Rucking problems...

[madness unseen]

As far as "technique" goes... Learn to love the suck. IMO, 90% or better of everything in this game is mental. We just pick up our rucks and do it, cause that's what we do. Or used to do in the case of us Former Action Guys. It may sound flippant...

You just called yourself and the other retirees FAGs. :confused::-| Sorry I interrupted cback, but I just HAD to make light of that. Back to scouring.

 

[Pistol_Pete]

Yes, I see you have gotten that favorite old SOF acronym joke Surely you are pulling my leg and this isn't the first time you have heard that one? Then again, I see reports that the some of the newer generation doesn't even know the old "panty hose" tricks or tincture. Not that I ever used the nylons, I'll stick with my issue dress socks thank you very much :cool:

 

[madness unseen]

Yes, I see you have gotten that favorite old SOF acronym joke Surely you are pulling my leg and this isn't the first time you have heard that one? Then again, I see reports that the some of the newer generation doesn't even know the old "panty hose" tricks or tincture. Not that I ever used the nylons, I'll stick with my issue dress socks thank you very much :cool:

As a kid (8th grader) I used aptly named "liner socks" when hiking, same idea, minus the tincture.

 

[amlove21]

problem solved.

Not too shabby. Only took 3 separate sets of instructions from no less than 2 SOF guys to get you there.

 

[Marauder06]

Yes, I see you have gotten that favorite old SOF acronym joke Surely you are pulling my leg and this isn't the first time you have heard that one? Then again, I see reports that the some of the newer generation doesn't even know the old "panty hose" tricks or tincture. Not that I ever used the nylons, I'll stick with my issue dress socks thank you very much :cool:

I tried the dress socks thing one time- at the 12-miler at Air Assault School when I was a cadet. It was my first 12-miler and I was nervous, I remembered my dad (SF) saying he wore dress socks under his green socks, so the night before the 12-miler I decided I'd do that too. Bad mistake, I made the march and graduated the course but my feet were destroyed, never had blisters like that since. Two lessons for me- 1) don't change at the last second something that has worked for you in the past 2) two pair of OD green, cushion-sole cotton socks and a good pair of leg boots are the way to go for me.

 

[Pistol_Pete]

I tried the dress socks thing one time- at the 12-miler at Air Assault School when I was a cadet. It was my first 12-miler and I was nervous, I remembered my dad (SF) saying he wore dress socks under his green socks, so the night before the 12-miler I decided I'd do that too. Bad mistake, I made the march and graduated the course but my feet were destroyed, never had blisters like that since. Two lessons for me- 1) don't change at the last second something that has worked for you in the past 2) two pair of OD green, cushion-sole cotton socks and a good pair of leg boots are the way to go for me.

Yeah, it doesn't work for everyone so that's why I definitely reccomend that anyone contemplating using some sort of nylon or other synthetic fabric as a friction barrier first try it out on their own well in advance of a critical task or mandatory ruck march. I use that technique but ONLY in conjunction with the tincture and it works for me and lessens the severity and locations of blisters but I haven't found anything that will guarantee 100% blister or hot-spot free feet after putting them through some heavy use. Except for the advice above that denotes setting the ruck on fire and taking the bus.

 

[digrar]

I used my grandfathers old WWII ruck, which was pretty good,

No it's not, it's a terrible bit of gear and probably a big reason you're experiencing discomfort.

I'm also definitely having trouble keeping a consistent pace. I know you aren't supposed to run with the ruck, but it almost feels like I have to slightly jog to keep pace. Any advice as to better being able to hold pace?

It's your first stomp, you're not going to be a jet straight up. As you get used to it, you'll be able to keep up the pace without running or shuffling.

 

[Yosemite]

I'm also training for CCT right now and routinely ruck once or twice a week.

Any advice as to better being able to hold pace?

Practice, practice, practice.
As with anything, you must develop a good comfortable technique and stride that you can maintain. It will be different for everyone because everyone has different body proportions and levels of strength/cardio ability. Developing a good technique takes practice, just like your swim strokes and running strides.

