Is it safe to ruck with a army issue Duffel?

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

Sorry about that. Old age does that sometimes.

ZD, let's be honest with the young man, we have all rucked with a duffle bag. It's most often carried across the top of a rucksack between the bus and the C-130, C-141, or C-17 on our way to somewhere else. Distances varry for this task, maybe as fa as 300', with 150' being the average. I once had to carry a duffle bag in my left hand, only because my right hand was busy holding a weapon. Once I boarded an OV-10 and the truck parked next to the aircraft, I carried the duffle bag 20', I made that movement twice, once to return to get my ruck.

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

Your profile states that you are an E-2 ,and that you are "interested in a career in SF and beyond".

Zonie, turn in your FOG card right now. AND you should refrain from any and all corrective counseling postings on PS.COM during the 24 hours following a dose of TJ.

Back to you, Tequila . . . What Could Possibly be "Beyond" Special Forces!!!??"

[ZonieDiver]

Mea culp, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

[BearW]

Tequila,
Theres certainly other forms of lower body endurance building PT that you could be doing without rucking with a duffle bag. They call it 'Rucking' for a reason.... not duffling.

That was a joke-not necessarily at your expense.

I'm sure you're a smart dude who can think of a couple ideas that would benefit you just as much, without causing half the problems, or injury a duffle bag would.

Though sometimes its great to do exercises are just as much a mental workout as a physical one, it's not the kind of thing you do everyday just to c*ck yourself, let alone get fit.

Any PS's disagree?

Originally Posted by BearW

Tequila,
Theres certainly other forms of lower body endurance building PT that you could be doing without rucking with a duffle bag. They call it 'Rucking' for a reason.... not duffling.

That was a joke-not necessarily at your expense.

I'm sure you're a smart dude who can think of a couple ideas that would benefit you just as much, without causing half the problems, or injury a duffle bag would.

Though sometimes its great to do exercises are just as much a mental workout as a physical one, it's not the kind of thing you do everyday just to c*ck yourself, let alone get fit.

Any PS's disagree?

Na, we're done. He has his task, performance at this point is what we're looking for.

[XJWoody]

We called it work.

Shoveling 100# of coal into sacks. The gradation of the coal was key (pea coal was small, nut coal was -um- nut size, and stove coal was orange-size. The smaller the gradation the easier the tote was on the clavicle) The sacks were mostly duffel bag sized. If they had straps (or not, since we usually carried them on a shoulder) at 18 I could have carried one of those, plus beer, wherever. Especially if the destination might have included wimmenfolk. And at 18, I was 125# wet. $10.00 per ton cash was the wage - 1984 dollars - and shoveling/bagging 5 tons per shift (5 hour) day was the goal. $10/hr for a HS student in 1984 was good cabbage. OTOH I dunno what the prevailing wage in a Soviet gulag salt mine was back then... A ton per hour might have rated an asswhipping?

The central point for you, grasshopper, is probably figuring out a smart way to train up w/o inducing your own injury(ies?) You can't kill bad guys (if that is your goal) from the TMC. That is a station I regretfully failed at, when I had my chance...

And the Waist strap... Knowing when to tie in and keep the tick tight... or when to slack away. Priceless... Search man Search. And ruck some more too.

[CSB]

The waist strap has two major functions:

1 - From time to time, you can "hitch" the ruck up off your shoulders, placing most of the weight on the hips instead of the shoulders. This allows added blood flow* to clean out lactic acid and replenish oxygen to those muscles on the shoulder/pectorals. After perhaps a quarter mile to one half mile, loosen the waist strap and let the load settle onto the shoulders again.

2 - The waist strap helps stabilize the ruck, keeping it from shifting, especially left and right but also front to rear. That is important on sloped terrain, when snow skiing, or when jogging (which should only be done for VERY short distances).

* Nothing grows, and nothing heals, without a plentiful supply of blood.

Sounds like you realize the benefits of using the waist strap, a lot of young troops don't know how to properly adjust and use it, some even disconnect it.

CB

From a PM I sent to an inquiring trooper regarding this thread.
Quoted here so it will appear on a search ... (as if most of the young pups here actually used the SEARCH function).

[Decoy_Octopus]

Originally Posted by CSB

From a PM I sent to an inquiring trooper regarding this thread.
Quoted here so it will appear on a search ... (as if most of the young pups here actually used the SEARCH function).

Good Info. Lately i have been squatting for strength. 3 sets 15 reps after I run. I squat really deep to get all the muscles.

[Utah Bob]

What's that Interweb abbreviation they use for something like this?
ROFLMAO. Is that it?

[Crito]

Originally Posted by CSB

From a PM I sent to an inquiring trooper regarding this thread.
Quoted here so it will appear on a search ... (as if most of the young pups here actually used the SEARCH function).

Thank you, sir. Just started rucking last week. This info will be of immediate aid to me.

[122418b]

Originally Posted by Decoy_Octopus

I've been rucking with a duffle for the past two weeks because my ruck is in a container headed out of country. It starts to hurt my back about one mile into the ruck march.

Don't.