Training for Beast (Rucking)

A

arcticharley32

USMA 2025
Joined
Dec 12, 2020
Messages
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I recently purchased a pair of combat boots to prepare for CBT. I have no experience rucking, so I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how I should train and particularly how I should ramp up to prevent injury. Any information on ideal distance, terrain, pacing and Army rucking standards will be greatly appreciated.
 
The general Army standard is a 15 min mile for 12 miles with typically a 35-45 lb pack. This should be built up to slowly so you don’t wreck your knees or cause shin splits.

I would recommend starting at 3-4 miles with a 25 lb ruck and then building up slowly by week mileage/weight until you are comfortable doing 8-12 miles with 35 lbs. I generally won’t add more than 5-10 lbs from the last time rucked or more than 2 miles from the last time and only do one increase at a time weight or distance at a time when I am training for the ruck.

If you can do 6-8 miles at that pace with a 25-35lb ruck, you’ll be fine for CBT. They are very deliberate in building up the distance for NCs and the pace is incredibly slow for the March Back culminating event at the end of the detail because they acknowledge this is the first time people are generally doing something like this. Like painfully slow if you are used to rucking sub 15 min miles.

Terrain wise, West Point had a lot of hills. The more running and rucking you can do on hills, the less sad you’ll be during Beast but again, start off easy if you don’t have a background doing this regularly:

For breaking your boots in, don’t just jump into a couple miles ruck marching with weight on them. Wear them around and get them comfortable so you don’t trash your feet. You can wear them in the shower when you first get them which can help the insole form to your foot but under no circumstance should you go try to ruck around in them until they’re completely dried out. Protect your feet. I do actually a good bit of my ruck running when I’m training that particular way in running shoes because it’s better cushioning.
 
Casey said:
The general Army standard is a 15 min mile for 12 miles with typically a 35-45 lb pack. This should be built up to slowly so you don’t wreck your knees or cause shin splits.

I would recommend starting at 3-4 miles with a 25 lb ruck and then building up slowly by week mileage/weight until you are comfortable doing 8-12 miles with 35 lbs. I generally won’t add more than 5-10 lbs from the last time rucked or more than 2 miles from the last time and only do one increase at a time weight or distance at a time when I am training for the ruck.

If you can do 6-8 miles at that pace with a 25-35lb ruck, you’ll be fine for CBT. They are very deliberate in building up the distance for NCs and the pace is incredibly slow for the March Back culminating event at the end of the detail because they acknowledge this is the first time people are generally doing something like this. Like painfully slow if you are used to rucking sub 15 min miles.

Terrain wise, West Point had a lot of hills. The more running and rucking you can do on hills, the less sad you’ll be during Beast but again, start off easy if you don’t have a background doing this regularly:

For breaking your boots in, don’t just jump into a couple miles ruck marching with weight on them. Wear them around and get them comfortable so you don’t trash your feet. You can wear them in the shower when you first get them which can help the insole form to your foot but under no circumstance should you go try to ruck around in them until they’re completely dried out. Protect your feet. I do actually a good bit of my ruck running when I’m training that particular way in running shoes because it’s better cushioning.
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Thank you so much for the advice. It is really helpful. I will start off easy and then build up as I get more comfortable.
 
Really critical portion of that that I want to highlight is breaking in your boots (moreso breaking in your feet). I wouldn't focus much on actually rucking for time before CBT speaking from experience but rather walking with weight a bit to make sure your feet will hold up under the added stress.

The best thing you can do to prepare for rucking (without actually rucking, which can hurt your knees if done too much too fast too soon) is squatting, deadlifting, and running. Having strong legs/trunk muscles with good muscular endurance and good cardiovascular endurance is all you really need for it.

Please make sure your boots really fit. Mine were huge on me during CBT and I paid for it. Get insoles and ensure the size is correct. Darn Tough socks are forever my favorite.
 
DW is an orthopedic surgeon and heavily involved in sports medicine. She is not a big proponent of frequent rucking as it can really tear up your body. Do some, but don’t over it. She has sometimes compared the damage bodies of SF/Rangers and others who ruck often to those of pro football players.
One of the best things you can do is core weight training. Think squats, presses, etc.
DD started weight training in high school. Her high school had core weight training for PE that was geared toward varsity athletes.
In addition, she played a season of D1 soccer where she also did a great deal of weight training.
Prior to basic training (she went enlisted), she only did a couple ruck marches with her college ROTC before dropping out.
Still, she smoked most guys in her basic due to her weight training. Her one weakness was upper body as that’s not a priority for soccer players. In her position (wing back) they were looking for someone who could run 7+ miles in a game.

