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Rucksack and back carrying

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Hello guys, I understand that if I (and hopefully, I try to think positively) make it to basic, I'll do tons of marches with heavy rucksacks. I'd like to come prepared+ compensate for the fact that I wear glasses. I want to gradually increase my carrying strength. Currently, I am on a vacation from the gym because of a lame injury in my shoulder will be back in two weeks max. My routine is that I walk 5500 meters to go the gym while carrying a backpack roughly weighing about 6kg before working out in the gym. I want to start increasing the weight I carry during that journey and ideally increase the total marching distance too, any ideas? What should I focus more on the distance or the weight? I also read that it is better to do such long marches in the countryside but in Alexandria that is quite challenging we don't have a lot of green nearby. Unfortunately, that leaves me with urban areas only. I have a house in a place on the beach with an open area where I can jog and run on the sand for as long as at least 16km but the area there is uninhabitable unless it is summer so until then what can I do? Shall I keep doing my marches in urban areas?
As usual, thanks for taking the time to read and reply :)
 

Geneticcz

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im no scientist but from personal experience that worked: just start with setting a goal like 10km or however much time u have available like 4hrs and find out what the heaviest weight u can carry is. for example, i got all excited a while back trying out schoengs routine from this forum and put on a 20k backpack and figured id walk a few hours lol... made it 500m before my neck and back were dead as i havent carried a backpack in like 10 years... so now im just starting with lower weight, walk the 10km, and up the weight every week slightly. once i get to 20kg, ill start increasing my distances weekly.

if u do ur pull ups and some shoulder/neck excersizes during the week and u march on the weekends, u see a pretty good increase weekly in the weight u can carry and getting to 20kg shouldnt be long.

also for the backpack improvement, u need to grow back, neck and other muscles so walking in countryside or urban areas doesnt differ. walking in dirtroads and countryside places is more of a comfort/mental preparation (which is a big part of legion so if u can definitely do this but if not, it wont really slow your backpack training lol)
 

SnafuSmite

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Hello guys, I understand that if I (and hopefully, I try to think positively) make it to basic, I'll do tons of marches with heavy rucksacks. I'd like to come prepared+ compensate for the fact that I wear glasses. I want to gradually increase my carrying strength. Currently, I am on a vacation from the gym because of a lame injury in my shoulder will be back in two weeks max. My routine is that I walk 5500 meters to go the gym while carrying a backpack roughly weighing about 6kg before working out in the gym. I want to start increasing the weight I carry during that journey and ideally increase the total marching distance too, any ideas? What should I focus more on the distance or the weight? I also read that it is better to do such long marches in the countryside but in Alexandria that is quite challenging we don't have a lot of green nearby. Unfortunately, that leaves me with urban areas only. I have a house in a place on the beach with an open area where I can jog and run on the sand for as long as at least 16km but the area there is uninhabitable unless it is summer so until then what can I do? Shall I keep doing my marches in urban areas?
As usual, thanks for taking the time to read and reply :)

Stoeng has a marching section in his fitness plan, should give you some guidelines.
https://cervens.net/forum/index.php?threads/legion-preparation-training-program.11147/
 

Nickfury

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I just throw on a 23kg backpack and started 20 minutes 2 to 3 times a week and then just simply add 10 min a week. That will quickly get you up to higher times/distances, I just keep a fast pace. Easy. But the key thing is you need a very good backpack that has some rigid back support, straps on the pack to tighten the load and keep it from moving or flopping backwards, and straps in front across your chest and your waist, ideally the strap around your waist comes with a padded back support. Plus you should keep the heaviest stuff at the top of your rucksack. Again everything should be really tightly packed and kept tight but comfortably on your body. Also high quality boots with ankle and arch support and I wear doubles socks, one thin liner sock and then a thick outer wool sock for hiking.

My ruck is the Osprey Farpoint 55. Pretty good. :)
 

Papillon

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I just throw on a 23kg backpack and started 20 minutes 2 to 3 times a week and then just simply add 10 min a week. That will quickly get you up to higher times/distances, I just keep a fast pace. Easy. But the key thing is you need a very good backpack that has some rigid back support, straps on the pack to tighten the load and keep it from moving or flopping backwards, and straps in front across your chest and your waist, ideally the strap around your waist comes with a padded back support. Plus you should keep the heaviest stuff at the top of your rucksack. Again everything should be really tightly packed and kept tight but comfortably on your body. Also high quality boots with ankle and arch support and I wear doubles socks, one thin liner sock and then a thick outer wool sock for hiking.

