ebook that I wrote.

00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:19.480
You're, you're bringing your broadcasting and,

00:37:19.599 --> 00:37:22.719
and, and creating a space for, you know, my book

00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:25.099
is just my voice. You're creating a space for

00:37:25.099 --> 00:37:28.480
multiple voices. I know you've had the guys from

00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:32.820
Ruckwell on, and what you're creating is much

00:37:32.820 --> 00:37:35.659
more than just some e -book. So thank you so

00:37:35.659 --> 00:37:37.699
much. Well, I appreciate the kind words, Andrew.

00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:41.199
I'm trying my best to grow this community, get

00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:42.760
more people rucking, get more people involved,

00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:45.599
getting their fitness levels up and improving

00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:47.820
their lives. So I appreciate those kind words.

00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:50.000
Thanks very much. All right, last question. It's

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:52.960
kind of a fun question. If you could create a

00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:55.239
rucking -related bumper sticker, what would that

00:37:55.239 --> 00:38:02.199
be? Oh, gosh. I'd probably say something like,

00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:06.440
don't hit me, a ruck plate will smack you in

00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:08.739
the face. I don't know. I do worry about that,

00:38:08.820 --> 00:38:12.559
like having a loose 35 -pound backpack in my

00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:15.320
car. And I drive a Jeep as it is, so it's like

00:38:15.320 --> 00:38:18.300
this filing cabinet on wheels. And so my biggest

00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:20.949
fear is like, Get into a fender bender or something

00:38:20.949 --> 00:38:24.829
and just like this weighted missile of a backpack

00:38:24.829 --> 00:38:29.250
just goes shooting out. Yeah. Awesome. Well,

00:38:29.389 --> 00:38:31.389
I like that. I like that. Well, Andrew, thanks

00:38:31.389 --> 00:38:33.889
again for coming on, man. Hopefully you can get

00:38:33.889 --> 00:38:36.329
to taking the doors off the Jeep soon. The cold

00:38:36.329 --> 00:38:38.570
weather clears out in the spring. But have a

00:38:38.570 --> 00:38:39.989
good rest of your week. Thanks for coming on.

00:38:40.670 --> 00:38:42.489
Thank you, Spencer. I appreciate it so much.

00:38:44.429 --> 00:38:46.329
All right. That wraps up my conversation with

00:38:46.329 --> 00:38:48.409
Andrew Brandt. You can check out his book, Weighted

00:38:48.409 --> 00:38:51.690
Steps and Push on Amazon or on his website, weightedsteps

00:38:51.690 --> 00:38:53.849
.com. I'll drop the links in the show notes.

00:38:55.030 --> 00:38:56.610
If you want to reach out to me, head on over

00:38:56.610 --> 00:38:59.449
to theruckersedge .com or on Instagram at theruckersedgepod.

00:38:59.750 --> 00:39:01.750
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to

00:39:01.750 --> 00:39:03.730
follow or subscribe to the show in your favorite

00:39:03.730 --> 00:39:06.030
podcast app so you're notified of new episodes.

00:39:06.510 --> 00:39:08.710
Okay, that's it for today. Thanks again for listening

00:39:08.710 --> 00:39:10.909
to this week's episode of The Rucker's Edge.