How the plans work
A Rucksteady plan is a ladder of weekly long rucks that ends at a standard: a distance, a load and a time limit. Each week raises distance or load, never both. Each ruck you save decides the next week.
Pick a standard: it sets the goal, you set the pack
A named standard brings its own numbers. The Leistungsabzeichen march is 12 km with 15 kg in 2:00 h; the EIB foot march is 12 miles with 35 lb in 3:00 h. The time limit spread over the distance is the goal pace.
A standard plan (5, 10 or 20 km) has no fixed load. You enter your pack weight (5–30 kg) and a goal pace. The plan steps distance and load; pace is a target. Each week's target pace eases toward your goal, and on the live screen the ghost walker marches at it, so you see where you stand on the examiner's clock.
The ladder: build, ease off, rehearse, taper, test
The 9-week ladder runs three build weeks, one easier week, two more build weeks, a rehearsal close to the test distance, a taper and the test week. The free 5 km plan shows the shape:
| Week | Kind | Long ruck |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | build | 3 km |
| 2 | build | 4 km |
| 3 | build | 4 km |
| 4 | easier | 3 km |
| 5 | build | 5 km |
| 6 | build | 5 km |
| 7 | rehearsal | 5 km |
| 8 | taper | 3 km |
| 9 | test | 5 km |
The 12 km standards use the same 9 weeks. The 20 km plans and the EIB march take 13 weeks with two easier weeks and the rehearsal in week 11; the longest and heaviest military standards take 16. An easier week carries 75 % of the distance before it at the same load. The taper cuts distance to 60 % of the peak. The rehearsal takes you to at least 90 % of the test distance, and the taper to the full load, so test day is never the first day at full load.
The idea is old: load rises in small steps, and the week before a test carries less, not more. The ACSM position stand on exercise progression and a meta-analysis of tapering in endurance sport (Bosquet 2007) describe the general principle. The step sizes are Rucksteady's own rules.
One step at a time: longer or heavier, never both
A build week raises the long ruck by at most 2 km, or the load by one step (1 kg or 2 lb). Never both in the same week. Where the next week raises the load, the distance stays.
The load climbs from a few steps below the standard and reaches it in the taper, at reduced distance:
Where you start: a benchmark time places you, without it you start in week 1
At setup you can enter a time for a short ruck at the plan's load, usually 5 km (3 km for the 5 km plan), on flat ground, in boots, pack dry. The app stretches that pace to the test distance and compares it with the goal pace. The smaller the gap, the later you start: week 1, 2, 3 or 5 on the 9-week ladder, week 1, 3, 5 or 9 on the 13-week ladder. A late start also needs a recent ruck that covers that week: within 2 km of its distance and one load step of its load. Otherwise the plan starts at the week your rucks do cover. A gap above 2:30 min/km means no plan yet: build a base first. Without a benchmark, the plan starts in week 1.
Every ruck counts: one tap after the ruck moves the plan
After each ruck the app asks one thing: how it felt (easy, about right, hard). It does not ask about pain. "Easy" counts like "about right". Only a ruck that fits the week counts: pack no more than 0.5 kg under the week's load, at least 60 % of the week's distance and at least 2 km (75 % on a very short week), and at least 5 days after the last ruck that counted. Complete means 90 % of the distance or more.
| Your ruck | The plan does |
|---|---|
| Complete, on target, easy or about right | Next week |
| Short, behind, or hard | The week repeats, twice at most |
| Hard twice in a row, or a third miss | An easier week: 75 % distance, same load, pace one step slower, then back to the week you left |
On target means at most 15 seconds per km behind the week's target on the elapsed clock, pauses included. The rehearsal is judged on distance only; the taper and the test week never repeat for pace. A second easier week forced by performance steps one build week back; a third ends the plan. Four weeks without a plan ruck step the plan one build week back; eight weeks restart it at the week a recent ruck covers, and end a heavy or gated plan.
The plan screen shows one line for the latest change and why it happened. Under-challenged? Tap any other week in the list to jump there; your next rucks count from that week.
The test date: optional, with a countdown and a fit check
Enter a test date at setup and the plan card counts down the weeks. Below it: "Plan fits your test on …" or "N weeks short". A repeated or easier week adds a plan week, so the line can change after a ruck. The date never shortens a step. When the plan is short, set up a shorter plan.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Independent app — not affiliated with any armed force or event organiser.
Sources
- Garber CE et al. ACSM position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011. (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Bosquet L, Montpetit J, Arvisais D, Mujika I. Effects of tapering on performance, a meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007. (accessed 2026-10-21)