Core, Cardio and Legs: How This Multifaceted Military Fitness Workout Will Improve Your Rucking Ability

Working a combination of cardio and the core system of muscles can complement a leg day focusing on muscle stamina. If you are looking for a routine that can help you with the demands of rucking or other load-bearing activities, consider this moderate-intensity workout idea:

Warm up with a squat and toe touch pyramid 1-10, with 100-meter walks/jogs in between (stop at 10/10 each): This warm-up mixes in jogs, walks and other dynamic stretches during the 100-meter distance between each set of the progressive 10-set pyramid/ladder. It looks like this:

• 1 air squat, 1 toe touch*, jog 100 meters
• 2 squats, 2 toe touches*, jog 100 meters
• Continue up the ladder until you get to 10 squats and 10 toe touches and stop.

* The toe touch exercise involves bending at the waist with your back straight and touching the lower leg or foot, depending on your flexibility. You may see improvement in each set as you warm up with this movement. Treat it like a straight-legged deadlift but with no weight. 

After the warm-up pyramid, run or walk one mile or bike for 10 minutes. Depending on your cardio preferences, you can run or bike to work the heart, lungs and legs to continue the warm-up.

Leg and Cardio Section: The section below requires only a kettlebell or dumbbell and a place to run or cardio equipment of your choice. Run or bike for four minutes, and while catching your breath, start lunging for 10 lunges per leg. Then have your kettlebell or dumbbell ready to perform the swing and squat. Hydrate and stretch as needed and start the next set. Make this a limited rest circuit:

Repeat three times.

• Run 800 meters or bike for four minutes — steady pace
• Lunges 10/leg
• Kettlebell/dumbbell swings 10-20
• Kettlebell/dumbbell squats 10

Core System and Cardio: The section of the workout below involves faster-paced cardio activity (near sprint), followed by a circuit of core exercises. The farmer’s walk is a single weight in one hand only. Change hands at the halfway mark of the 50-meter farmer walk and walk upright and fast. Then drop the weight and perform 10 hanging knee-ups. After that, drop in the plank pose for the next two minutes, doing a regular plank for one minute and holding a side plank for 30 seconds on each side. Hydrate and stretch as needed and start the next set. Make this a limited rest circuit.

Repeat three times.

• Run 400 meters or bike for two minutes fast
• Kettlebell farmer’s walk 50 meters
• Hanging knee-ups 10
• Plank pose one minute
• Left side plank 30 seconds
• Right side plank 30 seconds

Final Option — Cooldown Section: For the remaining time in your training time budget, pick an easy cardio activity and cool down for the next 20-30 minutes. This can be a walk, ruck, jog, easy bike, elliptical machine, rower or stair stepper. You can also do a series of short cardio and stretch/foam-roller exercises if you prefer to use them as your cooldown section.

Repeat two times.

• Bike or row for five minutes.
• Stretch or foam roll for five minutes.

For more ideas for your training goals, check out the Military.com Fitness Section. It contains hundreds of articles with workouts for any fitness and military standards goal.

Want to Learn More About Military Life?

Whether you’re thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Story Continues