Here is what Stew Smith recommends. Similar to a combination of the above advice.

www.stewsmithfitness.com

Rucking Progression - RULES of Rucking (Army, SF / Ranger, USMC)

What is Rucking? Many people seeking jobs and training for challenging tactical schools (even events like Bataan or GoRuck) will realize they need to start preparing for rucking at some point. What is a Ruck? Great Question - This article tackled some of the training / pacing strategies that...
www.stewsmithfitness.com
 
prospective2019 said:
Really critical portion of that that I want to highlight is breaking in your boots (moreso breaking in your feet). I wouldn't focus much on actually rucking for time before CBT speaking from experience but rather walking with weight a bit to make sure your feet will hold up under the added stress.

The best thing you can do to prepare for rucking (without actually rucking, which can hurt your knees if done too much too fast too soon) is squatting, deadlifting, and running. Having strong legs/trunk muscles with good muscular endurance and good cardiovascular endurance is all you really need for it.

Please make sure your boots really fit. Mine were huge on me during CBT and I paid for it. Get insoles and ensure the size is correct. Darn Tough socks are forever my favorite.
Click to expand...
UHBlackhawk said:
DW is an orthopedic surgeon and heavily involved in sports medicine. She is not a big proponent of frequent rucking as it can really tear up your body. Do some, but don’t over it. She has sometimes compared the damage bodies of SF/Rangers and others who ruck often to those of pro football players.
One of the best things you can do is core weight training. Think squats, presses, etc.
DD started weight training in high school. Her high school had core weight training for PE that was geared toward varsity athletes.
In addition, she played a season of D1 soccer where she also did a great deal of weight training.
Prior to basic training (she went enlisted), she only did a couple ruck marches with her college ROTC before dropping out.
Still, she smoked most guys in her basic due to her weight training. Her one weakness was upper body as that’s not a priority for soccer players. In her position (wing back) they were looking for someone who could run 7+ miles in a game.

Here is what Stew Smith recommends. Similar to a combination of the above advice.

www.stewsmithfitness.com

Rucking Progression - RULES of Rucking (Army, SF / Ranger, USMC)

What is Rucking? Many people seeking jobs and training for challenging tactical schools (even events like Bataan or GoRuck) will realize they need to start preparing for rucking at some point. What is a Ruck? Great Question - This article tackled some of the training / pacing strategies that...
www.stewsmithfitness.com
Click to expand...
Thank you all for the advice. So far I have only been on 3 mile walks with the boots and no additional weight. I will make sure I don't overdo it.
 
Good advice about boots. Tight or snug fitting boots are always better than loose fitting boots. If the foot moves around in the boot, they will get chewed up. Good quality socks are a must.

For the ruck sack itself, look up some sites on how to properly load plan your weight. What I mean is you want to put the heaviest part of your weight high up in the ruck. If the weight sits down low in your pack, it will feel like an anchor on your back. Don't overdue it for training. Light marching with light weight is good to build up. You don't need to build up to 12 miles before you get to West Point. They will build you up at their pace.
 
USMAZoo98 said:
Good advice about boots. Tight or snug fitting boots are always better than loose fitting boots. If the foot moves around in the boot, they will get chewed up. Good quality socks are a must.

For the ruck sack itself, look up some sites on how to properly load plan your weight. What I mean is you want to put the heaviest part of your weight high up in the ruck. If the weight sits down low in your pack, it will feel like an anchor on your back. Don't overdue it for training. Light marching with light weight is good to build up. You don't need to build up to 12 miles before you get to West Point. They will build you up at their pace.
Click to expand...
I truly appreciate the insight - I have no experience rucking and your information is very helpful.
 
With the quality of boots today...no need to wet them...actually don't. Just make sure they fit well and get used to walking in them...
 
A bit late to the thread, but as someone who did the whole “put weight in a backpack and ruck in your boots” thing, it doesn’t really help that much apart from breaking in your boots. I’m not a great rucker by any means and certainly wasn’t when I was in Beast, but what got me to be even somewhat decent was running. A lot. Lifting helps to get your muscles stronger to carry the weight, but a huge proponent of rucking is cardiovascular endurance, especially at West Point with the ungodly hills that dictate the landscape around post and training areas. This is particularly true if you’re shorter; you’ll end up ruck-running quite a bit during most summer training rucks in the future.
 
How did this Zombie thread get resurrected? No one should be training for Beast right now. Everyone should be working on the perfect and most complete application for the Class of what...2027? Focus, focus, focus...
 
DrMom said:
How did this Zombie thread get resurrected? No one should be training for Beast right now. Everyone should be working on the perfect and most complete application for the Class of what...2027? Focus, focus, focus...
Click to expand...

There was a spam post in the thread at 0300 that got deleted. I’m guessing that’s what brought it back into view.

Stealth_81
 
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