Stronger Rucking, Better Movement: Expert Training Advice from Coach Matty Hollingdale

WEBVTT

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Have you ever wondered which strength and conditioning

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workouts will give you the best bang for your

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buck to improve your rucking ability? Well, that's

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exactly what I talk about with my guest today.

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I'm joined by Coach Matty Hollingdale, a strength

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and conditioning coach with over 20 years of

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experience, and he's also the co -owner of HG

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Fit Gym in Bedfordshire over in the United Kingdom.

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In this episode, Coach Matty breaks down the

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exact foundational movements every rucker should

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train how to build a simple and effective three

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-day rucking strength program, and the functional

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fitness exercises that transfer directly to more

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powerful and more efficient miles under the pack.

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We also dig into injury prevention and building

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resilience. If you want to ruck stronger, stay

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healthy, and build a body that can actually support

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your rucking habit, this episode is going to

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give you a clear roadmap. You're listening to

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the Rucker's 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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nutrition experts, and performance specialists

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who all break down what it takes to train smarter,

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recover 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 listening today. Coach Matty unloads

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a ton of his knowledge and expertise in this

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one. Also, you might recognize his voice. Matty

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has been featured in episode 13 where he offered

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his best rucking tip. And I encourage you to

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go back and listen to that episode when you finish

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this one. All right. Here's my conversation with

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Coach Matty Hollingdale. Matty, thanks so much

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for joining me today on the Rucker's Edge podcast.

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It's really great to have you here. Thank you

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for having me. Now, I really want to lean into

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your expertise as a strength and conditioning

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coach. And I kind of want to... Pick your brain

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and get some insight into what new ruckers should

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be doing and what existing ruckers should be

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doing to boost their strength and see some gains

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in their rucking. A lot of people that I have

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experienced do too much too fast when starting

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out rucking. I'm a firm believer. I've mentioned

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this on the podcast before and starting out really

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slow, just walking and then doing some additional

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workouts to build. The muscle groups used when

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we ruck? Sure. I wanted to ask you, if someone's

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new to rucking, what workouts would you recommend

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to help them condition their body before throwing

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on a pack? Well, from the very beginning, I think

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it's all about getting some time on your feet

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initially. I think if someone was really interested

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in taking up rucking as a sport in particular,

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I think actually starting with a decent amount

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of time walking, whether that is walking on mixed

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terrain, perhaps getting used to a variety of

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different conditions, elevations, and just actually...

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getting a decent amount of time on their feet

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to start with. And that could also be applied

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to starting with a lot of people in the UK get

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involved in a weekly park run, which is like

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a community -organized 5K running event, which

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is taking the competitive side of... running

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out of the equation and just gives people an

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opportunity to build up to the distance and so

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i think you know taking that approach to rocking

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you know is key you know like you would um most

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people before they do a a park run they might

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do a couch to 5k where they start to increase

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their running distance gradually building up

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to that first organized event i think the same

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would be very relevant to rucking if you're a

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dog owner that's an easy place to start you know

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maybe taking your dog to a variety of different

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places and and experiencing some different terrain

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if you are in proximity to your You know, your

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children's school or childcare, maybe extending,

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you know, planning some additional time to extend

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your journey to those places, you know, choosing

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to walk over, driving if at all possible. taking

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the stairs in your workplace as opposed to taking

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the elevator if you are having to get to a higher

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level within the building. I think all of these

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things, for someone starting from kind of base

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zero, that's a really good place to start. Just

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time on your feet. Excellent. Yeah, I'm a huge

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advocate for taking the stairs over an elevator,

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anything to get you moving just a little bit

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more throughout the day. I'm always an advocate

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for it. What about some workouts to strengthen

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your back? I know when I first started, my back

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was significantly weak and I really felt it after

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those first couple of longer rucks. Would you

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recommend any specific exercises or workouts

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to strengthen your muscles in your back before

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getting started? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I

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think the real bang for your buck lies in having

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some time dedicated to warming up before you

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go out and ruck. I think that's possibly one

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thing that... I know I've been guilty of in the

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past. And I think, you know, when I speak to

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other people, both ruckers, runners, you know,

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hill walkers, there's often that classic thing.

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People make the time to do the activity, but

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they don't necessarily take the time to prep

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for it. So yeah, that's where you can quite,

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quite. easily incorporate some some strength

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some stability some mobility exercises and kind

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of bake it into the activity itself so if i was

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incorporating some accessory work to prepare

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me for a ruck i'd maybe start from the ground

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up Maybe some movements like some rock back calf

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raises and things that are going to get the calves

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and ankles going since they're going to be taking

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a lot of the initial force from people and kind

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of working your way up through the chain. People

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tend to get a lot of issues with their hips,

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hamstrings, lower backs, especially when they

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start to incorporate heavier loads and higher.

