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Last week I went on a spectacular hike just 30 minutes outside of Denver at Mt Falcon.
If you are near Denver, check it out.
But regardless of whether you know Mt Falcon or not, it's a great example of what makes for a terrific ruck.
Let's break it down into it's key attributes: distance, elevation gain, route.
Distance
Your idea rucking distance will be dependent upon your fitness level. For beginners, even 20 minutes can be a great amount of time to ruck, which may only be a mile.
Remember - getting started is more important than anything, so just ruck to your initial fitness level.
For a more experienced rucker, I light to recommend 45 mins to an hour. This is the ideal amount of time to be working Zone 2 cardio, which is full of benefits.
That means you should target distances of 2.5 to 3 miles in my experience. I'm also not the fastest guy around, so pick your poison accordingly.
What I love about Mt Falcon is that the loop is just over 3.5 miles. A perfect length for a good workout that gets your heart rate in the right zone.
Elevation Gain
Getting in some meaningful gain on a ruck is a great way to get your heart rate really moving.
Depending on where you live, you may have access to great trails and hikes (thank you Colorado!). If not, you may have to get creative.
When I don't have time to make it to the mountains, I'll head to the steepest street in my neighborhoods and do some up and backs to get my HR into that perfect Zone 2.
Route
Rucking is a great workout, but since you are moving your body outside, make it an opportunity to take in some beautiful sights and sounds.
I personally love going through parks, beautiful neighborhoods, and, of course, on trails in nature.
Rucking can be a great way to get to know your town better, so take a bit of time to plan out a route that will be fun.
It's easy to get caught doing the same rucks over and over, so I like to scope new routes when I sit on the couch in the evening. It also helps get me pumped about my next ruck!
Enjoy the life,
The Rucking Guy
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