5 benefits of rucking you never imagined

There may be several reasons that people gravitate toward any form of exercise, let alone rucking. Whether the intent of the exercising is to develop a mouthwatering revenge body with which to make an ex jealous, or to make the prospects of running a marathon seem slightly less daunting, the goals of working out typically fall into either of two categories: To look better, or to feel better.

Nothing is wrong with either of these two motivations, but there is so much more that can be acquired through the diligent sacrifice of time and energy in the realm of rucking. To help keep you motivated on the days when the classic forms of motivation aren’t cutting it (or in the event that you already possess the body of a Greek god), here are five benefits of rucking you never imagined.

1. You’ll get better at all other sports.

It is widely accepted that you can improve your level of performance in just about any sport by engaging in some form of cardiovascular training or strength training. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that running for the sake of conditioning, whether it consists of long-distance running or high-intensity interval training, is one of the most common methods athletes use to develop their endurance to keep their performance levels high during the late stages of games or events.

Now, when you begin with that premise and then start to look for the most practical ways to make running workouts more closely resemble the conditions that athletes actually compete in, adding weight to an athlete’s upper body makes perfect sense. After all, many athletes - from football players and hockey players to lacrosse players and baseball catchers - wear several pounds of equipment during competitions. However, even if your sport doesn’t involve wearing extra equipment, training regularly with weight hanging from your body is inclined to make all other movements easier after the weight is removed.

In short, rucking is a perfect conditioning method for athletes of all types. So, if you want to gain an advantage over your competition during your next 5K, or even during your next foray into Tough Mudder or a Spartan Race, rucking is definitely for you.

2. You’ll become more daring.

Although you can theoretically ruck indoors by running around an indoor track or on a treadmill (and some people certainly do), the overwhelming percentage of rucking activity takes place outdoors. Racing around in an outdoor environment opens up the minds of rucking participants to additional opportunities, like obstacle-course running, off-road biking, mountain climbing, and a whole host of other activities that involve overcoming obstacles in creative and challenging ways.

The reason for this is simple: The act of rucking already stems from the idea that you should take simple tasks and tweak them into activities that are more exciting, more engaging, and more challenging. This mindset makes ruckers more likely to swim in the open water than within the confines of a swimming pool, more likely to scuba than to snorkel, more likely to go to the paintball course than to head for the rifle range, and more likely to go cross-country skiing than to go on a standard trek through the snow.

3. You’ll become more useful.

One of the downsides to having a reputation for possessing physical strength is that people will regularly ask you to use your strength to assist them with all of their needs. Quite frankly, who can blame them? After all, the stronger the laborers are that you gather together to perform a task, the faster the task will be completed.

If your regular workout consists of stuffing heavy weights into a backpack and carrying that backpack for miles, your training program will perfectly prepare you for carrying your friends’ furniture, boxes, home appliances, and any other items they might need to fit into the back of a moving van. As much as rucking may prepare you for the discomfort you’ll feel while playing certain sports, it will doubly prepare you for the tasks associated with moving heavy items from point A to point B.

Some might consider this a negative side effect that accompanies ascending to a higher plane of physical fitness, but a real rucker will recognize it for the reward that it is. To a true rucker, being asked to engage in more manual labor than you performed in the past is a huge compliment, and it also doubles as an opportunity to perform a bonus workout. No matter how you look at it, it’s a sign that you’ve gotten durable, and an opportunity to grow even stronger.

4. You’ll stop making excuses.

Adding weight to a workout has a way of separating serious exercisers from those that are just playing around. This separation occurs for a very simple reason: Either you completed the workout, or you didn’t. Either you walked the entire trail with 10 percent (or more) of your body-weight in your backpack and remained in an upright position, or you had to stoop over and drag yourself to the end. Either you ran the entire route that you mapped out on your phone, or you stopped to walk.

Not that there’s anything unacceptable about walking during your workout, or even having to stop for a breather, but if you couldn’t handle the weight in your rucking backpack, you know it deep down inside. There’s no shame in this of course, and the corrective measure is obvious: More rucking. People who ruck on a regular basis don’t make excuses for their shortcomings, because they know there are opportunities for redemption right around the corner. This mindset has a way of transitioning to other areas of ruckers’ lives, because they know as well as anybody that almost every shortcoming can be overcome by consistent, hard work.

5. You’ll get a lot more respect.

We get it: Bowling, golf and softball are fun sports to partake in, and you can gain a lot of friends by engaging in these activities. The problem is, everyone does them! Between church softball leagues and corporate bowling leagues, it seems as if almost everybody is on some kind of organized team these days. And, this is before we even mention how everyone and their mother regularly plays 18 holes of mediocre golf on Saturday afternoon before bellying up to the bar.

These hobbies may be fun, but they don’t translate into physical fitness, and they certainly don’t garner respect. To be certain, when you explain to people how your hobby involves stuffing heavy weights into a backpack and lugging it around town as efficiently as possible, they will probably be intrigued. However, when you continue to explain how your fitness hobby is inspired by the training practices of American special forces operatives, your respect level will definitely climb in the estimation of whomever you’re describing your crazy pastime to.

What sort of person trains like an Army Ranger of Navy SEAL if they don’t have to? A rucker does, and few social fitness activities can boast of their military roots, or the treacherous real-world situations they prepare participants to face. As far as hobbies are concerned, rucking commands as much respect as just about anything you can imagine.

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