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degrees of elevation so some things like squats

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lunges step ups things that are going to kind

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of prep the lower body and you know working around

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the the trunk in particular where a lot of people

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may find lower back issues from carrying heavy

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load very often that's because they've not prepared

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their trunk So my go to exercise daily, in fact,

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and certainly a regular feature in my warm ups

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would be the dead bug. OK, I'm not familiar with

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the dead bug. What is that one? I'm assuming

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you're on your back. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

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Yeah. So the dead bug is essentially a core strengthening

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exercise in the power athlete world. You'll often

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hear that. a slightly different vernacular used.

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We always refer to it being trunk work as opposed

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to core work. The analogy being that apples have

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cores and they can rot in the bin when they're

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discarded, whereas trees have trunks and they

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grow strong and mighty and the trunk is the beginning

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to everything. So the dead bug is a trunk training

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exercise. credit to john wellborn from power

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athlete for that analogy by the way but it's

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one that i love i like that too yeah but so so

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dead bug is a trunk exercise essentially you're

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you're laying on the floor with your head shoulders

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tailbone almost as if they've been painted onto

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the floor with your arms and legs pointing straight

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up and there are you know different combinations

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of of movement from that position that could

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involve lowering opposite arms and legs. You

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can incorporate some loads, some slow tempo to

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that movement. But ultimately, it's a really

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great way of both improving trunk stability.

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but also checking in with how your shoulders

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are feeling, how your hamstrings are feeling,

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how your ankles are feeling. It's one very simple

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exercise that serves as a great self -assessment

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tool. Excellent. Yeah, that sounds like a good

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warm -up activity to do right before a rock.

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So I'm thinking just like any exercise, you want

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to do it in like a slow, controlled manner, lifting

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and lowering your limbs. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

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Yeah. So the whole idea is about you being able

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to stabilize your trunk, which is exactly what

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you would be looking to do if you're carrying

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a heavy load on your back. So it's being able

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to prepare your body to actually manage the load

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and keep you upright and keep you moving forward

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in a way that is. going to allow you to move

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with some strength and without caving under the

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load. Gotcha. Now, I'm curious, as a coach, you

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know, a lot of people don't have time to train

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every single day. If someone could only train

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for maybe three days a week, how would you structure

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it for maximum performance? I mean, are we talking

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about... sort of supplementary training to rucking

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in this scenario. Exactly. I mean, for me, if

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it was only three days a week, I would certainly

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prioritize a full body training approach, you

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know, with a sport like rucking. A lot of people

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will think about the typical toll it would have

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on your legs. You know, that's something that

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people would expect. But it's also thinking about

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the shoulders, the upper back. You know, as I

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mentioned previously, the muscles around the

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trunk, which include the abdominal muscles and

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the lower back and the glutes and all of that

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stuff that actually gives your body that stability.

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So I would sort of structure it with. full body

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approach where for about three days of the week,

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I'd be looking to hit what we would define as

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kind of the seven primal movement patterns. So

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we would be looking maybe to on one training

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day, we might be looking at training a squat

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pattern. which could include any form of squat

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from an air squat to an absolute beginner where

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they're just squatting without weight, maybe

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just working at a nice slow tempo, all the way

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up to a back squat for a more experienced lifter

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where you're putting some load on your back and

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perhaps you're building to a relatively high

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intensity in terms of weight. I would look at

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incorporating some kind of upper body pressing

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motion. It could be like a vertical press, something

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that trains the shoulders, whether that's a dumbbell

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press or a barbell strict press, and perhaps

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rotate that with some kind of horizontal press,

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like a bench press, dumbbell. floor press something

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you know that actually gets them moving their

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body in a different plane of motion and always

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incorporating some kind of trunk work whether

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that would be um your dead bugs your planks you

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know side planks things that actually are going

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to train the trunk from different angles um on

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a second training day i might kind of flip that

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and combine some kind of hinging motion like

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a deadlift or a sandbag clean or something that

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actually gets my athletes used to picking weight

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up from the floor and you know that as well as

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being a A good way to train the muscles in the

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back and the lower body. You know, I think any

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opportunity for someone who is excited about

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the sport of rucking to actually, you know, pick

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weight off the floor and be able to carry it,

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be able to move it safely, you know, is quite

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a key one. On that kind of day, for the upper

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body, I'd look at something like... a a pulling

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motion for the upper body like a strict pull

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-up or some kind of inverted row something that

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is going to build the muscles around the back

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and actually you know help in terms of preparing

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the upper back for load management with the ruck

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and then if i was to have a third day in the

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gym you know i'd maybe kind of fill in the gaps

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and perhaps do something that's a little bit

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more kind of functional in nature and things

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like farmers carries sled pushes things that

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are actually going to get you know somebody moving

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their entire body but actually taking a weight

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and moving it from a to b you know one of the

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big muscle groups that probably gets neglected

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in a lot of training programs typically but is

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likely to feel it the most from rucking would

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be the traps you know the muscles at the base

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of your neck the ones that you know usually when

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you've done a heavy ruck for a couple of hours

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that's the part of your body that and i know

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in my case ends up screaming oh yeah um so you

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know heavy farmers carries you know taking some

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kettlebells some some um you know maybe some

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petrol cans or some ammunition cans and just

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carrying them from A to B, picking up heavy sandbags

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and, you know, getting, you know, getting accustomed

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to carrying sandbags using different types of

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grips and putting them on different parts of

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the body. You know, I think they're the kind

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of things that, you know, three days a week,

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I think would give a lot of bang for the buck.

