Why Lifters Should Be Rucking: Strength, Recovery, and Longevity with Ashley the Amazing

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Many lifters or strength athletes treat cardio

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like the enemy. They fear that spending too much

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time doing endurance work will cause them to

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lose strength, lose muscle, and undo all the

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hard work they put into the gym. But what if

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the opposite is true? What if the right type

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of conditioning could actually help strength

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athletes recover faster, improve work capacity,

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joints and connective tissue, and even help them

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lift more effectively over the long term? Today's

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guest believes that's exactly what rucking can

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do. Ashley the Amazing is an Army veteran, former

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professional bodybuilder, endurance athlete,

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Olympic weightlifting coach, kinesiology professor,

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and current doctoral student in exercise science.

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She has spent years competing, coaching, and

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studying human performance across multiple disciplines,

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giving her a very unique perspective on how strength

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and endurance can work together. You're listening

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to the Rucker's Edge podcast, a show all about

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rucking that is designed to help you improve

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your rucking routine, lose weight, and ultimately

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gain your strength and energy back. Each episode

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dives into the science, stories, and strategies

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behind rucking. You learn from top ruckers, coaches,

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health experts, and performance specialists who

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break down what it takes to train smarter, recover

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faster, and stay ready for the next challenge.

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So whether you're new to rucking or an experienced

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rucker that's already logged hundreds of miles,

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

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Thanks for listening in. Please enjoy my conversation

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with Ashley the Amazing. Ashley the Amazing,

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thank you so much for joining me here on the

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Rucker's Edge podcast. Been following you for

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a while. You put out some really cool content,

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and I'm really excited to talk to you today about

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why lifters are people that strength train should

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be rucking. So thanks for joining me today. Thank

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you, Spencer, for having me and reaching out

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and putting this together. I'm excited to be

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here. So you have quite the extensive history

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when it comes to fitness. I'm just doing some

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research on you because I've only known you through

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social media. But when I started doing some research

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prior to this podcast, I saw that you can. competed

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in bodybuilding at a pro level. You've run marathons.

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You've done CrossFit, High Rocks events. You

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served in the Army for several years. And you

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also teach kinesiology. So when someone approaches

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you or asks you to describe yourself in terms

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of where you fit in the fitness world, what do

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you tell them? Where do you even start to explain

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your background or your history? I just tell

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them that I am a land animal. So anything that

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has to do with fitness on land. is my jam. I

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can swim. I just, I'm not, I'm not a water animal.

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So I should tell them, hey, if it has to do with

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things that we can move our bodies on land, I'm

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all about trying it. That's awesome. And so,

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yeah, you're also, not only do you compete in

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all these different events, but you also teach

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people about kinesiology. What's that like being

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a professor and, you know, giving knowledge to

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people that are eager to learn? Is that, that's

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got to be gratifying, I'd imagine. It is. It

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is. Before I even graduated from George Mason

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with my master's in kinesiology, they reached

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out to me my last semester like, hey, we want

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to offer you a job. And I never thought of myself

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as being a professor in teaching. And then I

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said, you know what, I'll try it for a semester.

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And I loved it. So this is my third year being

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an adjunct professor of kinesiology at George

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Mason University. And I loved it so much that

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now I'm back in school working on my doctorate

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so that I can teach at a higher level. and just

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have more knowledge to share with people who

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are interested in learning. So fitness is obviously

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kind of a big part of your life, it sounds like.

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It's a massive part of my life. So what does

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your training look like these days? What are

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you doing on like a daily basis or a weekly basis?

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What are you doing? Right now, I'm a little bit

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into everything. I still do some hypertrophy

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training, some bodybuilding things. I've been

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really into Olympic weightlifting the last two

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years, and I'm also now coaching. I do Olympic

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weightlifting coaching at a local CrossFit gym

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here in the area. So I'm teaching others Olympic

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weightlifting. And I'm also like running, cycling,

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rucking, everything really. I just like to try

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it all and just, I don't know, it keeps me entertained

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and keeps me in the best shape of my life. Even

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more than when I was competing as a professional

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bodybuilder. I feel like I have never been in

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better shape or just felt better. Cool. And that's

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great. Yeah, and I saw you recently had a knee

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injury. How's the recovery going? And is rucking

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entering the equation for any recovery with that?

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Yeah, I just had knee surgery two weeks ago yesterday.

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Recovery's going great. Every day I get a little

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bit better, a little bit stronger. I'm not able

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to ruck. It'll probably be another two weeks.

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It'll probably take me about four weeks at a

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minimum, six weeks maximum, the doctor said,

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before I can get back into rucking. Hopefully

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it'll allow me to ruck at a higher capacity than

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I have been because of the knee injury that was

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existing that needed corrected. Gotcha. Yeah.

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Well, I hope the recovery goes well. I hope you

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get under the ruck again soon. I don't know how

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important that is in your life. And speaking

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of rucking, so I mentioned this earlier, you're

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a veteran. I think you served in Army Airborne.

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Is that where rucking started for you or were

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you rucking before then? Talk to me a little

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bit about your history. Yeah, introduced to rucking

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before then. I mean, I joined, I signed up for

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the military when I was 17, a senior in high

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school. And then as soon as I graduated, I left.

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So I didn't have any exposure to rucking until

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I joined the military. Gotcha. So rucking in

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the military, I work with a lot of vets. I have

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family members and friends that are veterans

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and speaking to them about rucking. I have. Come

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across the opinion that rucking is not fun. It's

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grueling. It's terrible. Why would anybody want

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to do that? Was that your experience in the Army?

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I mean, clearly you're still rucking, so you're

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enjoying it and it's benefiting your fitness.

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But was that how the approach was when you're

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active duty? Well, yes, because the military

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doesn't. automatically say, hey, we're going

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to start with 10 pounds and walk for two miles.