My ruck is the Osprey Farpoint 55. Pretty good. :)

Double socks double the trouble thought that old habit had died a death plenty of good socks on the market get a pair of Hilly Socks from a good out door shop all the padding and support
Two pairs rub and cause more problems as for the ruck sack send that message to the PMs that run the jail in Calvi šŸ˜€
 

Nickfury

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I dunno, I have always had great luck with a thin liner and a thick outer sock. I even saw "anti blister" socks, they are all double lined socks. I must be doing something right. Of course all bets are off if your feet get wet, so powder, tape and a few extra pairs of socks.
No clue what you mean about the ruck and the PMs. Sorry.
 

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Plus you should keep the heaviest stuff at the top of your rucksack.
Yea, and just to add: try to pack the weight close to your pack too, makes much better balance :D

To Keegan,
I dont know when you are going to France, but if you are not used to walking with a backpack you should start with a quite low weight (10-15 kg) depending on how fit you are, and gradually increase the weight until you reach about 25 kg. On some occasions you should problably try to walk with 30+kg backpack just to know how it feels and how your body responds to it, but dont hurry about that. A 6 kg backpack is too low in my opinion, unless you are very unfit and have a lot of time to prepare until you enter the legion

Another great tip mentioned is keeping a fast pace. The normal preferred walking pace is somewhere around 5-5,5 km/h in civil life, but get used to walking faster than that. From personal experience i found it quite hard in the beginning to adjust to a fast marching-pace in the military, and i guess some units might have a higher tempo than others. We did at least 6, sometimes 7km/h and a little more, and you should expect something like that pace in the Legion as well. Heck, we did a exercise with some special naval warfare unit and they had the highest pace i have ever experienced. Most guys would have to run while they was walking.

Of course, high pace walking is done with a little lighter backpack.

As for distance, i believe the 5500 m walk to the gym + 5500 m walk back from the gym sounds good if kan keep up doing it for all the months until you join the Legion. For example: 11(5500m+5500m) kilometers of walking with a backpack 2-3 times a week with high pace + 1-3 days a week with longer march with a heavier backpack but with lower pace (Stoeng recommends 4-5 hours walking with 20kg).

If you get tired of walking all these 5500m to and back from the gym, you can jog to the gym instead. You dont need a backpack, but if you need to have some things with you there should be no problem jogging 5500+5500m with a backpack weighing a few kilograms. Try to keep the backpack weight as low as possible when jogging, 6kg backpack when jogging is a "lot", unless you are experienced jogging with a backpack, as backpackjogging can be hazardous to the feets. Stoeng (Norwegian leggionnaire with 15 years experience, who made a workout plan on this forum) recommends a ca 1,5 hour jog about every second day. That will fit very good into your 5500m+5500m to and back from the gym.

I dont know how fit and experienced you are, but try to regulate your backpack weights, walking tempo etc so you dont get annihilated in the first weeks. Steadily progress.

Stoeng also mentions how to march/jog if you live in urban areas, like Alexandria. This is what he says:

  1. Running on tarred roads is forbidden; stay on dirt roads in the woods or in parks (if you are such an urban wimp).
Basically: tarred roads is quite hard for the feets so running a lot on that might get you injured, and i bet the Legion does most of its marches in the woodland and not on tarred roads.

I have never used double socks so i have no experience with that, but i have heard its popular and that it works. A good pair of wool socks does the trick and might make a double layer of socks unnecessary. Test it out yourself.
Remember to walk-in your marching boots GOOD. My tip is to soak them in water and walk for at least an hour in rural areas to make the boots fit good to your feet.
The best will be to walk a lot with the boots, and the boots will adjust to your feet.

Do some readings on how to tape your feet with athletic sports tape. I have never ever gotten a blister when using a my walked-in boots and with taped feets.

Summary: Get good at walking fast with a lighter backpack. Get good at walking in normal tempo with a heavy backpack. Get good at running (Stoeng says 13 km in 1,5 hour) and do AT LEAST 7 pull-ups, ideally more than 7. Stay injury free.
 
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I have at least 9 months ahead of me so plenty of time
since i was a child i always go everywhere with a backpack but not a heavy one for the past 5 years i wear it everywhere weighs around 3-5 kg so nothing serious really . I am buying a rucksack next month so hopefully i can find something good available
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Lots of good advice all round from members of the board. Going on long marches with increasing weight is good training for stamina. However, do not forget the principles to get through the selection. Luc Leger, and 7 pull ups minimum. On top of that is the IQ tests which should be studied before hand. Once you have figured out the logic you have gained half the battle.

