There's a strange paradox in fitness: running builds cardiovascular endurance but can destroy joints. Lifting builds strength but doesn't touch endurance. Most activities excel at one thing while neglecting others.
Then there's rucking.
Rucking—walking with a weighted backpack—builds cardiovascular endurance, leg and core strength, posture, and mental toughness simultaneously. It's low-impact enough to do daily yet challenging enough to transform your body and mind over a year.
For anyone seeking a Misogi that's accessible, scalable, and profoundly effective, rucking deserves serious consideration.
What Is Rucking?
The term comes from military slang—"ruck" is short for rucksack. For as long as armies have existed, soldiers have marched long distances carrying heavy loads. The practice was called a "ruck march" or simply "rucking."
In recent years, rucking has exploded in the civilian fitness world. The appeal is obvious: it takes something everyone can do (walking) and makes it dramatically harder and more effective.
The basic idea:
- Put weight in a backpack
- Go for a walk
- That's it
Simple doesn't mean easy. The weight transforms walking from a gentle activity into serious training. Your heart rate climbs. Your legs work harder. Your core engages to stabilize the load. Every mile burns significantly more calories than unweighted walking—and builds strength that walking alone never could.
Why Rucking Works
It's walking, but harder
Running is high-impact. Every stride delivers 2-3x your body weight through your joints. Repeat that thousands of times per week, and injuries accumulate.
Rucking is low-impact. You're still walking—one foot always on the ground—so joint stress is dramatically lower. But the added weight increases training stimulus without the pounding.
This makes rucking accessible to people who can't run due to injury, age, or preference. It's also sustainable at higher volumes than running. You can ruck daily in ways that most people can't run daily.
It builds strength and endurance together
Traditional cardio (running, cycling, swimming) builds cardiovascular endurance but does little for strength. Traditional strength training (lifting weights) builds muscle but does little for cardio.
Rucking is hybrid training. The sustained effort builds cardiovascular endurance. The load builds leg, core, and back strength. The upright posture under load strengthens the posterior chain—the muscles most people neglect and most need.
After a year of consistent rucking, you're both stronger and more cardiovascularly fit. That combination is rare in single-modality training.
It trains mental toughness
There's something about carrying weight over distance that builds grit.
Each step is a small decision to continue. The weight doesn't get lighter. The distance doesn't get shorter. You simply keep moving—and that repetitive choice to continue, mile after mile, day after day, builds psychological resilience that transfers to everything else.
Military training has known this for centuries. There's a reason ruck marches are foundational to soldier development—they teach you to keep going when your body wants to stop.
It's radically accessible
To run, you need running shoes and reasonable joint health. To lift, you need gym access and equipment knowledge. To swim, you need a pool.
To ruck, you need a backpack and something heavy. That's it.
You can ruck anywhere you can walk—which is everywhere. No gym required. No special facilities. No specific weather conditions (rucking in rain or cold is harder, which makes it better training).
This accessibility means you can ruck consistently regardless of travel, schedule, or life circumstances. The barrier to entry is as low as fitness gets.
How to Start Rucking
Gear: Keep It Simple
The pack: Any sturdy backpack works to start. Military-style rucksacks (like the GORUCK packs) are purpose-built and more comfortable for heavy loads, but they're not necessary for beginners.
The weight: Start with 10-20 pounds. Common options:
- Weight plates wrapped in a towel
- Sandbags
- Bricks wrapped in duct tape
- Purpose-built ruck weights
- Books (a surprisingly effective and free option)
The weight should sit high in the pack, close to your back. Low, swinging weight destroys posture and causes pain.
Footwear: Sturdy shoes or boots. Trail runners work for lighter loads. Boots provide more ankle support for heavier rucking or rough terrain.
Programming: Start Conservative
A common beginner mistake is loading up too much weight too soon. Rucking injuries typically come from form breakdown under excessive load, not from the activity itself.
Week 1-4: Foundation
- 10-15 pounds
- 2-3 miles per session
- 3 sessions per week
- Focus on posture and sustainable pace
Week 5-8: Building
- 15-25 pounds
- 3-4 miles per session
- 3-4 sessions per week
- Introduce some terrain variation
Week 9-12: Progression
- 25-35 pounds
- 4-6 miles per session
- 4 sessions per week
- Optional: one longer session (6+ miles)
Beyond: Increase weight, distance, or terrain difficulty based on goals. Advanced ruckers carry 50+ pounds for 12+ miles—but that's built over months, not weeks.
Form: The Key to Sustainability
Good rucking form:
- Stand tall, shoulders back
- Core engaged throughout
- Weight sits on hips, not hanging from shoulders
- Short, quick steps (not long strides)
- Eyes forward, not down
Bad form leads to back pain, shoulder strain, and hip issues. If something hurts, reduce weight and check form before continuing.
Pace: Faster Than You Think
Rucking pace should be brisk—faster than a casual walk, slower than a jog. A common target is 15-minute miles for lighter loads, 18-20 minute miles for heavier loads.
The goal isn't speed—it's sustained effort. You should be breathing harder than a normal walk but able to hold a conversation.
Rucking as a Misogi
Now let's talk about how rucking becomes a year-defining challenge.
Rucking's scalability makes it ideal for Misogi-level goals. You can start easy and progress to genuinely difficult achievements over a year. Here are some options:
The Volume Goal: 1,000 Miles Rucking
Commit to rucking 1,000 miles in a year. That's roughly 20 miles per week—achievable but requiring real commitment.
