Conditioning has become a huge part of my life. For years I was running 12-15 miles a week. This year I switched to rucking instead.
Before I started running I was walking with a weight vest. I gave that up because the vest was pulling me forward and wreaking havoc on my neck and back.
With weight vest walks off the table I turned to jogging. And man, I sure as hell hated jogging. But I like being outside for conditioning so it was the most reasonable option.
I also figured the jogging would coincide with my annual mile run goal of 8:00. Actually, this year's goal was only to beat last year's 9:03. I gave myself dispensation due to back issues I had in 2023.
It was either late last year or earlier this year when I was listening to a Peter Attia podcast when he had the owner of Go Ruck on. If you are unfamiliar, they make Ruck packs, a type of slim profile plate-carrying backpack.
He talked about the advantages of rucking over running/jogging. He also discussed how he found the ruck better for postural issues than weight vests. So I figured why not give it a try.
First, it felt infinitely better than a weight vest for me. It pulled my shoulders back rather than pulling me forward. Also, and more importantly, it was far friendlier on my joints than jogging. In retrospect, I can't believe how badly jogging was affecting my recovery.
As I am currently in a conditioning block, I wanted to get an idea of my 1/4 mile time and see how I'd start training for my annual mile goal. Long story short, I was feeling so good I decided to keep running the full mile and see my time. To my surprise, it was 7:59.
Looking back, jogging was not only affecting my recovery, I think it was teaching me to run slowly. So switching from jogging to rucking has been a win-win!
