Rucking is one of the best ways to progressively increase the intensity of your workout while allowing for the enjoyment of getting outdoors and either clearing your mind or socializing with friends. But what do you do when the weather isn’t optimal for this type of fitness routine? Well, you could get outside anyways and embrace the suck, or you could keep the habit by rucking indoors. 

Indoor rucking does have its limits but the most limiting part about it is the mind of the person performing the exercise. This article serves to eliminate any possible thoughts you have about skipping your workout, giving you the what, the why, and how of rucking indoors. Whether it’s the weather, limited daylight (you should try night rucking), or simply the need for climate-control, indoor rucking is how you stay consistent with your ruck routine.

Advantages of Indoor Rucking

I always like to begin with a little motivation so let’s look at the benefits of indoor rucking and get you unstuck in thinking that it’s such a bummer to ruck indoors.

Avoid Unpredictable Weather

I live in Houston and we like to say that our weather is bi-polar. While we don’t have snow, we do have extreme heat, crazy humidity, and more rain that most. The conditions here can make outdoor rucking uncomfortable or even unsafe. Indoors, you’re always in a stable, comfortable environment. 

Year-Round Consistency

Indoor rucking makes this a year-round physical activity and it even gives you the ability to perform the activity alongside other exercises like pull-ups, kettlebell swings, and hey…maybe even a good ol fashioned bench press.

Controlled Environments

We’ve already mentioned it but it deserves space here since it is. benefit. Just because you want a consistent climate doesn’t mean you suffer from a comfort crisis. In many situations it means you want to be safe. 

Flexibility

Traveling to an unfamiliar city? No problem. Have little kids with you who need to stay indoors? No problem. Life throws a lot of situations at us and by rucking indoors, we eliminate the excuse of “I can’t because.”

Indoor Rucking for Fitness Goals

When you ruck indoors you want to make sure you have the right goal in mind. 

• Rucking for weight loss? look for ways to incorporate high intensity interval training. 
• Aiming for cardiovascular health, aim for a heart rate within the proper HR zone that allows you to engage in strength training but is primarily focused on endurance training. 
• Rucking for strength and endurance? Keep the weight light enough to where you will not burn out because you opted for heavier load. 
• Using rucking for recovery? Focus on controlled movements, lighter weight training, and a slower pace. 

Best Places to Ruck Indoors

You don’t need an expansive space to ruck indoors. With a little creativity, you can find the perfect spot for your workout. Here are some of the best options:

Rucking At Home

You knew this would e first on the list and it’s here for a good reason. Even if you don’t have a treadmill to ruck with, you can still get a great full body workout with your rucksack and a little bit of space. Just remember to consider everything in your home an opportunity. Here’s an idea to get you thinking. 

• Use hallways for interval rucking where you lunge there and back and then ruck back and forth as many times as you need to recover.
• If you have stairs in your home, get ready to feel the pain! Add weighted stair climbs like you see people do with a weighted vest. This is a great way to build lower body muscle strength, cardiovascular endurance, and mental resilience.
• Turn your garage into a track by setting up a few cones or whatever you have to mark off your route. Then use the center for bodyweight squats, push-ups, and other lower or upper body exercises.

Oh and don’t be lazy, rearrange your furniture if it gives you the necessary space to get in a great workout.

Rucking Up Stairs

Every year my home town has what is called a tower 2 tower stair climb in support of the local fire department. It’s a reminder of how brutal this exercise can be and my guess is that you have a tall building with a stairway somewhere near you. This is perhaps my favorite way to perform indoor rucking and I’d suggest you give it a try even if the weather is perfect. You will love me and hate me all at the same time. 

Rucking At The Gym

No longer are gyms exclusively reserved for weight machines. Many have open turf areas and like my local YMCA, some even have indoor tracks. The gym is a great option because you can incorporate treadmill rucking with open floor rucking for two different experiences. 

Rucking At The Mall 

Shopping malls might be a failing business model but they are a great place to ruck! They are large enough where you can easily go for 30-minutes and not feel like you are hitting the same spot time and time again. Many malls are two levels giving you even more opportunity to prevent visual boredom. But I really don’t think boredom will be a problem because people watching is going to give you a lot of interesting moments…trust me. 

