My backpack swung as I walked up the hill. I was carrying a Cotopaxi bag with crossbody straps around my waist and chest. In addition, I was carrying 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of water in a plastic water bladder. Not the kind of load that makes a soldier sweat, but it was my first time carrying an organized “rucksack.”
As we reached the top of the hill, marked by a stone, we were greeted with a stunning view of the English Lake District. I was at the top of Orrest Head, a small and easy hill near Lake Windermere, but our group only stopped briefly to take in the view before heading down the opposite slope, determined to tackle a bigger challenge by the end of the day.
I was on a mission to “rucksack” and walk about five miles (about 10,000 steps according to my Garmin watch) while carrying a weighted backpack. This is an ancient form of exercise still used in militaries around the world, where soldiers build endurance by marching long distances while carrying heavy backpacks, weapons, and other equipment.
Away from the military, the backpack has recently seen a bit of a resurgence among fitness fans. While the past decade seemed to see overly complicated approaches to fitness dominating the latest trends, the 2020s (perhaps inspired by the lack of available equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic) have seen a focus on going back to basics: walking at home on one of the best under-desk treadmills, calisthenics, strength training, or even “animal flow” that can be done just on the floor.
Backpacks are a perfect fit for this trend. All you need to do is sling a heavy backpack over your shoulders and head out, and that’s it. You’ll need the right shoes, a good fitness tracker or GPS watch or an app like AllTrails to track your route and find your way home safely, comfortable clothes, a water bottle, and a quality backpack (we recommend one with a crossbody strap so the weight is distributed evenly across your torso).
Advantages of a backpack
Bending at the waist has a very positive effect on our muscles and is said to contribute to “core activation.” The “core” of our body is made up of the abdominal and lumbar muscles, which become loose and soft when we sit too long or don’t move enough.
According to the survey, Published by Hong Kong Education University, 2017Carrying a backpack weighing 10% of your body weight causes “significant changes in core muscle activity and lumbar spine loading,” working your abdominal muscles and back more effectively — not to mention the impact on your butt when walking up steep hills.
It’s also effective for fat loss. Walking in general is very beneficial. It’s a low-intensity exercise that most people can easily do, and it’s free. Since walking is often the only exercise many of us do, we should all try to incorporate more walking into our daily lives.
But being heavier means you burn more calories because it takes more effort to move your body. Exactly how many calories you burn is up for debate and varies greatly from person to person, but the faster you move and the more weight you carry, the more calories you burn.
It’s muscle-building, fat-burning exercise that’s not as strenuous as running, it’s cheap and easy to try, it gets you in nature, and it helps counter the damage caused by sitting too much. What’s not to like? I’m a believer, so give it a try.