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They just throw 85 to 100 and some pounds on

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you and say, hey, we're going to go do a six

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mile and build up to a 12 mile. So, of course,

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it's going to be grueling and suffering. I loved

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it. I was actually one of the best ruckers in

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my units. where I served, especially at JCSE,

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like it kind of preceded me. I remember I was

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at this brief with an incoming company commander

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and in his welcome speech to the unit, he was

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like, I've heard about this Sergeant Romniak

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who is an unbelievable rucker. And that just

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kind of just motivated me more. Just I, even

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though it was uncomfortable, I absolutely loved

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it. And then once I served my time, I did nine

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years. I continue, I just continue to rock. Cool.

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Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. Built to carry. Ashley,

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you have extensive knowledge in the strength

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training community. You are competing at a pro

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level. You've had coaching services where you're

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training lifters. I'm curious, when you bring

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up anything that looks like cardio to a dedicated

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weightlifter, is there a typical reaction? From

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my experience, I have seen that there's been

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some reluctant to do cardio work. Has that been

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your experience as well? Absolutely, there is

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reluctance. And I think that's just because of...

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old mindset or an older way of thinking that

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cardiovascular work is going to interfere with

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the strength training or hypertrophy gains that

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they're trying to go for, which is clearly not

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the case anymore if programmed right. I gotcha.

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Yeah, that has been my experience too when speaking

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with weightlifters. It's like, no, why would

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I want to do anything that's not weightlifting?

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It's going to get in my way of, you know, putting

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on muscle. So thanks for clarifying that. I don't

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mean to cut you off, but I want to say that it

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will actually make them a better lifter. When

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we talk about recovery and body adaptations,

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right, a lot of those lifters, like the biggest

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guy doesn't mean they're the healthiest in the

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room. We have many facets of fitness, right?

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We have mobility and flexibility and strength

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and anaerobic and aerobic fitness. And so we

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have all these facets and they just focus on

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strength training. They're missing out on so

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many other variables, which. cardio or conditioning

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is such a fundamental and foundational platform

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for them so if they would just incorporate a

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little bit of cardio or weighted walking or we

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would call it rocking they would have better

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recovery between sets they would have better

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cardiovascular circulation like better um you

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know lymphatic drainage they would be able to

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let me just say it this way if we have a lifter

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and he's doing a heavy set of three to five back

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squats And he has no levels like zone two cardio

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conditioning under his belt. And then we have

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another athlete who has a great solid. He does

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rocking, you know, two days a week for 30 minutes.

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The lifter A, who has no cardio, it's going to

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take him that full five minutes to recover in

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between sets. And he still might not have all

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the ATP, all the energy back in his body to do

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another max set and like a full effort. Whereas

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athlete B, who's trained, his heart rate has

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dropped back down. His nervous system has calmed

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down and he's going to be 100 % ready to tackle

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that next set to make better progress. So, I

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mean, it just builds on to you want to be a better

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lifter. You have to incorporate some zone two,

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some light. cardiovascular work. Yeah. Let's

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get into that. Let's get into the meat of this

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episode on why lifters should be should be rucking

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or doing some sort of cardio. Like when you look

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at a dedicated weightlifters like training program,

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have you seen like gaps or something that's like

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obvious that they really should be doing? I mean,

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I'm rucking, I think would fill those gaps. But

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is it common that there's just like no cardio

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being done? Oh, yeah. And from my experience

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in this. fitness community for over 20 years

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now, a lot of the lifters don't do any cardiovascular

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work. And it really does hurt them. It hurts

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their blood pressure, their cognitive function.

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It hurts their rest and recovery. They could

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be getting so much more. And some of them are

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just diehard strength athletes. And all they

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want to do is progress in strength, progress

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their muscle, progress their muscle size or strength.

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And they're leaving some gains on the table by

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not walking, by not getting that heart rate up.

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For example, if you have a resting heart rate

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of 90 beats per minute, and I have a resting

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heart rate of 60 beats per minute, and we time

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that per minute, per hours per day over the week,

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your heart rate, your heart is doing 30 beats

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more per minute than mine. And if we multiply

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that by minutes, by hours, by days, by weeks,

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that's thousands of heartbeats more that your

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heart is doing more work than mine. And because

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I do the cardio, I'm saving years off my life.

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So it's going to make you more efficient. It's

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going to make your engine just work clean and

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help support everything else you do in your life.

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Yeah, no, totally agree. I mean, I've seen that

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in my own personal experience, just from doing

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nothing to getting out there and actually, you

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know, rucking again. I used to be an avid runner

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and, you know, never really thought about trying

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to maintain a certain body weight or a certain

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level of health. But like after years of not

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being able to do any cardio and getting back

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into rucking, I'm like, oh, yeah, this is how

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I'm supposed to feel. But beyond cardiovascular

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adaption, what does rucking... From your experience

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and your education, what does rucking do for

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like joint health and connective tissue, I guess,

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and even maybe like load bearing capacity that

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weightlifters should understand or learn themselves?

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So let's, we're going to take this kind of back

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a few steps into looking at humans. So what are

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humans really good at doing? We're really good

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at walking, right? We're ambulatory, but we're

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great at that. And we're great at carrying loads.

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What other mammal out there can pick up a heavy

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load for an extended period of time? They've

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done studies even with apes that they cannot

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carry loads like we can as efficiently. And there's

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no other mammal out there that can out -endurance

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us. So that's why when we look at past like hunter

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-gatherers and even tribes that are still hunting

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today, they're able to pursue their prey on foot,

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right? They're running or they're running this

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animal down to hunt it. And the thing is that

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we are adapted, that we don't have fur, and we

00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:24.820
have physiological adaptations that allow us

00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:27.700
to sweat, that allow us to cool our bodies, that

00:12:27.700 --> 00:12:30.740
allow us to stay with producing energy efficiently.

00:12:31.450 --> 00:12:33.250
over a long period of time where other mammals

00:12:33.250 --> 00:12:34.789
don't have that. So that's why we succeed when

00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:37.809
we hunt is because we run that animal to exhaustion

00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:40.529
because they have fur. If you think of dogs and

00:12:40.529 --> 00:12:42.529
things like that, right, they don't sweat. They're

00:12:42.529 --> 00:12:45.470
going to tire out before us. So we're really

00:12:45.470 --> 00:12:47.909
good at those things. So we need to do more of

00:12:47.909 --> 00:12:50.450
those things. So given that we're really good

00:12:50.450 --> 00:12:53.049
at long distance and we're good at carrying loads,

00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:54.870
right, because once you hunt the animal down,

00:12:55.029 --> 00:12:57.509
you have to put it in your backpack and carry

00:12:57.509 --> 00:12:59.269
it out, right? You have to carry it back to the

00:12:59.269 --> 00:13:01.720
tribe. There are adaptations that are innate

00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:02.940
to these things that we're supposed to do, right?

