Turns out Recovery is the Limiting Factor

I found out the hard way that there is a point where the weight becomes heavy enough that recovery starts getting in the way. For a daily ruck, that’s a problem.

Since moving up to the full 18kg load, my back has been constantly tight and demanding attention. Stretching, mobility work, foam rolling, extra recovery days… the works.

The goal of these walks was never to see how much weight I could survive carrying. The goal was to find the highest manageable effort that could be repeated consistently (To always be burning the most amount of calories that can be burned via walking). If a walk requires additional recovery, it starts competing with the next walk.

At that point the weight is too heavy for the purpose. I’ve been rucking almost every day for weeks. The cardio side of things is fine, the issue isn’t about fitness.

The issue is recovery. Consistency beats intensity. The goal was the effort of a run, while only having to walk.

Also using the Goku approach of getting stronger has always seemed really clever. The 18kg load taught me where the line is.

Building the Back Instead

The solution isn’t forcing heavier rucks. The solution is building a stronger back.

Rows, shrugs, carries, pulldowns, sandbag work, grip work… all of the things that strengthen the machinery responsible for carrying weight in the first place.

A stronger back makes heavier loads possible. Trying to force heavier loads before the back is ready just creates unnecessary recovery.

A Better Job for 18kg

The funny thing is that 18kg wasn’t a bad idea. It was just being used for the wrong job.

For an hour-long daily walk, it’s too expensive from a recovery perspective. For loaded carries, it’s perfect. Farmer’s carries, sandbag carries, weighted carries, shorter bursts of higher effort…

Those exercises are supposed to be hard. They aren’t supposed to be repeated every day for an hour. That’s the difference.

The Lesson

Reaching 18kg wasn’t a failure. It was a successful experiment. I found the point where the recovery cost stopped making sense.

The smarter move isn’t carrying more weight. The smarter move is carrying the right weight.

The goal isn’t to carry the heaviest backpack. The goal is to become leaner, stronger, healthier, and more capable.

Those aren’t always the same thing.