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Excellent. Yeah, I really appreciate that insight,

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Maddie, because I know that a lot of new ruckers

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are sort of using rucking as sort of an entry

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back into their fitness. And maybe they've sat

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on the sidelines for a long time and they're

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looking for some sort of structure, having questions

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about. Where do I even start to start conditioning

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my body outside of rucking? So I think that gives

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a lot of valuable information to our listeners.

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So thanks for that. Speaking of rucking being

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an entry back into starting a healthier lifestyle,

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I've sort of seen it as or viewed it as a gateway

00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:21.000
workout where I started rucking to get back into

00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.679
shape. After rucking, I was sort of motivated

00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.059
to get on the bike and start running. And I've

00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:29.580
seen other people do similar things. And now

00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:32.460
I've seen like certain hybrid races now have

00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:37.299
an established rucking division. And a lot of

00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:40.600
ruckers have also been doing CrossFit. I wanted

00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:42.980
to ask you, you know, you run a functional fitness

00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.480
gym, an HG Fit. And I want to talk about that

00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:47.980
here in a little bit. But how do you see rucking

00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:53.240
fitting into that world? I mean, I think it fits

00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:56.419
beautifully into this world. I mean, you know,

00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:59.299
sort of in my case, you know, I kind of came

00:16:59.299 --> 00:17:02.419
into rucking, you know, almost the opposite way

00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:06.079
around. I mean, at the time that I personally

00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:11.119
got into rucking, it was during COVID. And at

00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.680
that time, I had been a general manager at a

00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:19.220
large... CrossFit gym here in the UK. And we

00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:22.339
were shut down for a significant portion of time

00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:26.039
during the peak of the pandemic here in the UK.

00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:31.480
And so I was looking for that thing to kind of

00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:35.480
fill my time and bridge that gap. And that's

00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:39.440
when I first came across the Go Ruck tribe training

00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.160
program. And when I started to look at the pieces

00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:47.440
that they had put together, both in terms of

00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.880
the the rucking challenges but also the supplementary

00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.680
training that went alongside it uh it very quickly

00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:58.259
dawned on me how you know there was you could

00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:01.019
see how it would attract a very similar type

00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:04.839
of person um you know i think that the typical

00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:09.579
rucker is someone who very often is quite self

00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:16.009
-motivated they are someone who is not afraid

00:18:16.009 --> 00:18:18.950
to put themselves in a position where they can

00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:22.190
be vulnerable or, you know, both emotionally,

00:18:22.250 --> 00:18:24.809
because sometimes, you know, time under the rug,

00:18:24.869 --> 00:18:28.690
it does bring out that side of you. But also,

00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:31.009
you know, that kind of physical discomfort, you

00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:33.950
know, it's that idea of overcoming obstacles

00:18:33.950 --> 00:18:38.750
and challenges. And I think that's where CrossFit,

00:18:38.890 --> 00:18:43.049
High Rocks, all these different branches of functional

00:18:43.049 --> 00:18:48.049
fitness. I think that's where, you know, they

00:18:48.049 --> 00:18:52.490
would appeal to the same type of person. You

00:18:52.490 --> 00:18:55.369
know, the typical person at HG Fit, for example,

00:18:55.609 --> 00:19:02.089
you know, they come because they appreciate the

00:19:02.089 --> 00:19:06.009
community and the idea of shared suffering that

00:19:06.009 --> 00:19:10.109
comes from doing a tough workout. But what they

00:19:10.109 --> 00:19:12.809
most appreciate from a physical point of view

00:19:12.809 --> 00:19:17.829
is it's not about aesthetics or about what the

00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:20.150
body looks like in the mirror. It's all about

00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:24.509
setting a physical goal and actually, you know,

00:19:24.509 --> 00:19:28.509
working out and celebrating what your body can

00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:33.789
actually do and kind of finding your limits and

00:19:33.789 --> 00:19:37.190
expanding upon those. I like that, finding your

00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:39.970
limits. I just went on one of my longer rucks

00:19:39.970 --> 00:19:43.349
recently. I did a half marathon, and I definitely

00:19:43.349 --> 00:19:45.329
pushed my limits on that one. Talk about screaming,

00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:47.809
calves, my traps, like you mentioned earlier,

00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:50.170
were just absolutely burning. On that ruck, I

00:19:50.170 --> 00:19:52.950
had passed a CrossFit gym I had never seen before,

00:19:53.170 --> 00:19:56.730
and they were all outside doing some workouts,

00:19:56.849 --> 00:19:59.759
and I was like, man. If I wasn't so spent right

00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.000
now, I would definitely hop over there and maybe