00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:08.139
So if I take a Chevy Dually and a race car and

00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:10.159
I take them both to the racetrack, that race

00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:11.860
car is going to be really, really good at doing

00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:14.240
what it's supposed to do. And the Dually is not

00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:15.620
going to do that. But if I take them both to

00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:18.039
a heavy hauling, the Dually is going to be really

00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.360
good at that. So we need to go towards what we're...

00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.100
made to do, what we're really good at doing.

00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.419
So endurance and packing things. And then with

00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:27.820
those comes these adaptations, like we build

00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:29.740
better bone density, which has been shown for

00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:32.860
rucking in women that it helps with bone density,

00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:36.139
which we're going to prevent osteoporosis, right?

00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:39.720
The over time when we fall and break a hip. Tendon

00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.960
health, that is one of the biggest bonuses of

00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.820
rucking. So when we think about tendons. We want

00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.419
stiff tendons. We want the stiff tendons because

00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:51.139
we want the force to transfer from the bone to

00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.320
the tendon to the muscle. If we have weak tendons

00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:56.139
that are kind of like jello -y, think about trying

00:13:56.139 --> 00:14:00.700
to, if you have a tight rubber band, there's

00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:03.059
more elastic, so you can transfer more force

00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:05.820
better than if it was elastic. So by us being

00:14:05.820 --> 00:14:08.700
with load on our back while rocking, we are producing

00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:12.919
gains in our tendons, which is going to make

00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.580
us better with strength. because you want that

00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:17.580
force to transfer from the bone to the tendon

00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:19.620
to the muscle more efficiently. So that's one

00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.720
of the biggest takeaways from rucking that people

00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.419
don't even think about is, wow, it's going to

00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:26.299
make your tendon stronger, you know, and there's

00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:29.340
a lot of strength athletes who tear their pecs,

00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:32.299
tear their biceps because the tendons aren't

00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:34.940
as strong as the muscle. So rucking allows us

00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:37.379
to strengthen those tendons so in the gym we

00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:40.259
don't have to worry about so many injuries. Yeah,

00:14:40.259 --> 00:14:42.929
that's... Excellent points. Everything that you

00:14:42.929 --> 00:14:45.470
touched on just there kind of leans into how

00:14:45.470 --> 00:14:47.610
to improve your longevity. You mentioned breaking

00:14:47.610 --> 00:14:50.090
a hip. That's a huge thing. After you break a

00:14:50.090 --> 00:14:52.210
hip, I forgot the stat, but that's X amount of

00:14:52.210 --> 00:14:53.649
months before you're back in the hospital or

00:14:53.649 --> 00:14:58.850
even worse. But as people age, you know, I'm

00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:00.990
thinking like, you know, maybe in their senior

00:15:00.990 --> 00:15:03.769
years, I have learned that resistance training

00:15:03.769 --> 00:15:07.490
becomes increasingly popular. Okay. So when we're

00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:09.950
talking about longevity. We think of VO2 max

00:15:09.950 --> 00:15:12.490
or how efficient your body is at using oxygen.

00:15:12.610 --> 00:15:16.129
And rucking is a great way to improve your VO2

00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:18.730
max, which is an indicator of longevity of health

00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:21.070
over the lifespan. And that's because rucking

00:15:21.070 --> 00:15:24.029
is a whole body activity. If you think of cycling,

00:15:24.129 --> 00:15:25.870
right, you're just using your legs. When we're

00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:28.330
rucking, there is so much more going on because

00:15:28.330 --> 00:15:30.809
we now have a force behind us, which is going

00:15:30.809 --> 00:15:34.009
to make our body have to alter its biomechanics

00:15:34.009 --> 00:15:36.889
to offset that load. We have to worry about stability,

00:15:37.230 --> 00:15:39.450
postural muscle. We're going to burn more calories.

00:15:39.710 --> 00:15:42.570
There's so many good things about rucking because

00:15:42.570 --> 00:15:45.009
we're made to do it that are going to help transfer

00:15:45.009 --> 00:15:47.620
us to have that. longer life especially if you

00:15:47.620 --> 00:15:50.000
think about it when you're rucking maybe not

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:51.539
in your neighborhood but out in the woods that

00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:54.299
uneven terrain you're working stabilizer muscles

00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:56.799
like you said proprioception you're kind of having

00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.580
to be more aware of your body in space which

00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:02.399
that unilateral like step step step it's going

00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:03.879
to transfer over to when you're older and you're

00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:05.980
trying to put your pants on one leg without having

00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.440
to sit down or you're just balanced in general

00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:10.700
there's so many positives that people just don't

00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:12.899
realize because they just think oh rucking that's

00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:14.940
the military thing where Everybody complains

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:18.080
that, oh, you know, the military rucking annihilated

00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:19.620
me and broke me and that's why I can't do anything.

00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:21.500
Well, they didn't do it right. But if you do

00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:24.820
it right, there's the benefits are stacked. Right.

00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.000
Yeah. And speaking of those benefits, like when

00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.759
a weightlifter starts rucking, have you noticed

00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.460
based off of maybe some of your athletes or your

00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:36.340
own experience, like what are some of the physical

00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.879
changes that might pop up first or that they

00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:42.360
might start noticing first? Noticing first, they

00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.600
just, they feel better. And I think that's because

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.879
they get, most of the time we're getting outside,

00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.700
it's very seldom you see someone rocking on the

00:16:50.700 --> 00:16:52.580
treadmill. And then when you get outside, right,

00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:53.580
you're getting that sunlight, you're getting

00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:55.659
your vitamin D, you're getting some fresh air.