Weightlifting has definitely helped me with my ruck pace. I can hold a 10:30 for 4 miles right now and I attibute a lot of that to the weightlifting I do. Don't just do heavy squat/deadlifts though. Try to superset and dropset your exercises. You want your legs to burn because that's how they will feel when you're rucking. Work on leg endurance.

Definitely seekout a better ruck. Poor equipment can lead to injuries and then you won't be able to train for a considerable amount of time. You need a solid ruck, good boots, and good socks.

If you're just starting out, try varying distances. Go for a 5 miler, but at a walking pace to build leg endurance. Then go for a 2 miler at your goals pace. Try 3 miles at a fast pace but walk mile 2. Etc etc. Change it up and train towards your goals. Don't just get out there and sweat your balls off without a plan. That is how I have experienced a lot of progression in the last 3 months or so.

 

[dap]

I'm not in the service but I'm pretty much ready to go on a 1200 mile thru hike of the Pacific Northwest Trail from Glacier National Park , MT until I plunge myself into the Pacific Ocean. I have all my tickets and permits and my Amtrak to East Glacier where I am planning to add an extra 110 miles to my ruck to the Chief Mountain Custom USA-Canada border to begin my trek from the official start of the PNT! I'm an ultra light backpacker and my baseweight in 14 pounds and with food and water and fuel I am sitting around 22-23 pounds with some luxury items (projector, iPad, and bluetooth speaker - sex appeal in the fire lookout baby, it's movie night).

Backpacker basics: Proper fitting boots. Proper fitting clothes (nothing cotton). TOE SOCKS!!! INJINI OR DARN TOUGH OR SMARTWOOL!!! Prevents blisters in between toes... Us marathoners know what's up! Proper fitting backpack. Make sure it's packed right... light stuff like sleeping pad and clothes or whatever at the bottom, then medium heavy in the center (I typically put my whole sleep systems in a waterproof bag, and then whatever you wanna quick grab at the top. Since you're a Marine you need a backpack with a frame that can support at least 80-100lbs. Make sure it fits close to your body and use the load levelers if you can. Also put the bag on properly too. If you have REI nearby ask them to help you if you don't already know, but I like to start with my shoulder straps, then chest, then belt buckle, and load levelers if I have them.

Run a lot. A LOT! As fast as you can as many times a week as you can without injury. Take a week off every third or fourth week) and Swim a lot too! I really love women's aerobics aka: crossfag. It's usually between Barre and Booty Pump or Zumba, but if you can get into Booty / Body Pump it's the best. Have you ever done 60 minutes of non stop squats and lunges with 60-100 pounds? Trust me these women have and they could break 90% of men's necks with the techniques coming out their buttcheeks. They rock it on the trail! I've been checked in half marathon Spartan Races by women rucking uphill with 40lbs and they are like "This is what carrying a child helps you do!"

The best thing though is simply to ruck. Move as fast as you can up the steepest mountains you can. I live in Seattle so the best mountains in the country are basically all around me so I'm lucky but I mean... If you're in New York or something try and goto some tall buildings and use their stairwells... Empire State would be a dope race to the top in all your gear. Try not to pass out. Best of ruck (LOL!) to you in all your endeavors!

 

[dap]

Oh, PS: There was a person that I had met once who I think mentioned he had attended Ranger school or something. He produced from SUPER LIGHT boots that I think were made by Nike if I recall... Like Nike desert combat boots, and he had them resoled before he went to ***** school he said. They were super light... Almost to a point where it isn't even fair but I'm not hating, I was excited to see that people were allowed to have advantages of gear like that. Nowadays I wear trail runners like Altra Lone Peaks and Brooks Cascadia. They have balistic rock plates and wider toe boxes. I wear Dirty Girl gaiters to prevent rocks and debris from infiltrating, and I wear toe socks. Whenever I have to cross water I put on my spikeless track shoes or I might wear a waterproof sock and microspikes for snow and glacier travel. My favorite boots are the SALEWA ALP TRAINER MID with the gore-tex surround. Best boot ever. I call it the God boot with an approach and climbing toe. Check them out.

