Psychological Responses To Ruck Marches During Military Training

Abstract

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE PR2021_60865 A ruck march is characterized by walking over rough terrain for a prolonged period carrying military gear weighing approximately 50% of body weight. This activity is essential during military training and operations; however, there is limited research with ecological validity examining the impact of ruck marches on psychological responses. PURPOSE: To compare two ruck march events during military training on psychological responses in Army Soldiers. METHODS: 63 Army Soldiers (Age: 22.9 ± 3.2 years; BMI: 26.08 ± 3.39 kg/m2) performed two ruck marches (Ruck1 and Ruck2) separated by 72 hours of intense military training. Psychological responses and total weight (bodyweight + military gear) were measured immediately before and after each ruck march. Rated perceived exertion (RPE), feeling scale (FS), and felt arousal scale (FAS) were collected using an iPad and weight using an analog scale. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to assess the influence of ruck number (Ruck1 vs. Ruck2) and time (pre vs. post) on psychological responses. RESULTS: Soldiers walked for 13.3 km during the first ruck and 11.2 km during the second. The total weight did not change after each ruck but was lower during the second than the first ruck (Ruck1 = 190.37 ± 19.36 kg vs. Ruck2 = 167.47 ± 32.11 kg; p < 0.0001). There was a main effect of ruck number, time, and an interaction (ps < .05) for RPE, FS, and a main effect of time (p < .001) for FAS. Posthoc analysis shows that RPE increased (p < .001) after both rucks but was lower after the second than the first ruck. Affective valence decreased after the first (p < 0.01) but not the second ruck, and affective arousal increased after both rucks (p < .01). Figure 1 illustrates the psychological results. CONCLUSION: Ruck marches performed during military training impact psychological state using measures commonly used in exercise research.