00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.480
And you're probably doing it with a community,

00:16:57.620 --> 00:16:59.059
right? You can do it with your family, your friends,

00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:01.279
in a group. So you're getting this like psychological

00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:04.579
boost of serotonin and all these things of like,

00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.119
wow, I'm doing it with friends, I'm getting sunlight,

00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.299
I'm getting fresh air. I'm not stuck inside looking

00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:11.220
at my computer screen or my phone screen. I completely

00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:14.799
agree with you on the, uh, ran rucking on a treadmill.

00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.640
One of the reasons I chose rucking as one of

00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:19.640
my primary forms of staying, you know, fit was

00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:21.460
just, I tried these different other things and

00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.140
like, I just got bored. Like I can't, can't sit

00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:28.059
on the rower and row for that long that at that

00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:30.940
consistency that I needed to, or yeah, the treadmill

00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:33.460
is just awful. I'm not a big treadmill user.

00:17:34.089 --> 00:17:35.890
But yeah, I think you're absolutely right. Getting

00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:38.390
outside, hitting on those, yeah, as you said,

00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:41.349
walking in uneven ground and improving your proprioception,

00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:44.089
like you mentioned before, excellent points there.

00:17:44.430 --> 00:17:46.369
More with Ashley in just a moment, including

00:17:46.369 --> 00:17:48.509
her recommendations on how strength athletes

00:17:48.509 --> 00:17:51.230
could add rucking to their workout schedule without

00:17:51.230 --> 00:17:54.910
sacrificing gains. But first, do you have any

00:17:54.910 --> 00:17:57.390
friends or family members that exclusively lift?

00:17:57.529 --> 00:17:59.589
If so, do them a favor and share this episode

00:17:59.589 --> 00:18:01.849
with them. It might inspire them to start rucking.

00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:04.279
Sharing this episode would not only help them,

00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:06.660
it will also help this show grow, which will

00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:08.839
then help even more people improve their health

00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:13.680
and lives. Okay, back to it. I'm curious to see

00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:19.039
how you would maybe coach an athlete or maybe

00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:20.900
drawing from your experience doing that with

00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:24.259
some of the services you used to offer. How should

00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:27.880
people start? implementing rucking into their

00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:31.319
routine, say they're at the gym five days a week,

00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.740
where does rucking fit in for a weightlifter?

00:18:34.299 --> 00:18:37.640
So rucking would fit in for somebody who's serious

00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:40.759
into strength or hypertrophy on active rest days,

00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:43.779
a light upper body day, or even a rest day. I

00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:47.200
would say any day but leg day. There's this thing

00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.119
called the interference effect where if you're

00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.819
doing, let's say, your leg day immediately followed

00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:55.990
by... hardcore rucking, your body isn't going

00:18:55.990 --> 00:18:59.289
to know whether it's going to go for anabolic

00:18:59.289 --> 00:19:01.269
and muscle building or if it's going to go for

00:19:01.269 --> 00:19:03.990
like fat oxidation and endurance. And those are

00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:06.430
different kinds of muscle fibers. So you don't

00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:09.009
want to put the rucking on the same day as leg

00:19:09.009 --> 00:19:12.430
day or any other kind of really intense training

00:19:12.430 --> 00:19:14.789
day because you want everything that you have,

00:19:14.789 --> 00:19:17.470
all your fuel, all your recovery in your body

00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:20.349
to go towards feeding those gains of strength.

00:19:20.829 --> 00:19:22.970
and adaptations there. So the rucking is going

00:19:22.970 --> 00:19:24.329
to fit in great on, like I said, the recovery

00:19:24.329 --> 00:19:26.710
day, active recovery, like a mobility day, upper

00:19:26.710 --> 00:19:28.329
body day, because that way you don't have to

00:19:28.329 --> 00:19:29.910
really worry so much about that interference

00:19:29.910 --> 00:19:32.730
effect in your body, not knowing which pathway

00:19:32.730 --> 00:19:34.289
to take and then it freaking out and then you

00:19:34.289 --> 00:19:36.230
just waste everything because you're not getting

00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:37.670
strength and you're not getting endurance. Your

00:19:37.670 --> 00:19:41.029
body's just all over the place. So yeah. And

00:19:41.029 --> 00:19:43.990
then also to tell somebody, I would say start

00:19:43.990 --> 00:19:47.170
slow and slow. So for females, 5, 10 pounds,

00:19:47.309 --> 00:19:51.200
15 pounds. For males, you could start with 15,

00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:53.700
20 pounds. It depends on the person's fitness

00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:57.319
level and where their cardiovascular fitness

00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:59.400
is on a spectrum if they've never done it before

00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:02.099
versus they've done it a lot. They can start

00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:04.779
a little bit heavier, go longer. Less is more,

00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:06.559
though, when you start because if someone goes

00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.619
out there like they did in the military and they

00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:11.970
think they can do 40 pounds for five miles. they're

00:20:11.970 --> 00:20:13.130
going to get hurt. They're going to increase

00:20:13.130 --> 00:20:15.869
their injury risk. So start low and slow and

00:20:15.869 --> 00:20:18.509
then gradually increase the intensity with, you

00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:20.730
could do hills, you could go from your flat,

00:20:20.789 --> 00:20:23.589
you know, hometown going around the block to

00:20:23.589 --> 00:20:26.549
going to the park. You can add load, you can

00:20:26.549 --> 00:20:28.369
add time. So there's a lot of different variables

00:20:28.369 --> 00:20:30.470
that you can add to start progressing someone.

00:20:30.789 --> 00:20:33.289
So for me, I would say if it's a strength athlete,

00:20:33.430 --> 00:20:36.789
one to two days a week. 30 minutes at a conversational

00:20:36.789 --> 00:20:39.190
pace. So if we're talking about RPE, or rate

00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:41.369
of preserved exertion, you know, something between

00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:43.170
four and six. They should carry on a conversation.

00:20:43.470 --> 00:20:45.450
It should be their heart rate's elevated, but

00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:49.150
they're not at like a zone three effort where

00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:52.309
they're in the red, they're dying. It's awful,

00:20:52.390 --> 00:20:55.089
right? And then every two weeks you can progress

00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:57.289
by adding five minutes, by adding five pounds,

00:20:57.410 --> 00:20:59.390
by adding a different terrain, adding a hill.