00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:04.140
see if I could try and join them. I might have

00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:07.539
to do that at a later time. More with Matty in

00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:09.839
just a moment, including how he trains to stay

00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:12.700
healthy and injury -free. But I want to take

00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:14.240
a quick break to say thanks for listening to

00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:16.559
the podcast. Please text this episode to a fellow

00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:18.859
rucker that might find it interesting or a friend

00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:21.039
that could benefit from rucking. Sharing this

00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:23.220
episode will help the show grow and help more

00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:25.799
people improve their health and lives. Okay,

00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:30.289
back to it. I want to start talking about staying

00:20:30.289 --> 00:20:33.509
healthy and injury free while training. You have

00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:36.269
over 20 plus years coaching. You were probably

00:20:36.269 --> 00:20:38.910
active even before that. So you've been training

00:20:38.910 --> 00:20:40.910
for quite some time. And I think I saw recently

00:20:40.910 --> 00:20:43.589
you completed a challenge that you called the

00:20:43.589 --> 00:20:46.190
Wade DeBruin. I don't know if I'm saying that

00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:49.029
correctly. That's correct. Yeah. Yeah. It was

00:20:49.029 --> 00:20:52.130
five intervals, I guess you'd call it. 11 single

00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:54.170
arm dumbbell snatches, 11 single arm dumbbell

00:20:54.170 --> 00:20:57.900
thrusters, and then 11 weighted. uh, pull -ups.

00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:01.460
So first of all, that, that looked intense. Congrats

00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:05.319
on finishing that. How do you manage to stay

00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.000
healthy and avoid burnout and to continue to,

00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.299
to, to complete these pretty intense workouts?

00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.339
Well, well, first and foremost, um, just, um,

00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:17.420
kind of going back to the, the workout for Wade

00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:19.940
DeBruin, um, just because it's an important,

00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:24.170
um, you know, an important sentiment. But the

00:21:24.170 --> 00:21:27.410
Wade de Bruin workout is what we would call a

00:21:27.410 --> 00:21:31.430
memorial or a hero workout, which is, you know,

00:21:31.430 --> 00:21:36.349
a common form of workout in our space. But in

00:21:36.349 --> 00:21:42.049
particular, that workout has been put together

00:21:42.049 --> 00:21:47.740
by a charity called Wade's Army. who are a charity

00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:52.220
who support children and families affected by

00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:56.819
neuroblastoma, which is a very aggressive form

00:21:56.819 --> 00:22:01.180
of cancer that affects infants. And so the Wade

00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:04.619
DeBruin workout actually commemorates the life

00:22:04.619 --> 00:22:07.599
of a very special little boy called Wade DeBruin,

00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:11.319
whose legacy lives on with the charity. And so

00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:14.859
that workout happens on the same day every year.

00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:19.859
And you'll see lots of people, especially various

00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:23.680
cross -sphere and functional fitness gyms around

00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:26.900
the world, and particularly the US, doing that

00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:33.019
workout. I say that not only to kind of give

00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:36.200
the charity a little bit of a plug because, you

00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:40.319
know, it's very close to my heart and I think

00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:43.339
it's very special, the work that they do. But

00:22:43.339 --> 00:22:46.359
sometimes it's those workouts that do really

00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:49.400
take me out of myself. And they're the ones where

00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.140
I actually do push the envelope a little bit

00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:55.160
more because it's easy for me to go to those

00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:58.140
slightly darker, slightly more uncomfortable

00:22:58.140 --> 00:23:02.599
places when there's a higher meaning associated

00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:06.480
with that workout. And it's almost like you offer

00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:10.279
the struggle up to something that is way bigger

00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:15.359
than yourself. And so, you know, again, that's

00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:19.240
where I often see the worlds of rucking and functional

00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:23.940
fitness and CrossFit all kind of come together

00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:27.920
because that is often a very common theme of

00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:33.240
these things. You know, you will often see athletes

00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:36.660
from Ruck Race League. You'll often see athletes

00:23:36.660 --> 00:23:39.779
from the CrossFit world, you know, talk about

00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:43.950
these. you know these people that they'll that

00:23:43.950 --> 00:23:48.289
they use their use their workouts to maybe honor

00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:51.450
the memories of or just to put them in a place

00:23:51.450 --> 00:23:55.509
of of reflection and and celebration of of these

00:23:55.509 --> 00:23:58.950
people so that's quite a long -winded way of

00:23:58.950 --> 00:24:02.130
saying um that was a pretty tough workout but

00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:06.009
not necessarily typical of my of my daily workouts

00:24:06.009 --> 00:24:10.490
um and i think You know, what keeps me going

00:24:10.490 --> 00:24:16.390
at 43 and, you know, thankfully injury -free

00:24:16.390 --> 00:24:24.569
is knowing when to push and when to hold back.