At 3-4 miles per session, you'd need 4-5 sessions weekly. Consistent but sustainable.
Why it's a Misogi: 1,000 miles sounds massive. Breaking it into daily sessions makes it manageable. The transformation over 52 weeks—physical and mental—is profound.
The Weight Progression: 50-Pound Ruck
Start with whatever you can handle. End the year able to ruck 6+ miles with 50 pounds comfortably.
This is a classic military standard (actually, military often goes heavier) and represents serious functional fitness.
Why it's a Misogi: Carrying 50 pounds for extended distance requires building both strength and endurance. The person who can do this is a different person than the one who starts.
The Event Goal: Ruck March or GoRuck Event
Several organized events test rucking ability:
- GoRuck Challenge: 12-24 hours, 15-20+ miles, team-based, led by Special Operations cadre. Brutal but transformative.
- Ruck Marches: Many organized events cover 26.2 miles (marathon distance) or specific military distances like 12 miles with 35 pounds.
- Bataan Memorial Death March: 26.2 miles through desert terrain with 35-pound minimum load. Commemorates WWII POWs.
Training for and completing one of these events makes an excellent Misogi.
Why it's a Misogi: The event provides a concrete goal with a specific date. The training required is substantial. The event itself is unforgettable.
The Hybrid Goal: Ruck + Strength Standard
Combine rucking with a strength goal:
- Ruck 500 miles AND achieve a 200-pound deadlift
- Ruck 12 miles with 35 pounds AND do 10 strict pull-ups
- Complete a GoRuck Challenge AND a marathon in the same year
Why it's a Misogi: The hybrid goal tests multiple fitness dimensions. You can't optimize for one at the expense of the other—you must build genuine all-around fitness.
The Daily Challenge: Ruck Every Day
Ruck every single day for a year. Minimum 1 mile with some weight. No zero days.
This is the rucking equivalent of a running streak—building an identity through daily practice.
Why it's a Misogi: The commitment to daily practice, through illness, travel, weather, and life disruption, is psychologically demanding. The cumulative effect of 365 consecutive days transforms you.
The Mental Game of Rucking
Rucking's mental demands deserve attention. Unlike running, where you can zone out or chase a pace, rucking is relentlessly present. The weight is always there. Each step requires engagement.
This can make rucking feel harder even when it's physiologically easier than running. There's no "flow state" where the miles pass unnoticed. You feel every one of them.
This is feature, not bug. The mental challenge is part of what makes rucking valuable.
Some strategies:
- Embrace the suck. This phrase comes from military culture and applies perfectly. Rucking is hard. That's why it works. Accept the discomfort.
- Use audio wisely. Podcasts and audiobooks make miles pass. But sometimes silent rucking—just you and the weight and the road—is more valuable for building mental resilience.
- Break it into segments. "Just get to that telephone pole. Now to that mailbox. Now to that turn." Mile-by-mile thinking is harder than segment-by-segment thinking.
- Remember why. Your Misogi exists for a reason. Connect the current discomfort to the larger purpose.
Who Rucking Is For
Rucking excels for certain people:
Runners who need a break. If your joints are protesting years of pounding, rucking maintains fitness while letting your body recover.
Non-runners who want cardio. If you've never been able to sustain running, rucking is more accessible while still providing serious cardiovascular training.
People who need functional fitness. Carrying things is a fundamental human capability that modern life has largely eliminated. Rucking rebuilds it.
Those with limited time. Rucking during commutes (walk to work with weight) or errands (ruck to the grocery store) integrates training into daily life.
People who want mental toughness. If your Misogi goals are more about grit than speed, rucking builds mental resilience through sustained voluntary discomfort.
Veterans and military enthusiasts. Rucking connects to military tradition and community. Many find meaning in training the way soldiers have for centuries.
Getting Started This Week
If rucking sounds like your Misogi, here's a simple start:
Day 1: Find a backpack. Add 10-15 pounds. Walk 2 miles. Notice how it feels.
Day 3: Same weight, 2-3 miles. Focus on posture—stand tall, shoulders back.
Day 5: Same weight, 2-3 miles. Slightly faster pace.
Day 7: Assess. How do you feel? Any pain points? Any gear issues?
If day 7 feels manageable, you're ready to progress. Increase weight or distance by no more than 10% per week.
After four weeks, decide on your year-defining goal: volume, weight progression, event, or daily practice. Then get after it.
Track Your Rucking Misogi
The Misogi app works perfectly for rucking goals:
- Define your challenge (1000 miles, 50-pound goal, event prep, daily streak)
- Log daily rucks with simple tracking
- Watch your year fill up with evidence of miles under load
- Stay accountable with others building strength and grit
Walking got humanity across continents. Weighted walking will carry you through your best year yet.
Key Takeaways
- Rucking (walking with a weighted backpack) is a military-tested practice gaining massive civilian popularity
- It builds cardiovascular endurance, strength, posture, and mental toughness simultaneously—with low impact
- Start with 10-20 pounds, progress slowly, focus on form
- Rucking Misogi options: 1,000-mile year, 50-pound capability, event completion (GoRuck, Bataan), daily streak
- Accessible anywhere, any time, with minimal gear—the barrier to entry is as low as fitness gets
- The mental game is real: embrace the suck, break it into segments, connect to purpose
- Perfect for runners needing a break, non-runners wanting cardio, and anyone seeking functional fitness and mental toughness