Building a Base
Build your engine then earn speed
OK, Last week I talked a little about the importance of building a base. Now, let’s dive into what that means.
Last year, a bunch of you signed up to complete the RUCK 20/25 challenge. Twenty miles, twenty-five pounds in one go during 2025.
We raised around $1,000 for the IFOPA, which is cool, but only a small number of those who signed up completed the challenge.
I’d like to help increase that number in 2026, and see all of you set a hard ass goal and smash it.
So, let’s talk about building a training plan.
I realize that we have thousands of you Mother Ruckers reading this at wildly different levels, so the plan will be for a mid-level goal. You can ramp up or down as needed.
If you are a paid subscriber, I will help you fine-tune your training plan for a specific event.
First, we need to identify your ‘big event’. In the running world, this is called the ‘A race’. This is what your training year focuses on.
I am establishing the arbitrary ‘A race’ of a 25 Mile Ruck with 25 Lbs on November 7th, 2026.
This gives us 10 Months to prepare, so we will take a very conservative approach.
Our periodized program will have 5 main phases:
Phase 1: Base Building: 16 Weeks (Jan - Apr)
Phase 2: Strength & Loading: 16 Weeks (May- August)
Phase 3: Peak & Performance: 10 Weeks (Sep-Oct)
Phase 4: Taper & Event: 2 Weeks (Early Nov)
Phase 5: Recovery & Regeneration 4 Weeks
These phases are long and perhaps a bit of overkill, but again, adjust as needed. This is designed to take someone from asking what a ruck is to smashing their 25-mile goals and being ready to start again.
As we train for our ‘A Race’, we will establish a ‘B Race’ during Phases 1-3. The ‘B race’ is an opportunity to assess our progress and focus on event-specific logistics, such as foot care and nutrition. You can complete these A & B events on your own, but signing up for an event seems to help sustain momentum. Many running races allow ruckers or have separate ruck divisions. So start looking for a 10K in late April, a half-marathon in August, and plan for a twenty-miler in early October.
But we have plenty of time to talk about that later. First, we need to worry about Phase 1. Base Building.
The Base Building phase is about building aerobic capacity and joint durability.
If you are starting from scratch, focus on three rucks per week:
This is just an example. Adjust as needed:
Week One
Monday- Strength Training: Squats, lunges, and core (planks).
Tuesday- Ruck 2-4 miles at a decent pace. 10-15 Lbs.
Wednesday- Mobility / Rest, Stretching, and foam rolling.
Thursday- Moderate Ruck 3-5 miles at a conversational pace. 10-15 Lbs
Friday- Rest.
Saturday- Long Ruck 4-6 miles (progressive) with 10-15-lb load.
Sunday- Active Recovery Light walking or yoga.
For Weeks 2-3, increase the pace on Tuesday, the weight on Thursday, and the distance on Saturday. Increase only one factor per workout, and don't increase by more than 10%.
None of these should leave you feeling like you have been kicked in the balls. If they do, reduce either weight, distance, or speed. For at least this first month, all of your training should be in the Zone 1-2 Range.
If you aren’t familiar with heart rate zones, watch this. Yes, they are annoying, but accurate.
In Week 4, reduce the distance of each ruck by 20-25% without increasing weight or pace. This is a recovery week. I know you may think you don’t need a recovery week, but humor me.
If the above is too easy for you, make it harder. But keep the training philosophy. If you already go to the gym regularly, it won’t hurt to work out Mon-Wed-Fri, but you probably know that.
The thing to keep in mind during base building is that you are laying a strong aerobic foundation and building the durability needed to ramp it up when we get to Phase 2.
Until next week, Ruck The Fuck Up,
John
Life is hard. Be harder.
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Life is hard. Be harder. That is so much more positive than the old: "Life is hard. It's Harder if you are stupid."