 

[Devildoc]

If you have not had to ruck for time under GI gear in GI uniform, tread lightly in this topic.

 

[CDG]

If you have not had to ruck for time under GI gear in GI uniform, tread lightly in this topic.

Yep. Hiking and rucking are two different animals.

 

[Peacemaker01]

As far as "technique" goes, I have little to add other than I always packed, balanced adjusted, fit and wore my ruck as near to "perfect" as I could get it and that includes properly using the chest band, waist or hip band, and getting everything set and balanced as best as I could. Hell, I probably would have hooked up a head band "strap" (appropriately High Speed looking and in function of course) like some villager somewhere carrying "500 pounds" in a big straw basket with a rag around their forehead to the basket - if I had thought of it.

Other than that, yes you will end up "running", shuffling, jogging, walking with your ruck off and on for various distances if you are like most guys. That's the life of the Combat Arms Ground Pounder and yes - Special Operators must excel at Ground Pounding skills like bread and butter. Not everything is a glorious chopper ride in with an assault combat load, double tap the bad guy and one to the head, grab the intel and scoot. Much of it is routine training - over and over again. Tasks as mundane as picking up a monstrous ruck and pounding out the mileage with it. Or exiting an aircraft in flight with it and everything else including your weapons strapped to you - at night, and they put you off the DZ.

Become one with the giant wart. Learn to love the suck. IMO, 90% or better of everything in this game is mental. We just pick up our rucks and do it, cause that's what we do. Or used to do in the case of us Former Action Guys. It may sound flippant, but I think from an Infantryman to a Special Operations team, that's pretty much how much thought they put into it. Just pick the fucker up, groan softly in your misery if you must, and continue on with the many tasks ahead of you. You do it and make it happen because you are damn glad to be there and are doing things that few others have seen or done. There are not too many "strategies" other than maybe the tips given by some of the other walking hunch backs and broke-dicks around here that I can think of it other than perhaps using your gear as it was meant and to your best advantage.

This here is poetic and legit as can be.

 

[dap]

Understood. Maybe I'll write such an experience in another post sometime. "There was this one time actually." Some funny memories I expect will garner a good laugh about my foolishness... I was just hoping to encourage/energize this person and offer some creative solutions that have helped me improve my slow and personally unsatisfactory rucking along the way. My goal was not to offend just to share some of the things that have been advantageous in improving my own slow rucking. I'm here like everyone else to learn as much as possible and encourage each other along. I'll go run a six mile and swim for time out of respect. Should tire me out a bit. I'll close with a few photos from one of my favorite backpacking trips that required a lot of miles, a healthy weight of gear, and a lot of effort to get up through the sometimes thigh high snowfields. You can see the ridge line we traversed to summit the mountain and reach a fabled fire lookout in the North Cascades. Hopefully this will serve as inspiration and all apologies as the Summer Solstice nears. Hope you all can get outside and enjoy it. We are truly blessed to have such a diverse array of biomes in this country to challenge our more primal instincts and provide excellent training grounds.



We didn't take this final one, but it was there. Less snow on top. Thank you sun!

 

[CDG]

I was just hoping to encourage/energize this person and offer some creative solutions that have helped me improve my slow and personally unsatisfactory rucking along the way. My goal was not to offend just to share some of the things that have been advantageous in improving my own slow rucking.

It's not that anyone is offended, your experience is just largely irrelevant. You make great points, but most military members do not have a lot of those options when being woken up at 2AM for a 12 mile ruck.

 

[TLDR20]

It's not that anyone is offended, your experience is just largely irrelevant. You make great points, but most military members do not have a lot of those options when being woken up at 2AM for a 12 mile ruck.

This. We also don't get to choose when to go, we also often do not get to choose our pack, our load, or sometimes the route. This is without talking about boot choices, which is relevant in hiking. Most hiking isn't at a set pace, and you can take a break whenever you want.