00:20:59.569 --> 00:21:02.250
Those are easy progressions. And then once you

00:21:02.250 --> 00:21:04.509
work out to maybe three days per week for 30

00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:06.250
minutes for strength athlete, that's a good place

00:21:06.250 --> 00:21:08.809
to be. I wouldn't recommend them doing any more

00:21:08.809 --> 00:21:11.769
than maybe 40 minutes unless they're trying to

00:21:11.769 --> 00:21:14.130
like lean out. So if you're talking about using

00:21:14.130 --> 00:21:16.650
rucking for maybe hypertrophy or bodybuilders.

00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:19.990
We can get into why that eccentric loading would

00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:21.809
be really good for conditioning their legs. That's

00:21:21.809 --> 00:21:24.970
a whole little piece that we can get into, which

00:21:24.970 --> 00:21:27.029
would bring in like this nice hard look on their

00:21:27.029 --> 00:21:29.390
muscles. But for strength athletes, their goal

00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:32.470
is to increase their strength, you know, percent

00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:36.410
rep max three days a week, 30 minutes. There

00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:39.029
you go. Like it's not that complicated. It's

00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:41.390
not that hard. And the next I will say, a lot

00:21:41.390 --> 00:21:43.819
of people say you can start with. Any kind of

00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:46.000
backpack, which you can. If your kids have a

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.079
backpack, they could load books. But it's not

00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:51.000
necessarily you need to invest all this money

00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:55.240
initially into a good ruck because it can get

00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:58.740
expensive. But if you're serious about rucking,

00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.900
it is worth the investment because those comforts

00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.119
of a pack that's adjustable to your shoulders,

00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:08.059
to your back, having a hip. belt to help support

00:22:08.059 --> 00:22:10.079
some of the weight so it's not all on your shoulders

00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.619
will keep you interested. It will keep you going

00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:14.619
because if you come back and everything's sore

00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:17.619
and it wasn't comfortable for you, you're not

00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:19.160
going to continue it. If you come back, you're

00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.299
like, man, I couldn't stand up for a week. My

00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:24.180
traps are like just wrecked. People aren't going

00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:25.740
to because they're like they don't want to they

00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:27.200
don't want to have that level of discomfort.

00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:30.819
A lot of people aren't. So if you invest in a

00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:35.379
nice ruck, it will help you stay. consistent

00:22:35.379 --> 00:22:37.599
because you'll be comfortable, you'll feel good,

00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:41.259
and you'll keep doing it if you like it. Yeah,

00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:43.900
that's so excellent points there, Ashley. That

00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:46.539
was really well summarized. Two things I wanted

00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:48.660
to hit on there. You did mention about maybe

00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:53.160
not rucking on leg days. I had also had that

00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:54.579
thought. It's like, okay, yeah, you're working

00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:55.940
out your legs. You may not want to work them

00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:57.900
out even more because you're probably exerting

00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:00.000
your muscles and your legs. You need to let them

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:03.160
rest. Is it advisable to not even ruck the next

00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.819
day after? A leg day? Or what are your thoughts

00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:10.400
on that? How long is long enough to give your

00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:13.119
legs a rest before rucking? If your legs, the

00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:15.599
day after leg day, are completely wrecked and

00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:18.940
sore, I would say don't ruck, do light cycle.

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:21.960
So with rucking, there's this eccentric loading.

00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:24.839
So when we... If you think about, we talk about

00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:27.400
treadmills or step mills, you think of like the

00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.220
athlete having to step and push off, step and

00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.980
push off. So there's a sync eccentric loading.

00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:34.119
So we're having to break. We're putting load

00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:36.559
under the lengthening portion of our leg, which

00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.900
actually induces more muscle fatigue and muscle

00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:42.279
damage than the bike. So the bike or elliptical

00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.819
doesn't have any of that eccentric because your

00:23:43.819 --> 00:23:45.400
feet are just staying there and you're using

00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:46.980
your muscles. So eccentric loading is going to

00:23:46.980 --> 00:23:50.940
be a lot more difficult on your body to recover.

00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:54.420
So if your legs. are super sore, I would say

00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:57.720
light bike to get that lymphatic drainage, increase

00:23:57.720 --> 00:24:00.920
circulation. If you did legs and they aren't

00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:02.759
sore, then you can rock the next day as long

00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:05.920
as you are well fed, well hydrated, and well

00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.019
rested. As I mentioned earlier, there's this

00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:10.980
phenomenon in the body called the interference

00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:13.849
effect. And I'll deep dive into this for a short

00:24:13.849 --> 00:24:16.589
moment. So there's two pathways we think about

00:24:16.589 --> 00:24:18.509
that our body takes when we're training. And

00:24:18.509 --> 00:24:20.369
we're talking about fitness. There's the mTOR

00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:25.509
pathway and the AMPK pathway. The AMPK pathway

00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:29.849
is, let's say that we train fasted or we do cardio

00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:32.490
fasted or we're an endurance athlete. It's great

00:24:32.490 --> 00:24:34.490
for fat oxidation. So you're going to use a lot

00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:37.170
of fuel. But your body is in this state of survival

00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:40.140
mode. So whatever you have. fuel wise and stuff

00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:42.200
in you, it's going to just hold, like keep it

00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:44.599
where it is to sustain this low intensity effort.

00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:46.920
And you're not going to have anabolic signaling.

00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:48.900
You're not going to have muscle protein synthesis.

00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:52.440
Whereas if you're well fed and you're well recovered,

00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:54.920
like you have, you've met your adequate protein

00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:57.980
and carbohydrates, you could do rucking the next

00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:00.240
day because your body, the mTOR pathway, that's,

00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.079
that's, that's, it's. The light switch is flipped

00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:04.920
on when your body's like, we're recovered. We

00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:06.880
have plenty of carbs. We have plenty of protein.

