Weighted Ruck March

45–60 min at 8–12 kg. Tall posture, no forward lean.

Difficulty 2 of 57.4 METs · Vigorous

Equipment

Weight vest

Muscle groups worked

Glutes
Calves
Core

What it buys you

Teaches the trunk to stay braced under load for a long time — the exact quality that makes carries sustainable.

Capacity trained

Endurance. Aerobic capacity and vascular function. The single best-evidenced physical input to sexual performance.

Train it · Deep Base Test your limiter

Energy

Modelled kilocalories

Modelled energy cost for Weighted Ruck March at 10, 20, 30 and 45 minutes for both reference bodies
Reference body	10 min	20 min	30 min	45 min
Male reference · 82 kg	106 kcal	212 kcal	319 kcal	478 kcal
Female reference · 68 kg	88 kcal	176 kcal	264 kcal	396 kcal

Energy figures are modelled from standard activity MET values (Ainsworth Compendium, 2011) and the ACSM equation, not measured on you. They scale linearly with your own body mass, so a body 10% heavier burns about 10% more at the same intensity.

kcal = METs × 3.5 × bodyweight(kg) ÷ 200 × minutes (ACSM)

Load is effort, not pain. If a movement hurts rather than works, stop and see a clinician. Lifting another person is strength training with a person-shaped load — build the pattern unloaded first.

Cross-reference

Positions this workout helps · 20

It serves Standing and Lifted / Carried. Every position in those families is listed below, hardest first.

Honest framing

Training makes a posture available and sustainable. It is capability work, not a treatment for anything, and no single session changes a number. Consistency over eight weeks does.