Essential Gear for Indoor Rucking

While you need less to ruck indoors than you would when ruck marching for example, you do need a few staples. Here’s your checklist:

1. Weighted Vest, Backpack or Rucksack: Duh, you knew this but you need it, so we listed it. 
2. Non-Slip Footwear: This is critical because some will get lazy and ruck barefoot or wear dangerously slippery socks.
3. Headphones or Speakers: Treat this like any other ruck and get yourself in the zone!
4. Fitness Tracker: This is more important than you think. By tracking your indoor ruck, you will see how great of a workout it can be. 

Setting Up Your Indoor Ruck

Unlike rucking outdoors where you grab your pack and hit the road, rucking inside may require you to set up enough space and make it safe for an effective workout. Here’s what you may need to do in advance:

• Clear Your Walkways: Remove any and all tripping hazards such as toys, pets, loose rugs, or whatever else your 5-year old leaves around. I can’t be the only one with this problem, right? 
• Plan Your Route: It is critically important that you plan your route in advance and it should be done on paper or your phone. Without a plan, you’re likely to quit half way through. 
• Variable Loads: Since you are most likely going to perform a hybrid workout, it’s best to have a heavy load for general rucking and a lighter load if you plan to perform bodyweight exercises throughout the workout as you will fatigue as your routine goes on. 

Example Workouts for Indoor Rucking

While ultimately you will want to create your own workout routine based on your environment and equipment, here’s a few ideas to get you started. 

Stair Circuits

Here’s a workout if you are in a two or maybe three story building that will leave you spent faster than you think. 

• Jog up a flight of stairs wearing your weighted pack and walk back down. 
• Walk up and back down the flight of stairs at a normal pace. 
• Remove your rucking backpack and perform a recovery walk up and down the stairs.

Repeat as many times as you can handle. 

Flat Ground Intervals

Here’s a workout if you have a decent amount of walking space such as a gym. 

• Jog for 1-minutes with your rucksack 
• Walk for 3-minutes with your rucksack 

Repeat this simple activity 5-times for a total of 20-minutes. 

Hybrid Workouts

Here’s a workout for those with limited space and are looking for well-balanced physical fitness.

• Ruck around your house with a heavy load for 2-minutes
• Perform a circuit set of planks (1-minute) weighted squats, push-ups, and Lunges.

Repeat this workout 5-times, reducing your weighted rucksack as need be. Your last set should be performed without weight. 

Timed Challenges

They say the fastest way to your destination is a straight line. In this case, it won’t be a straight line but rather three routes. Here’s a workout for that. 

• Set your stop watch for 10-minutes and perform route #1.
• Move to route #2 for another 10-minutes.
• Move to route #3 for another 10-minutes.  

How To Make Indoor Rucking Fun

To prevent boredom from indoor rucking, be creative and find ways to keep it motivating. Here are a few ideas. 

• Gamify Your Workout: Set or create challenges for yourself such as everytime you complete a lap you earn 3-minute of Netflix time. Sounds silly but this kind of stuff works. 
• Multitask: Get more out of this workout by listening to an audiobook or podcast. If you are on a treadmill, watch that show you feel guilty watching when you should be spending time with the family. I might be talking to myself here.
• Create an Obstacle Course: Use whatever you have around the house to create a “safe” obstacle course. You can use cones for drills, objects to jump over, or have your kids toss a light ball at you. 
• Train with a Partner: Whether it’s your family or a friend, bring someone along for the fun. Adding socialization and competitiveness to any kind of workout makes it more effective and it’s another way to be held  accountable. 

If you’re looking for more inspiration to shake things up, explore some books on rucking for expert advice and new strategies to enhance your indoor workouts.

Safety Tips for Indoor Rucking

You should stay safe during every rucking workout. Make sure you follow  best practices such as maintaining good posture, not beginning by pushing past your current fitness level, maintaining proper hydration, and being careful of where and how you step. 

Conclusion

Sadly it took me two decades in the fitness industry and ultimately leaving it as a profession before I made rucking a regular part of my fitness routine. But now that it’s a regular part of my routine, I get frustrated when I miss a day but thankfully with indoor rucking, it is less of a problem. As you continue on your rucking journey, remember that consistency is the goal and rucking indoors eliminates much of the constraints found in outdoor exercises. So whether you choose to use stairs, a treadmill, indoor malls, or your house, give it all you’ve got and keep pushing towards those fitness goals.