00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:09.940
We can go into muscle protein synthesis. We can

00:25:09.940 --> 00:25:13.279
build. We can start that anabolic process. So

00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:16.299
as long as you meet those requirements and you

00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:17.960
go to RUC, you're going to be fine because then

00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:20.819
you're going to be able to use more energy to

00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:23.920
do your endurance, to train your cardiovascular

00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:26.680
system. Because they are different muscle fiber

00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:28.359
types. You think about strength training and

00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:29.839
you think of strength athletes, they have like

00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:32.440
the big muscles because those muscle fibers they're

00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:34.259
building are, if you look under my scope, they're

00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:35.980
nice and big. And that's why endurance athletes

00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:38.660
are long and lean because their muscles transition

00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:42.859
to a long lean look. So if you don't time it

00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:45.920
right and you, let's say you repeatedly do leg

00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:48.170
day and then rucking. and let's say you do that

00:25:48.170 --> 00:25:50.049
four times a week, you're going to see your muscles

00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:52.470
slowly get smaller because they're transitioning

00:25:52.470 --> 00:25:56.170
to a longer fiber type that is more dense with

00:25:56.170 --> 00:25:58.930
mitochondria because they want more oxygen. And

00:25:58.930 --> 00:25:59.990
then you're going to be like, wow, I'm losing

00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:02.690
all my gains. It's because you haven't allowed

00:26:02.690 --> 00:26:04.930
your body to recover and get the food and stuff

00:26:04.930 --> 00:26:07.430
it needs. You do need to separate the two and

00:26:07.430 --> 00:26:09.769
you can separate them. Let's say you don't have

00:26:09.769 --> 00:26:11.269
all the time in the world. You can do legs in

00:26:11.269 --> 00:26:13.190
the morning. And then if they're not wrecked,

00:26:13.190 --> 00:26:15.259
you can go on. a rock in the afternoon, or you

00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.759
can do it the next day. It just depends on how

00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:19.180
sore you are and how much food you have available

00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:21.619
in your system. Wow. Yeah. Thank you so much

00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:23.700
for that explanation. And like, as an endurance

00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:28.380
athlete, you know, I grew up running and had

00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:31.559
historically issues putting muscle on, like frustrating

00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:35.859
issues. That makes sense. Like your muscle, I

00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:38.519
guess, configuration or shape is just going to

00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:41.500
be different than someone specifically just only

00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:45.130
focused on. on building muscle mass. So I think

00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:46.750
you just helped me out there, Ashley. I'm putting,

00:26:46.849 --> 00:26:49.589
ticking that box off in the back of my head.

00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:51.470
Thanks for that. You're welcome, Spencer. There

00:26:51.470 --> 00:26:53.470
is this really cool part about rucking though,

00:26:53.589 --> 00:26:57.950
is that it, because of the ability to have load

00:26:57.950 --> 00:27:00.549
on us, it does give us the option for progressive

00:27:00.549 --> 00:27:04.509
overload and we can build strength with rucking.

00:27:04.589 --> 00:27:07.250
So there was a really small study done with these,

00:27:07.250 --> 00:27:10.789
these. um backwoods hunters i'm actually reading

00:27:10.789 --> 00:27:13.250
this book right now on cameron hayes who's a

00:27:13.250 --> 00:27:16.769
like yeah who's an endurance athlete and he does

00:27:16.769 --> 00:27:18.789
strength training he does bow hunting anyway

00:27:18.789 --> 00:27:21.829
so there's a study done and they had those massive

00:27:21.829 --> 00:27:23.250
packs right because they're out in the wilderness

00:27:23.250 --> 00:27:28.410
doing these hunts and um they they actually lost

00:27:28.970 --> 00:27:32.490
body fat and gained some muscle during the couple

00:27:32.490 --> 00:27:34.490
of weeks or the months they were out in the wilderness

00:27:34.490 --> 00:27:36.970
versus if you were have someone just do cardio

00:27:36.970 --> 00:27:41.529
that typically they lose both muscle and fat

00:27:41.529 --> 00:27:44.230
so having that little bit of load actually will

00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:47.029
help you burn fat better than just walking or

00:27:47.029 --> 00:27:50.269
running and it will help you maintain if maintain

00:27:50.269 --> 00:27:52.930
and at and at least maintain if not actually

00:27:52.930 --> 00:27:56.799
put on So there is some benefits for strength

00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:59.900
athletes to also get muscle building from rucking.

00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:02.339
Excellent. Excellent. Thank you for that. I appreciate

00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:04.000
that. The other thing that I was going to hit

00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:06.180
on after you summarize, you know, all the benefits

00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:08.119
from rucking and how to implement, specifically

00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:11.920
how to implement rucking into a routine, is the

00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:16.740
purpose -built rucksack is a game changer. It's

00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:18.789
great. I mean, I mentioned this all the time

00:28:18.789 --> 00:28:20.910
on the podcast. I just want people to start rucking,

00:28:20.990 --> 00:28:22.829
and it's great to start with what you have. I

00:28:22.829 --> 00:28:24.029
have a whole episode about that. If you want

00:28:24.029 --> 00:28:25.009
to listen to that, you can go back and listen

00:28:25.009 --> 00:28:27.789
to it. It's great to start with what you have,

00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:30.849
but it really, really helps to have something

00:28:30.849 --> 00:28:34.450
dedicated to hold these specific rucking weight

00:28:34.450 --> 00:28:36.650
plates high and tight on your back. It's, yeah,

00:28:36.769 --> 00:28:39.569
that is a great note. It's always worth mentioning.

00:28:39.769 --> 00:28:41.789
Get something purpose -built because it really

00:28:41.789 --> 00:28:44.390
is a game changer. How you wear it and where

00:28:44.390 --> 00:28:46.250
you put the load are going to make or break your

00:28:46.250 --> 00:28:50.720
ruck. Absolutely. If you're using just a regular

00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:52.859
backpack and the load is all the way in the bottom

00:28:52.859 --> 00:28:55.599
of the backpack because you've never done rucking

00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:57.500
before, you don't know about it, it's going to

00:28:57.500 --> 00:28:59.380
pull your shoulders so much that you're going

00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:01.079
to be uncomfortable. Why are people doing this?

