How to Start Rucking: A Beginner's Guide to Weighted Ruck Marching

Rucking is simple to explain and easy to get wrong. You walk, with weight on your back, for distance. That simplicity is exactly why most beginners underestimate it — and why most beginners overload themselves in the first week.

What you actually need

You don't need specialized gear to start. You need:

• **A rucksack that fits properly.** Weight sitting high and close to your spine matters more than the brand on the bag.
• **A way to load it safely.** A dedicated ruck plate is ideal, but books or sandbags wrapped tightly work for your first sessions.
• **Boots or trainers you already trust.** Don't break in new footwear during your first rucks — that's how blisters end a habit before it starts.

Starting weight

Most guides throw out a number like 20kg and move on. Don't start there. Begin around 10–15% of your bodyweight, and treat your first few sessions as a test of your walking form under load, not a test of how much you can carry.

Building distance and weight

Progress one variable at a time — weight or distance, never both in the same week. A reasonable early progression:

• Week 1–2: 3–5km, light load, focus on posture and pace
• Week 3–4: increase distance before increasing weight
• Week 5 onward: add weight in small increments once distance feels manageable

The mistakes that wreck most beginners

The biggest one is going too heavy, too soon — the same ego mistake ultra athletes make at the start of a race. Bart Maljaars put it well in his own interview: you don't win in the first hour, you can only lose it there. The same logic applies to your first ruck. Undershoot the weight and you'll still get the training effect. Overshoot it and you risk an injury that ends your rucking before it starts.

The second mistake is skipping recovery between sessions. Rucking loads your joints and connective tissue differently than running. Give your body 48 hours between sessions in your first month.

Where to take it next

Once a few kilometers under load feels manageable, an Ironbound rucking event is the natural next step — real terrain, a real group, and a pace the Tribe sets together rather than a treadmill number.