00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:30.009
You know, for me, I'm that classic, you know,

00:24:30.029 --> 00:24:36.319
I'll maybe train about... 75, 80 % of my maximum

00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:41.599
capacity most days with the idea being that I'd

00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.980
rather do a little bit of something every day

00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:49.079
than go absolutely insane on the Monday and then

00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:51.700
not be able to train for the rest of the week.

00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:57.799
So that's kind of my personal philosophy on training,

00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:01.400
but I'm also very deliberate about what I do.

00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:07.819
When it comes to any of my more gymnastic bodyweight

00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:11.440
movements in the gym, I've always prioritized

00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:15.779
strict movement over more kind of dynamic kipping

00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:18.759
movement. When it comes to things like pull -ups,

00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:25.740
I've always prioritized using... um scaling which

00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:29.740
is you know making movements easier or modifying

00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:33.440
weight in workouts and essentially individualizing

00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:38.880
workouts as a priority as opposed to you know

00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:43.900
that in the old days of of certainly the crossfit

00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:46.799
world there used to be sort of an attitude that

00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:49.099
unless you were doing the workout exactly as

00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:52.460
written it was not doing the workout if that

00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:57.660
makes sense yeah so you know for me it's prioritizing

00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:02.339
good movement moving to a full range of motion

00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:06.599
you know taking pride in every single rep because

00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:09.539
that's where you know you get that consistency

00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:13.400
and I think consistency breeds better performance

00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:18.700
overall and then it's taking time to recover

00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:22.859
properly after a workout whether that's you know

00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:25.960
taking you know even as little as four minutes

00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:30.099
is enough for you to go through a cool down stretching

00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:33.380
routine that will help you know bring your central

00:26:33.380 --> 00:26:36.279
nervous system back down to an even keel and

00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:38.519
just kind of help you get into a more relaxed

00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:43.799
state and then what you do out of the gym in

00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:49.200
terms of having a good sleep routine, you know,

00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:52.359
making sure that you make smart choices when

00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:55.960
it comes to, you know, hydrating and, you know,

00:26:55.960 --> 00:27:00.559
nutrition and just, you know, making sure that

00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:04.180
the self -care is there. Yeah, I recently just

00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:08.000
had a conversation with a registered dietitian

00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.980
in Kyle Camp from Valley to Peak Nutrition, and

00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:14.200
he was just talking about how. I asked him a

00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:15.660
question. I was like, what do we need to eat

00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:18.359
right before we rock to give us the fuel we need?

00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:19.880
He's like, honestly, don't even think about that.

00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:23.240
You need to be eating healthy consistently throughout

00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:26.180
your entire day to day. That's going to make

00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:28.740
more of an impact than anything. And I was going

00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:31.519
to ask you, you know, outside of the gym, what

00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:34.000
are some habits that will have the biggest difference

00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.359
in performance and longevity? And you said something

00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:38.460
similar, like making sure that you're getting

00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:41.539
your sleep in kind of consistently. So I'm like,

00:27:41.579 --> 00:27:44.849
I'm hearing. Eat healthy always, all the time

00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:47.410
and get sleep. Those seem to be the two biggest

00:27:47.410 --> 00:27:50.029
habits outside of the gym that can help you with

00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:53.470
your performance and your recovery. Yeah, absolutely.

00:27:53.750 --> 00:27:58.309
Those points, you know, they sound so simple

00:27:58.309 --> 00:28:01.990
when we say them. And I appreciate that for many

00:28:01.990 --> 00:28:04.940
people, those things are often. the things that

00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:07.180
they struggle with the most and I think you know

00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:10.400
what your what your nutrition coach says is completely

00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:12.900
on the money you know I think sometimes we can

00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:16.859
really over complicate these things and I think

00:28:16.859 --> 00:28:20.200
you know just you know being mindful I think

00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:24.140
is is what I the word I would use to describe

00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:28.700
and you know it's thinking about creating habits

00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:32.660
that you know are sustainable for for you individually

00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:36.759
I know for some people you know sleep patterns

00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:41.549
can be a really difficult one if They are shift

00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:46.029
workers or people with young families. And I

00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:50.289
think in those cases, it may be things like trying

00:28:50.289 --> 00:28:54.210
to embrace the power of a power nap at a weekend

00:28:54.210 --> 00:28:59.190
if the opportunity arises. Even just 20 minutes

00:28:59.190 --> 00:29:02.289
in the day, if at all possible, to go into a

00:29:02.289 --> 00:29:06.410
quiet room and just kind of power down and give

00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:08.970
yourself, even if it's not sleep, just a little

00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:13.700
bit of... quiet time away from the chaos of normal

00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:21.539
life and just having a consistent bedtime routine

00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:25.740
even if the bedtime itself changes, having that

00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:29.849
kind of ritual that gets you into that. relaxed

00:29:29.849 --> 00:29:35.650
state, maybe trying to avoid looking at social

00:29:35.650 --> 00:29:38.950
media just before you want to go to sleep, avoiding