00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:03.819
Whereas if, let's say, you are new to rucking,

00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:07.039
you have just a standard backpack, put towels

00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:10.339
in the bottom to fill the first half, and then

00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:12.220
you can put your bags of rice or your cans of

00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:14.099
canned good or whatever you have around the house

00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:16.059
for weight. You want the weight to be high and

00:29:16.059 --> 00:29:18.119
tight. And then I always say anything over 20

00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:20.220
pounds, invest in a hip belt because that's going

00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:21.880
to shift a majority of the weight from the shoulders

00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:24.500
to rest on your hip bones, which makes it so

00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:26.619
much more comfortable so that you can have a

00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:30.000
enjoyable experience. Enjoyable, right? I mean,

00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:32.579
it's still going to be some level, but. Uncomfortable

00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:35.259
being or comfortable being uncomfortable, I guess.

00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:39.900
Yeah, exactly. Can we move into some misconceptions

00:29:39.900 --> 00:29:42.380
some weightlifters might have about rocking?

00:29:44.639 --> 00:29:47.279
So I in preparation for this episode, I went

00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:49.880
on to some online forums just to kind of see

00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:52.980
the pulse of what people are saying in terms

00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:55.920
of like weightlifting and and rocking. And I

00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:59.180
saw a few few items that I suspect might be misconceptions.

00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:01.319
I'm curious to see what your take is on it. But

00:30:01.319 --> 00:30:02.759
some people have said like rocking is going to

00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:04.500
destroy your knees. How do you feel about that?

00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:08.519
Well, if if we're looking at that as a blank

00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:12.099
statement. We need context. So is it going to

00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:13.859
destroy your knees next to running? Running is

00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:17.319
going to be way worse on your knees because of

00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:20.079
the force. If you're running, your force is going

00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:21.680
to be like eight times your body weight on the

00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:24.220
ground, where rucking, even with a load, is going

00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:26.660
to be maybe three times your body weight. So

00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:29.500
the force on your joints is going to be significantly

00:30:29.500 --> 00:30:32.700
less with rucking. So no, it's not going to destroy

00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:35.039
your knees. The only thing I will say that...

00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:37.339
With my background and my knowledge, if you already

00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:40.599
have weak ankle mobility and bad hips, maybe

00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:42.819
your mobility or flexibility in your ankle and

00:30:42.819 --> 00:30:45.819
your hips are bad, then it's going to hurt your

00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:48.420
knees. Most of the time, knee pain is not because

00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:50.019
of the knee joint itself. It's because of the

00:30:50.019 --> 00:30:52.579
two joints above or below it, right? The hip

00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:57.140
or the ankle. So no, it's not going to damage

00:30:57.140 --> 00:30:59.400
your knees. It's actually going to be beneficial.

00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:01.359
I mean, we're literally made to walk. So we're

00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:03.940
walking with weight. It's phenomenal. And it's

00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:05.339
going to, like I said, it's going to help build

00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:06.980
your tendons. It's going to help strengthen those

00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:09.480
stabilizers. So there's, I would say that misconception

00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:13.099
is apparently that person either had bad knees,

00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:16.940
bad ankle mobility, bad hips, or just bad posture

00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:20.279
in general. Yeah. Good, good notes. Another one,

00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.680
you kind of already touched on this, but like

00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:24.440
I'll lose muscle if I add rucking to my lifting

00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:27.640
program. So we did touch on that, but that's

00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:30.039
absolutely probably one of the biggest ones I

00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:31.460
hear is, oh, I don't want to lose my muscle.

00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:34.460
Well, then eat and recover. And you will not,

00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:36.920
literally, you won't have to worry. That isn't

00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:39.400
even a physiological option as long as you have

00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:41.680
food in your system and you're recovered. Yeah.

00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:43.779
I'm looking through the rest of these. It looks

00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:45.740
like we already hit on all these other ones or

00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:48.859
debunked them. In our pre -call, you mentioned

00:31:48.859 --> 00:31:52.740
one thing that was important. for you to communicate

00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:55.279
here today was that rucking is for everyone.

00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:58.240
I know that I was going to ask you this, like,

00:31:58.279 --> 00:32:00.539
what does that mean to you? And who specifically

00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:04.019
do you think gets overlooked in the rucking conversation?

00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:07.059
And the rucking conversation that who gets overlooked

00:32:07.059 --> 00:32:12.549
is youth and females. I led some Go Ruck events

00:32:12.549 --> 00:32:16.789
in 2020, in 2025. And I did a lot of takeovers,

00:32:16.789 --> 00:32:19.950
which is Go Ruck's kind of introduction to rucking.

00:32:20.049 --> 00:32:22.170
So you do like a little workout and maybe like

00:32:22.170 --> 00:32:25.910
a 5K ruck. And I will say in the community, I

00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:28.750
was the first female to lead in the Go Ruck community.

00:32:28.890 --> 00:32:31.750
And I had more females show up and say that like,

00:32:31.809 --> 00:32:34.740
hey. man, this is so much nicer to be led by

00:32:34.740 --> 00:32:36.440
a female or to see there's other females out

00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:39.440
there rucking. I do believe that females are

00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:41.539
a little bit intimidating about getting involved

00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:44.380
in this kind of sport because if you Google rucking,

00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:46.279
the first thing you see is just all this hardcore

00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:49.240
military, like, oh, we're going out. And then

00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:51.180
women are like, oh, that's not for me. But absolutely,

00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:54.660
it's for you, right? They have rucks now, like

00:32:54.660 --> 00:32:57.339
Frontline Athletic has a ruck specifically designed

00:32:57.339 --> 00:33:00.380
to fit a woman's body way more comfortably. on

00:33:00.380 --> 00:33:02.279
their shoulders and on their chest. So I would

00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:04.500
say that, you know, women are overlooked and

00:33:04.500 --> 00:33:06.940
that definitely it's for them because it's going

00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:09.119
to, like I said, with their bone density and

00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:12.039
just overall better biomechanics and just getting

00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:14.480
them out and active. And then youth, youth can

00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:16.059
do it. If you think about kids are already carrying

00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:18.980
their weighted backpacks to school. So why not

00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:21.339
get them incorporated on the evening walks with

00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.779
the family and the dog and just have them, right?

