3 Exercises to Fix Rucking Shoulder Discomfort

Shoulder discomfort is common among new ruckers. Three simple exercise solve the problem.

Since writing The Comfort Crisis, I’ve received many messages that go something like this:

“I read your book and started rucking, but my shoulders hurt when I ruck. What should I do?”

Today we answer that question. We’re covering:

• Why rucking can sometimes lead to shoulder discomfort

• What to do if your shoulders hurt while rucking

• The three best exercises to prevent and fix shoulder pain.

I recently spoke with the wise Dr. Doug Kechijian, founder of Resilient Performance Systems, about rucking and shoulder pain.

He’s the right person to speak on the subject. Doug is not only a doctor of physical therapy who often treats military members, but he was also a member of the Special Forces as a Pararescueman. Which means he’s thought deeply about rucking and done a lot himself.

The truth about rucking shoulder pain

So long as you stay within smart weight recommendations—using 10 to 30 percent of your body weight—it’s unlikely you’ll injure your shoulders while rucking.

“I doubt most people are really in true pain shoulder-wise after a ruck,” Doug said. “It’s more like discomfort. I think discomfort in the shoulders is relatively normal. You have straps digging into your shoulders and a long duration of compressive loading on them, no matter how well you fitted your ruck. This isn’t bad per se, and your body adapts. But it is fatiguing.”

We see this in research.

For example, scientists in the UK took a bunch of young military recruits who hadn’t rucked much.

They then had the participants do a 45-pound ruck on a fast-moving incline treadmill for two hours straight.

The result: 90 percent of the participants reported shoulder discomfort.

Which, no shit! Doing anything new for two hours straight will make something hurt. If you asked me to handwrite letters for two hours straight, I’d report hand discomfort. I’d report butt and back discomfort if I sat for two hours straight.

The study isn’t surprising—but it can explain why your shoulders might hurt when you ruck.

When we do something physical that our body isn’t used to—in our case, rucking with a heavier weight or longer than usual—it uses the sensations of discomfort and pain to basically ask us “WTF are you doing right now?” It’s a sort of smoke alarm letting us know that there’s a chance what we’re doing could become problematic.

But, as with real smoke alarms, there’s usually no fire. At the same time, ignoring a smoke alarm is dumb. Doug said “typically pain is a warning of some kind that needs to be heeded.”

How to solve shoulder pain as you’re rucking

Just like sitting too long, shifting the location of the weight helps.

Move through these different carrying positions. It changes the location of the load and temporarily relieves shoulder discomfort. Do this:

1. Tighten or loosen the straps

2. Hang the weight off one shoulder, switching from shoulder to shoulder

3. Carry the ruck frontwards

The upshot: Carrying weight in different ways works your body differently, providing more benefits.

For example, hanging the ruck off one shoulder for a while challenges your core to a greater extent, and it may help prevent back pain. Carrying it frontwards challenges your back and core muscles differently.

The 3 best exercises to prevent and relieve shoulder pain

Your shoulders may still ache after your ruck. Or they may ache from all sorts of activities, like lifting.

Even if your shoulders feel fine, you should still do the following exercises. They’re one of the best ways to prevent issues from happening down the road.

• Up to 25 percent of the general public will experience shoulder pain in their lifetime.

• But the number jumps to about 50 percent among weightlifters (risk rises when you lift overhead).

The fix is simple: hanging.

Why hanging works

The weight of rucking compresses your shoulders. “Hanging essentially does the opposite,” Doug said, “It’s lengthening, so it works as a nice reset.”

It’s such a radical change in the area that it turns the smoke alarm off.

There are different ways to hang and get the most benefit. The three variations we’re covering are:

1. Dead Hang With Swing

How to do it: Hang from a bar (ideally one where your feet clear the ground). Hang vertically, so your body is relaxed. You should feel a stretch in your shoulders. Now slightly swing side to side.
Reps: Swing 10 to 20 times in each direction, depending on your grip strength.

2. Hanging Knee Raise

How to do it: Hang from a bar vertically. Raise your knees up into your chest, so your pelvis “tucks” upward as your knees come into your chest. Lower your legs back to vertical and repeat.
Reps: 8 to 15, depending on your grip strength.

3. Monkey Hang

How to do it: Hang from a bar. Now let go with your right hand briefly so you slightly swing leftward. Grab the bar again, then repeat with your left arm. Repeat.
Reps: 5 to 10 on each side, depending on grip.

If you can’t hang from the bar

Hang in a way where your feet are supporting you slightly. Pull a bench or stack some plates underneath you. The “point” is to feel a stretch in your shoulders.

Thanks for reading.

Have fun, don’t die, and keep on rucking.

-Michael