00:29:38.950 --> 00:29:41.250
all the bad news and all the noise that's out

00:29:41.250 --> 00:29:44.890
there, potentially avoiding screens altogether,

00:29:45.369 --> 00:29:50.809
going through whatever routine allows you to

00:29:50.809 --> 00:29:56.130
relax last thing at the end of the day, whether

00:29:56.130 --> 00:30:02.119
that's reading, meditating, praying, you know,

00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:05.059
whatever that may be for the individual, just

00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:09.140
that, okay, this is my line, you know, in the

00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:11.680
sand that says, like, my day is ending, you know,

00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:15.539
how can I relax? Now, on the flip side of that,

00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:18.940
the opposite of relaxing. What are some common

00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:21.839
overtraining signs ruckers should watch out for

00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.599
when they start doing some sort of functional

00:30:24.599 --> 00:30:28.640
fitness strength and conditioning? With the functional

00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:32.079
fitness side of things, I think overtraining

00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:36.940
can present in a lot of different ways. I think

00:30:36.940 --> 00:30:38.900
that one of the first things that people will

00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:41.240
often feel is, you know, it's kind of little

00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:45.240
niggles, you know, it's starting to understand

00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:50.049
the difference between soreness which may be

00:30:50.049 --> 00:30:53.109
the byproduct of you know introducing a more

00:30:53.109 --> 00:30:56.269
intense you know training program into your life

00:30:56.269 --> 00:30:59.369
you know a little bit of you know muscular soreness

00:30:59.369 --> 00:31:03.009
would be expected and that can sometimes be you

00:31:03.009 --> 00:31:07.190
know a fairly long process at the start but it's

00:31:07.190 --> 00:31:10.650
then understanding when muscle soreness then

00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:15.410
becomes a niggle and then when a niggle becomes

00:31:15.410 --> 00:31:17.829
persistent enough potentially to become an injury

00:31:17.829 --> 00:31:21.430
so i think just people checking in with how their

00:31:21.430 --> 00:31:26.849
body feels um and you know if something feels

00:31:26.849 --> 00:31:31.369
off then knowing when to when to hold back and

00:31:31.369 --> 00:31:35.210
and perhaps get a coach's advice on on how to

00:31:35.210 --> 00:31:39.390
navigate that scenario so it doesn't become an

00:31:39.390 --> 00:31:44.769
injury um but other things like fatigue. Some

00:31:44.769 --> 00:31:47.410
people might find if they're overtrained, they

00:31:47.410 --> 00:31:50.650
really struggle just to get going in the first

00:31:50.650 --> 00:31:54.549
place. Perhaps the overtraining itself can affect

00:31:54.549 --> 00:31:58.150
their sleep patterns and make it really difficult

00:31:58.150 --> 00:32:03.390
to rest at the end of the day. Mood changes can

00:32:03.390 --> 00:32:08.789
definitely be a significant part of overtraining.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.400
suddenly someone becomes, you know, a bit agitated

00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:18.019
or anxious or just really demotivated, that can

00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:22.500
very often be a sign to look out for, for overtraining

00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:26.140
too. Okay. I want to move into talking about

00:32:26.140 --> 00:32:28.880
your gym, HG Fit. So tell me a little bit about

00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:32.079
it. What makes your gym different from, from

00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:44.130
others? We've been open for 10 years now, and

00:32:44.130 --> 00:32:49.269
I've come back as a co -owner within the last

00:32:49.269 --> 00:32:52.069
two years, actually having been the first coach

00:32:52.069 --> 00:32:59.349
there many, many years ago. Our gym, myself and

00:32:59.349 --> 00:33:04.750
my co -owner, James, we both come from very similar

00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:08.910
training backgrounds. pretty much started within

00:33:08.910 --> 00:33:13.329
the CrossFit space but over the years we've both

00:33:13.329 --> 00:33:16.910
kind of developed other areas of kind of interest

00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:21.430
and expertise and we feel like where we're at

00:33:21.430 --> 00:33:27.309
now we've created a really great blend of both

00:33:27.309 --> 00:33:30.869
areas of expertise and created a training environment

00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:34.970
that although functional fitness is our our umbrella

00:33:35.789 --> 00:33:39.950
We do have a lot of specialisms that we run in

00:33:39.950 --> 00:33:45.970
-house as well. So, for example, my areas of

00:33:45.970 --> 00:33:52.170
expertise are senior fitness. And so I run a

00:33:52.170 --> 00:33:54.710
strength and conditioning program called Legends,

00:33:54.869 --> 00:34:01.240
which is specifically for over 60s. many of whom

00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:05.319
actually have started to embrace rucking as part

00:34:05.319 --> 00:34:08.500
of their extracurricular activities. In fact,

00:34:08.579 --> 00:34:13.659
shout out to one of my legends, Dennis, who was

00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:16.760
the mastermind behind my Stairway to Heaven route

00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:20.539
for Ruck Race League, which I still haven't quite

00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:25.239
forgiven him for, but certainly he's the guy