 

[Grunt]

This. We also don't get to choose when to go, we also often do not get to choose our pack, our load, or sometimes the route. This is without talking about boot choices, which is relevant in hiking. Most hiking isn't at a set pace, and you can take a break whenever you want.

Yep...the biggest takeaway from this post is simply -- choice. Many -- if not most -- of the times we simply didn't get one.

 

[SpongeBob*24]

I like @dapinitial inputs...very good in my opinion....

Walking the Appalachian Trail in civy gear sucked just as much as any road march for time.
Its all about the weight.....good luck guys!!!!!

 

[dap]

I definitely hear you all. You're all right and I am with you. When you're performing it as part of your military occupation you aren't getting choices. Your only choice is whether or not you prepared well enough to perform as required. I didn't know this person's whole situation and I was just saying, in general, for anyone who may be reading this thread for advice on rucking: to get used to moving with any amount of weight it's useful to fold it into their lifestyle and work on just being comfortable and having fun while putting in ample amounts of work before game day. It's like running in your Brooks support trainers 30 miles a week for 4-6 weeks and doing spring work in between and then throwing on those spikeless racing flats to blow a 3-4 mile run out of the water.

You're absolutely right it would be a rude awakening for people to expect their service to be a walk on the beach like backpacking often is. It's tough work in less than desirable circumstances and when the training is done, there is an actual job to do. You might as well "get comfortable being uncomfortable" I was told once... after a ruck in issue gear where I hadn't prepared and my feet were basically hamburger meat and I was being splashed around in a pool, in a lightning storm no less, for a few hours.

Before I close I just want to share this: What I've discovered in my own life is that if you keep pushing yourself when you've reached what feels is your breaking point and you aren't really broken, then that's just a threshold. Learn to listen to your body and muster the resolve and courage to push beyond that... Cuz even though it's going to suck for a little longer, you're making progression towards where you started the journey to be so just finish. It's all you can do. Along the way you can actually make serious gains that strengthen you overall in that capacity where discomforts are then... oftentimes... yearned for... Like doing a negative set in weight lifting if you're into that sort of thing.

Look for tougher terrain than you'll be graded upon. Look for longer distances... like a loop that goes 20-30 miles and camp over night if you can... I've seen guys in their pants and boots and ruck on stair steppers at the gym... but that doesn't seem as cool as spending a night in the wilderness alone or with your boys, or with your sweetheart, but I am sure it's effective. Again, I was just speaking in broad generalities to anyone who may be reading this and looking to improve their rucking... Backpacking is just a fun and simple applications out there to weave a familiar type of physical exertion into the fabric of anyone's life. Get out there and hike your own trail if you're able to... and push yourself to go as fast as you safely can, as far as you can with as much elevation gain as you can. Make is difficult but have a place that you're trying to get to... Like a shelter, a lake, a natural monument, a landmark. Test your resolve in all conditions, and learn what works for you and expose yourself to the elements. You'll find yourself well-prepared when race day comes the more your push yourself. Id you can't do a 12 minute mile on flat land with a 45lb ruck... You won't get it outside either... but if you remove how fast you're doing it and just finish it and don't work about the time and nourish and let your body heal and rest... you're getting stronger... and after a few weeks your body will adapt to the constant battery because your body knows... I better get myself in check real fast because this ain't gonna be over any time soon. I'm here just like anyone else because this is something that I want to improve at. I'm not an expert but I've found something that worked for me and I'd like to share that... maybe I should start a thread called: "Rucking, thanks for igniting a passion in the outdoors!"

 

[policemedic]

. You might as well "get comfortable being uncomfortable" I was told once... after a ruck in issue gear where I hadn't prepared and my feet were basically hamburger meat and I was being splashed around in a pool, in a lightning storm no less, for a few hours.
"

So, you were in a pool, during a lightning storm, for hours, being 'trained' by someone else?

I have to call bullshit.

The only other possibility is that you need to refine your ability to conduct a risk assessment.