00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:25.880
We don't, childhood obesity is on the rise. So

00:33:25.880 --> 00:33:28.440
rucking is an awesome outlet for them too. And

00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:31.259
it's. It's low cost relatively right there. I

00:33:31.259 --> 00:33:32.579
have a backpack and it's just something you can

00:33:32.579 --> 00:33:34.579
just literally go outside and do. You don't have

00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:37.180
to say, oh, I have to sit in traffic and drive

00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:39.299
to the gym just so I can get this done. No, you

00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:40.960
literally just step out your door or drive to

00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:43.880
the park and it's free. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting

00:33:43.880 --> 00:33:46.319
you bring up youth rucking. I'm curious to see

00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.079
your take on this. But like I know with with

00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:51.920
weight training, kids need a certain development.

00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:56.259
I think from what I remember years ago and that

00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:58.380
it may not be the best idea to strength train

00:33:58.380 --> 00:34:01.920
at a young age. Any cautions that maybe youngsters

00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:03.880
should be aware of if they wanted to start rucking?

00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:07.259
No. So actually kind of the newer research and

00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:09.760
stuff we're seeing right now is as long as youth

00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:12.099
are supervised when it comes to rate training

00:34:12.099 --> 00:34:15.639
or rucking and they have the proper guidance

00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:18.480
for form and kind of fit, they can do it. Even

00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:21.400
at the Go Ruck events that I led, we had youth.

00:34:21.869 --> 00:34:24.190
I mean, small kids, maybe like seven years old,

00:34:24.210 --> 00:34:26.210
come out and do this with us all the way up to

00:34:26.210 --> 00:34:29.789
like 15. And as long as they are given the proper

00:34:29.789 --> 00:34:32.150
training and guidance and understood that especially

00:34:32.150 --> 00:34:34.269
youth, right, when they go through puberty, their

00:34:34.269 --> 00:34:35.789
bodies are going to change a little bit and they're

00:34:35.789 --> 00:34:38.570
going to have to kind of learn their bodies again

00:34:38.570 --> 00:34:41.590
as they adapt and they grow. But man, it's absolutely

00:34:41.590 --> 00:34:44.289
amazing for them. And it helps with their bones.

00:34:44.329 --> 00:34:46.469
It helps with their proprioception and their

00:34:46.469 --> 00:34:49.429
own awareness in their body. Awesome. Yeah, I

00:34:49.429 --> 00:34:51.289
appreciate your expertise on that. Thanks. Yeah,

00:34:51.389 --> 00:34:52.929
I haven't kept up with that research in quite

00:34:52.929 --> 00:34:54.510
some time. So I appreciate you getting me up

00:34:54.510 --> 00:34:57.909
to date on that. Yeah, you're welcome. So coming

00:34:57.909 --> 00:35:00.150
to the end of this episode, if a lifter wants

00:35:00.150 --> 00:35:02.789
to start rucking, what's what's one takeaway

00:35:02.789 --> 00:35:05.510
that you would want them to remember after listening

00:35:05.510 --> 00:35:07.829
to this episode? I would say the goal isn't to

00:35:07.829 --> 00:35:10.070
survive the ruck and kill yourself. The goal

00:35:10.070 --> 00:35:14.349
is to adapt to the ruck. Yeah, good point. I

00:35:14.349 --> 00:35:17.190
like that. I like that a lot. So, Ashley, this

00:35:17.190 --> 00:35:20.159
is really. helpful for me. And I'm hoping I'm

00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:21.800
sure it is going to be helpful for the audience.

00:35:21.900 --> 00:35:23.320
And I had a lot of fun talking to you today.

00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:27.719
I wanted to ask you if someone wanted to follow

00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:30.000
you or keep up with your work, where would you

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.179
where would you send them? I am on social media.

00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:36.260
I'm pretty active on Instagram and YouTube. And

00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:37.860
YouTube is where I do a lot of my equipment reviews,

00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:40.559
including different reviews of rocks. And you

00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:42.320
can just find me under Ashley the amazing if

00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:44.420
you just type that in. And that that's pretty

00:35:44.420 --> 00:35:46.519
much my social media and what people know me

00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:48.909
as is actually the amazing. Awesome. Well, Ashley,

00:35:49.050 --> 00:35:50.610
appreciate your time here. Thanks so much for

00:35:50.610 --> 00:35:52.369
sharing your expertise. Thanks for giving me

00:35:52.369 --> 00:35:54.190
your time to have this conversation today. I

00:35:54.190 --> 00:35:56.750
really appreciate it. You know, thank you, Spencer.

00:35:56.929 --> 00:36:00.230
It was such a gift to be able to talk to you

00:36:00.230 --> 00:36:02.409
and share some of my knowledge about rocking.

00:36:02.489 --> 00:36:04.969
So hopefully one person out there is motivated

00:36:04.969 --> 00:36:07.969
to get outside and go on a walk. All right. That

00:36:07.969 --> 00:36:10.130
wraps up my conversation with Ashley the Amazing.

00:36:10.429 --> 00:36:13.090
You can connect with her on Instagram at Ashley

00:36:13.090 --> 00:36:15.269
the Amazing, and I'll drop that link into the

00:36:15.269 --> 00:36:17.710
show notes. If you enjoyed today's episode, make

00:36:17.710 --> 00:36:19.869
sure to follow or subscribe to the show in your

00:36:19.869 --> 00:36:22.210
favorite podcast app so you're notified of new

00:36:22.210 --> 00:36:25.130
episodes. In next week's episode, I talk to Philip

00:36:25.130 --> 00:36:28.170
Pape from the Wits and Weights podcast. We talk

00:36:28.170 --> 00:36:30.650
about weighted vest and rucking through the lens

00:36:30.650 --> 00:36:33.670
of science. Okay, that's it for today. Thanks

00:36:33.670 --> 00:36:36.070
again for listening to this episode of The Rucker's

00:36:36.070 --> 00:36:36.150
Ed.