00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:29.699
to go to if you need advice on routes. uh in

00:34:29.699 --> 00:34:33.019
the bedfordshire area for for wannabe ruckers

00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:37.559
hikers and all the rest of it um but as well

00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:41.059
as as well as that we run conditioning classes

00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:44.659
that are geared more towards the hybrid racing

00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:49.739
population so with the boom recently with high

00:34:49.739 --> 00:34:54.010
rocks deca deadly dozen. There's all of these

00:34:54.010 --> 00:34:58.949
fabulous hybrid racing events now that have brought

00:34:58.949 --> 00:35:01.809
in a new generation of runners and endurance

00:35:01.809 --> 00:35:06.630
athletes to our gym. And so we run training sessions

00:35:06.630 --> 00:35:08.590
that are a little bit more geared towards that

00:35:08.590 --> 00:35:12.769
population where there's more endurance baked

00:35:12.769 --> 00:35:16.929
into their workouts to accommodate the running

00:35:16.929 --> 00:35:20.090
volume and the time spent on cardio machines

00:35:20.090 --> 00:35:23.309
that they need to accumulate for these hybrid

00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:27.090
racing events. And then our bread and butter

00:35:27.090 --> 00:35:32.900
is a little bit more of a... kind of functional

00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:36.760
fitness approach that combines Olympic weightlifting

00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:41.000
and strength training with various body weight

00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:46.199
and athletic movements. I would kind of define

00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:50.860
that training as zombie apocalypse prep training,

00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:56.630
you know, being able to lift. throw, run, jump,

00:35:56.630 --> 00:36:00.230
and be able to take on a variety of challenges

00:36:00.230 --> 00:36:04.289
and be prepared to meet those head on. Excellent.

00:36:04.449 --> 00:36:07.090
Now, it looks like you've built a pretty strong

00:36:07.090 --> 00:36:09.550
community over there. What have you learned about

00:36:09.550 --> 00:36:12.449
building not just strong athletes, but a strong

00:36:12.449 --> 00:36:17.230
sense of community? Well, I think community is

00:36:17.230 --> 00:36:22.280
everything to us. We've certainly found since

00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:28.260
the days of COVID that people have really started

00:36:28.260 --> 00:36:32.179
to gravitate again to being within a brick and

00:36:32.179 --> 00:36:35.420
mortar space where they get to train alongside

00:36:35.420 --> 00:36:40.219
other like -minded people. We sort of find in

00:36:40.219 --> 00:36:43.869
the UK in particular. You know, we kind of wear

00:36:43.869 --> 00:36:46.210
our hearts on our sleeves a little bit over here.

00:36:46.349 --> 00:36:50.250
And certainly society as a whole, perhaps, is

00:36:50.250 --> 00:36:53.670
a bit more secular than it used to be. And a

00:36:53.670 --> 00:36:56.670
lot of people kind of fall into these silos where,

00:36:56.670 --> 00:37:00.010
you know, they have their persona at home as

00:37:00.010 --> 00:37:04.610
a. as a spouse or a parent or carer. They go

00:37:04.610 --> 00:37:08.170
to work for their, you know, 50 odd hours a week,

00:37:08.389 --> 00:37:10.949
you know, doing whatever it is professionally

00:37:10.949 --> 00:37:15.329
they do. And so somewhere like HG Fit ends up

00:37:15.329 --> 00:37:18.289
being that third space for a lot of people where

00:37:18.289 --> 00:37:22.650
they get that sense of friendship and community

00:37:22.650 --> 00:37:28.070
and they get to just do something that is completely

00:37:28.070 --> 00:37:33.150
for themselves. And I think out of that, you

00:37:33.150 --> 00:37:38.849
get that idea of shared suffering where it's

00:37:38.849 --> 00:37:41.469
quite hard to motivate yourself to do a really

00:37:41.469 --> 00:37:44.550
tough workout on your own. But when you're in

00:37:44.550 --> 00:37:47.269
a room full of other people and they're all approaching

00:37:47.269 --> 00:37:50.929
it at their own levels, it's just something really

00:37:50.929 --> 00:37:55.190
motivating and inspiring about doing that. And

00:37:55.190 --> 00:37:59.530
it also presents a wonderful platform to. you

00:37:59.530 --> 00:38:01.929
know, put some good into the wider community,

00:38:02.309 --> 00:38:06.510
you know, often, you know, whether it's fundraising

00:38:06.510 --> 00:38:11.110
schemes or, you know, supporting, you know, charities

00:38:11.110 --> 00:38:15.510
within the area, you know, spaces like HG Fit

00:38:15.510 --> 00:38:19.889
and similar gyms, they can really provide a service

00:38:19.889 --> 00:38:22.929
for, you know, for the greater good as well.

