Does rucking burn more calories than walking?

Yes. At the same walking pace, carrying a weighted pack raises the energy you burn. In a 2014 Journal of Experimental Biology study by Yifan Huang and Arthur Kuo, adults walking at 1.25 meters per second (about 2.8 mph) with backpack loads of up to 40% of body weight burned about 7.6 more watts of metabolic energy for each extra kilogram carried, which works out to roughly 6.5 extra kilocalories per hour per kilogram.

In practical terms, a 20-pound (9 kg) ruck adds about 60 calories per hour at that pace. The researchers also found that people spend relatively more energy carrying a backpack load than carrying the same amount of their own body mass. The study measured level walking, so the total grows with heavier packs, hills, and faster speeds.

Source: Huang and Kuo, “Mechanics and energetics of load carriage during human walking,” Journal of Experimental Biology (2014), via PubMed Central.

Image: Rucking to remember Jolly 22, photo by Master Sgt. Matthew Plew (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

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