Rucking Calorie Calculator

Use my free rucking calorie calculator to get an estimate of the amount of calories you burn while rucking.

If you’re new to rucking, keep reading so you can learn more about it, how to start, and its benefits.

What Is Rucking?

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Rucking is walking with weight on your back, that’s it.

Whether you use a rucksack (a backpack made for rucking) or a weight vest, both work.

I walk at least 10,000 steps a day and I consider rucking a hack because it burns 2-3x the amount of calories of regular walking.

So I’m doing the same activity with 20 lbs of weight on my torso for a bigger bang for my buck.

How Much Do You Weigh? (lbs): Rucksack Weight (lbs): Distance (miles): Time (minutes):

Enter your information in the spaces above and the calculator will spit out the calories burned during your ruck.

Burns lots of calories: Rucking burns up to 3x more calories than regular walking so it's good for weight loss/fat loss

Improves strength and cardio: Your body is forced to work harder when walking with additional weight for distance

RELATED: Best weight vest under $100

There's not much to it, all you need are two things:

If you're brand new to rucking, start with 10 - 20 lbs.

The longer the distance you walk, the more you'll feel it so start off light if you plan to go far.

If you notice your posture sucks when rucking, it might be good to lower the weight until you get stronger.

A good rule of thumb is to go up in 5 lbs increments per week and see how your body feels.

Is it better to use a rucksack (rucking backpack) or weight vest for rucking?

This is a common question and my short answer is simple...

If you're only going to ruck, get a rucksack. If you want more versatility, get a weight vest.

I can always only load the back side of a weight vest to simulate the weight distribution of a rucksack.

And when I do weighted calisthenics, I load both front and back evenly.

But I can't do the same for a rucksack.

Joint friendly: Rucking puts less than 3x bodyweight of force into your knees. Compare that to running which is 8x.

User friendly: Anyone can put on a weighted vest or rucksack and go for a walk

Sustainable: You can ruck multiple times a week without your body taking a pounding so you'll be able to do it for a long time and reap the benefits

Burn fat: On top of the calories burned, rucking puts you into the perfect aerobic zone for fat loss (60-70% of your max heart rate)

Stronger bones: Carrying weight puts a bigger demand on your bones so rucking adds bone density which is important as we age

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