00:38:23.469 --> 00:38:25.869
I'm sure your constituents are super happy with

00:38:25.869 --> 00:38:28.949
you and James for creating such an amazing community,

00:38:29.150 --> 00:38:31.789
what it looks like, and an opportunity of them

00:38:31.789 --> 00:38:34.110
to be part of a larger collective and really

00:38:34.110 --> 00:38:36.829
crush some workouts, not just solo, but with

00:38:36.829 --> 00:38:39.190
the motivation of others. Before moving into

00:38:39.190 --> 00:38:41.670
our rapid fire round, I just want to say, Maddie,

00:38:41.670 --> 00:38:43.170
thanks so much for giving me your time today.

00:38:43.250 --> 00:38:47.829
I really appreciate you sharing your expertise

00:38:47.829 --> 00:38:52.190
with us. I really appreciate the fact that you've

00:38:52.190 --> 00:38:54.690
carved some time out of your day to be with us.

00:38:54.710 --> 00:38:57.090
So thanks so much. This was a lot of fun. You're

00:38:57.090 --> 00:38:59.670
very welcome. Thank you for having me. All right,

00:38:59.690 --> 00:39:02.309
let's go into the rapid fire round. Just a few

00:39:02.309 --> 00:39:04.429
questions here. Whatever pops into your head.

00:39:04.530 --> 00:39:06.530
What was your first rucksack when you started

00:39:06.530 --> 00:39:11.010
rucking as a form of exercise? It was a Go Ruck

00:39:11.010 --> 00:39:17.090
GR1. And it was gifted to me by the owner of

00:39:17.090 --> 00:39:19.800
the CrossFit gym I worked at at the time. What

00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.940
a great gift. That's awesome. Amazing. If you

00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:24.980
could only rock one trail for the rest of your

00:39:24.980 --> 00:39:30.460
life, what trail would that be? I would say we

00:39:30.460 --> 00:39:34.300
have a place near us called Rowney Warren, which

00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:39.900
is a kind of woodland area. And that's my go

00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:42.940
-to place locally for, you know, peace of mind.

00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:48.039
It's a short trail, but one that always kind

00:39:48.039 --> 00:39:50.500
of gives me that little bit of peace I need.

00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:52.519
That's great. Yeah, there's something about walking

00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:54.840
around in the woods that's always really calming

00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:58.139
for me as well. What's your favorite non -rucking

00:39:58.139 --> 00:40:03.480
workout? My favorite non -rucking workout? I

00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:06.920
mean, I think it has to be the Wade's Day workout,

00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:09.920
the Wade DeBruin workout for what it represents.

00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:14.300
And yeah, just that's the one. Excellent. What

00:40:14.300 --> 00:40:16.179
do you listen to when you're rock or do you have

00:40:16.179 --> 00:40:22.340
the headphones in? Well, my music taste is very

00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:25.840
eclectic, but I dare say I like a little bit

00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:33.760
of country, but a lot of 80s hard rock and heavy

00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:37.880
metal. That's my go -to if I really want to go

00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:41.460
for it. Cool. Okay. That certainly gets your

00:40:41.460 --> 00:40:43.820
heart rate up and gets you ready to tackle a

00:40:43.820 --> 00:40:47.420
ruck. Nice. Absolutely. Lastly, what is your

00:40:47.420 --> 00:40:51.880
bucket list rucking trail? I would love to do

00:40:51.880 --> 00:41:03.059
parts of the St. James Way in Europe. It's the

00:41:03.059 --> 00:41:07.000
Camino de Santiago. It was something that my

00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:09.739
late father had always, you know, had always

00:41:09.739 --> 00:41:13.280
been on his bucket list to do. And he never lived

00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:16.260
to see it through. And I actually was just looking

00:41:16.260 --> 00:41:19.320
at a guidebook for it last night. And it's every

00:41:19.320 --> 00:41:22.739
year I think about it. And, you know, I think

00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:25.800
that's definitely in the works. Awesome. Well,

00:41:25.980 --> 00:41:28.400
Matty, again, really appreciate your time. Thanks

00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:31.440
so much for joining us today. My pleasure. Thank

00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:34.289
you very much, Spencer. All right, that wraps

00:41:34.289 --> 00:41:36.650
up my conversation with Coach Matty. You can

00:41:36.650 --> 00:41:41.070
connect with him over at hgfit .co .uk or on

00:41:41.070 --> 00:41:45.210
Instagram at MPHollingdale. Hollingdale has two

00:41:45.210 --> 00:41:47.670
L's. If you want to reach out to me, head on

00:41:47.670 --> 00:41:50.289
over to theruckersedge .com or on Instagram at

00:41:50.289 --> 00:41:53.230
theruckersedgepod. If you enjoyed today's episode,

00:41:53.349 --> 00:41:55.289
make sure to follow or subscribe to the show

00:41:55.289 --> 00:41:57.469
in your favorite podcast app so you're notified

00:41:57.469 --> 00:41:59.969
of new episodes. All right, that's it for today.

00:42:00.110 --> 00:42:02.150
Thanks again for listening to this episode of

00:42:02.150 --> 00:42:02.909
The Rucker's Edge.