Utilizing a high rep protocol with low weight (your ruck, even at 40+lbs) works your muscular endurance capabilities and builds your neuromuscular adaptations, which builds your muscle efficiency. We're building your Type 1 slow twitch fiber set, which is what really generates your muscular endurance and slows your potential fatigue over time.
What exercises should I know?
Arm Circles Standing tall, feet hip width apart, raise your arms until they are parallel with the floor and no higher than your shoulders. Circle your arms, at the shoulder joint, clockwise and counter-clockwise. I do 20 forward, 20 back, but any mix is acceptable.
Overhead Ruck Squats Standing tall, core engaged, feet hip width apart, bring your ruck overhead, locking out your elbows, biceps grazing your ears. Squat, keeping your heels on the floor, knees straight ahead.
Walking Ruck-Hug Lunges Walking lunges, bear-hugging your ruck. Your lunge depth is dependent on your overall leg and ankle mobility, so if you've had issues in the past with lunges, take some time to work on your form.
Ruck Deadlifts Deadlifts are a glute and hamstring exercise, not back, so caution always needs to be paid, regardless of weight, to appropriate movement. Feet slightly more than hip width apart, hinge at the waist with a neutral back to pick up the ruck. Using your glute and hamstring muscles, stand up, squeeze glutes at the top, and move back to your start position.
Ruck Bear Crawls The Bear Crawl movement is a hard count movement (ie: 1,1,2,2) where the rep is not complete until both arms have moved.
Ruck Front Raises Holding your ruck in both hands by the straps, raise the ruck to parallel with the floor, at the same height as your shoulders. Always ensure your legs are hip width apart and your core is engaged.
Ruck ManMakers Begin in plank over your ruck. Pushup. Clean the ruck. Squat. Stand up and thrust the bag overhead. Bring the ruck back to chest level and bring it and yourself back down into plank.
Ruck Twenty-Ones These are a three part movement. Standing with feet shoulder width apart, back straight, core engaged. Follow this formula:
- First 7 reps - Curl ruck from straight arms with ruck down to half-way up (90 degrees)
- Second 7 reps - Curl ruck from the half-way point up to the top of the curl movement
- Last 7 reps - Full Curl
Turkish Get-Ups I could explain it, but it's easier to watch it!
*Hard Count = 1,1,2,2,etc.
How do I modify this?
If you are a Beginner, or want to scale this workout down, just half the reps. So, you'd do 50 arm circles instead of 100, etc. For Turkish Get Ups, you can do just the arm raise to sit-up portion.
THE WORK
2 mile fast ruck warm-up
- 100 x Arm Circles
- 100 x Jumping Jacks
- 50 x Overhead Ruck Squats
- 50 x Ruck Deadlifts
- 40 x Bear Crawls (ruck optional)
- 40 x Walking Ruck-Hug Lunges (*hard count)
- 30 x Mountain Climbers (ruck optional)
- 30 x Ruck Front Raises
- 20 x Ruck ManMakers
- 21 x Ruck Twenty-Ones
- 10 x Burpees
- 10 x Turkish Get-Ups