Rucking, Resilience, and the Five-Minute Fix

Two weeks ago, I reviewed Mark Sisson’s new book, Born to Walk, which extolls the virtues of walking over running and jogging for long-term health and longevity. This week, I want to introduce you to rucking - a great way to turn your walks into something more challenging.

What is Rucking?
Rucking is simply walking with a weighted backpack. It’s one of the most accessible, effective, and scalable forms of exercise. Originally a military training method, rucking builds cardiovascular endurance and full-body strength — especially in the legs, back, and core — without the impact of running. It also improves posture, stability, and even bone density. Best of all, it’s low-tech, low-barrier, and easily adaptable to any fitness level. Think of rucking as walking’s more muscular cousin.

To try it, grab a sturdy backpack, add some weight (books, water bottles, or a brick wrapped in a towel), and go for a walk. Start light — with 5 to 15 pounds — until you get accustomed to the load. Seasoned ruckers carry up to 25 or even 30% of their bodyweight.

If you find yourself enjoying rucking and want to increase weight and distance, I recommend investing in a specialized rucking backpack. These are designed to hold the weight close to your body without bouncing — which reduces chafing and helps with balance. The nice thing about specialized rucking equipment is the way the “ruck plates” and the pack are designed for one another, which makes it easy to change weight and adjust the fit.

GORUCK is the best-known brand, offering extremely durable gear and ruck plates that fit snugly into their packs. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s top-notch and backed by an iron-clad lifetime warranty. Their website has lots of information on rucking.

I own two rucksacks: a small one for lighter days (10–20 lbs), and a larger one that can handle up to 75 lbs in multiple configurations with room for extras like water and snacks. The ruck plates are interchangeable between rucksacks, which is handy when I’m rucking with Lori or friends — I can adjust based on who’s carrying what.

GORUCK also sells a weighted training vest, which some people find more comfortable. You can also find more affordable options on Amazon, but the quality may not compare.

Whether you're walking your neighborhood or hiking a trail, rucking is a simple way to get outdoors and add functional fitness to your life. It also makes group hikes more inclusive: stronger folks carry more weight, so everyone can move at a similar pace — each getting a solid workout in their optimal heart rate zone.

Strap on a backpack and give it a try!

My rucksacks:

Rucker 4.0 with 30-pound plate. A larger rucksack, good for heavier loads and can store water, snack etc.

Ruck Plate Carrier 3.0.with 10 pound plate.  Basic, small, easy to handle. Can accommodate from 10 to 30-pound plate.

The Five-Minute Intervention

What if a five minute a day workout could make a real difference?

A recent study put this to the test. Healthy but sedentary adults did four simple bodyweight exercises — squats, modified push-ups and sit-ups, and calf raises — at home, five minutes a day for four weeks. At conclusion, the subjects were put through a battery of assessments to test their strength, flexibility, endurance and blood biomarkers.

The results?
✅ Significant Strength gains (up 66% for pushups!)
✅ Mental health scores up 20%
✅ High adherence — and most participants kept exercising afterward

No fancy gear. No gym. Just consistency.

Importantly, blood markers didn’t change — likely because participants were already healthy and the study was short. The study was also small, and the participants were deconditioned. But the impact on strength, vitality, and follow-through was clear. And participants felt stronger, fitter, and more motivated to stay active.

This backs one of SecondFifty’s core principles:

Consistency over intensity. Start small. Stick with it. Build momentum.

To be clear: I’m not saying five minutes a day checks every box. But it’s a fantastic place to start — or a solid supplement or little snack to your core training in the four primary areas of mobility, cardio, strength, and balance.

Exercise Snack

In the spirit of the Five-Minute Intervention, here’s a simple “exercise snack” you can do anytime, anywhere — no gear, no gym, no wardrobe change required! It’s quick, functional, and especially helpful for golfers, tennis players, and pickleballers because I added in a little bit of mobility work. See how you do, and how you improve!

Let me know how you liked it in the survey, below— your feedback helps me fine-tune future routines.

List of exercises with reps/hold time

1. Windmill - Slide to the right and left for five repetitions

2. Wall Slide - 10 to 15 repetitions

3. Wall Sit - 60 to 90 seconds

4. Plank - 60 to 90 seconds

5. Push up - 10 to 15, either traditional or on your knees

• If it’s easy, extend the hold time or reps.

• If it’s hard, great — you’ve found your baseline!

For the golfers out there…
Golf Digest just published their ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses.

I completed the Sergeant Murph Challenge!
When I trained with Kevin, we did the Sergeant Murph Workout every Memorial Day. The Murph is a CrossFit Hero Workout named in honor of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005. I’m not a crossfitter, but for some reason Kevin decided we should do this workout, so we did!

It’s a beast: a 1-mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats, then another 1-mile run — traditionally done wearing a 20-lb weighted vest.

We did it annually for seven years. No vest, and with some pacing — but still, it was killer. I dreaded it every year… and always felt immensely proud afterward.

When COVID hit, I tried to keep the tradition going, but doing it solo was tough, and eventually, it fell off my radar. In other words, I didn’t do it at all.

This year, I decided to bring it back. I hadn’t done Murph in five years and honestly wasn’t sure if I still could. But I trained for six weeks and last week, I prevailed! A little sore, but no injuries — and a big smile at the finish line. It reminded me that working towards an exercise goal can be really motivating.

Any takers for next year? Maybe we make it a SecondFifty Team Event and train for it together!

• Here’s how I broke it down.

  Modified Sgt. Murph

  Start with a 1/2 mile run
  Repeat below 4 times:

  • 5 pull-ups

  • 10 push-ups

  • 15 squats
    

  Repeat the following set (run + reps) four more times:
  1/4 mile run
  Repeat below 4 times:

  • 5 pull-ups

  • 10 push-ups

  • 15 squats
    

  Finish with 1/2 mile run

• Total: 2 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats

• Total time: One hour and fifteen minutes

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Who Sent this Newsletter:

I’m George Harrop, founder of SecondFifty — an online resource for people who want to prioritize their health and fitness by taking a common-sense approach to living a vital and fulfilling second fifty years.