Next is teeth and physical examination. I mention this because although it doesn't hurt to get get used to marching with sore shoulders and learning how to treat blisters on your feet, it is worth mentioning that a lot of people have never been in the military prior to joining the legion. So the marches will start off reasonably short and at a reasonable pace -usually the slowest man's once you get in your regiment. This is the the medic or transmission.

I'm taking a page now from the Royal Marines pre-entry hand book. Do not get yourself in top physical condition before joining, the idea is to improve once you are in. It also recommends not running with a backpack on. You will run with your sac Ć  dos once you get to Castel, but no point in forcing your knees before hand.
 

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I completely forgot that the Legion has the Luc Leger in selection. That should of course be mentioned.
Im not very experienced with the Luc Leger (Beep test), having only done it a few times. Does anyone have experience with how traditional jogging/running/interval training improves the Luc Leger? Of course training Luc Leger will be the best for improving the Luc Leger, but i value running longer distances.
 

SnafuSmite

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I completely forgot that the Legion has the Luc Leger in selection. That should of course be mentioned.
Im not very experienced with the Luc Leger (Beep test), having only done it a few times. Does anyone have experience with how traditional jogging/running/interval training improves the Luc Leger? Of course training Luc Leger will be the best for improving the Luc Leger, but i value running longer distances.

Best way to improve Luc Leger is to practice the test, its unique in the sense that you cant really build a rhythm its stop go the whole time. Theres plenty on google play store/i store that are free. It should take about 10 mins to get to lvl7.
 

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Best way to improve Luc Leger is to practice the test, its unique in the sense that you cant really build a rhythm its stop go the whole time.

Thats for sure, i was just wondering if anybody got experience with performing the Luc Leger without practicing it, but practicing other types of running and for example doing a decent 5000m. And yes, i see that the stop-go-stop in the Luc Leger is what makes it unique and that makes it important to train it directly :D
 

SnafuSmite

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Thats for sure, i was just wondering if anybody got experience with performing the Luc Leger without practicing it, but practicing other types of running and for example doing a decent 5000m. And yes, i see that the stop-go-stop in the Luc Leger is what makes it unique and that makes it important to train it directly :D
We used to do it once a week when I still played Rugga, our coach had an "assement" day where he'd gauge fitness and such, if you're fit and healthy you'll get a decent level, simple as that. 7 is a good average but superfit guys would be around 13.
 

Etoiles_mortant

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If you decide to run / force march in the beach be EXTREMELY careful. It is a really good work out, since its way harder than paved and even dirt roads, but its very easy to injure your ankles.
I suggest only doing it with very good boots that support your ankles, and even then only going to the beach on your "low speed" days.
 

Le petit caporal

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Climb hills and avoid elevators
Find a multi story and take the stairs to the top , repeat as often as you can
Learn how to walk, properly (belive me, it will help
Learn to control breathing correctly
All this helps
 
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If you decide to run / force march in the beach be EXTREMELY careful. It is a really good work out, since its way harder than paved and even dirt roads, but its very easy to injure your ankles.
I suggest only doing it with very good boots that support your ankles, and even then only going to the beach on your "low speed" days.
no worries mate, i was a semi-professional footballer 6 years ago. I used to run 16 km on sand while my feet were bare-naked :) it is just that I have been through depression for 4 years so I gained weight and lost all my stamina and strength and now I am kinda re-buidling everything all over
Of course, that depression part will be omitted from my story in the gestapo interview so don't worry about that.
Mon caporal, I know how to control breath but i don't know about that proper walking i will google it.
 

Le petit caporal

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small light steps will carry you a long way. ..keep the pace and watch where you step
stepping up the pace and longer stride , needs to be done and tires quickly (concentrate your mind on poitive thinking )

Quit smoking. ..just saying, you know it makes sense
 
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small light steps will carry you a long way. ..keep the pace and watch where you step
stepping up the pace and longer stride , needs to be done and tires quickly (concentrate your mind on poitive thinking )

Quit smoking. ..just saying, you know it makes sense
I don't smoke tobacco/weed/shisha I hate all sorts of smoking. Only downside is that all my friends smoke so a lot of smoke around me. I drink a maximum of two beers per week but usually one 350 ml 5% beer only per week and no hard liquor at all maybe once every 3 months:cool:
 
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