Overview of Combine These Two Exercises to Burn Fat, Boost Strength, & Increase Your Longevity - With Michael Easter (The Model Health Show)
This episode of The Model Health Show (host Shawn Stevenson) features Michael Easter, New York Times bestselling author, who makes the case for a simple, powerful, underutilized practice: walking with weight (rucking / wearing a weighted vest / loaded carries). Easter explains the evolutionary basis, emerging science (including effects on fat loss and metabolic set point), practical implementation, safety guidelines, and why this single habit can improve body composition, core/back health, cardiovascular fitness, and long-term function (healthspan). The episode is both historical context and a how-to primer with actionable steps anyone can start using immediately.
Key takeaways
- Walking with weight (rucking / loaded carries) combines endurance and strength stimulus, often producing preferential fat loss while preserving muscle.
- Carrying external load can blunt diet-induced drops in resting metabolic rate (the so-called gravidostat effect), making weight loss more sustainable.
- Rucking is low-tech, highly scalable, and generally safer than running when done with reasonable loads and progression.
- It improves core stability, can relieve/prevent low back pain, increases NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), and supports longevity by preserving both aerobic capacity and muscle.
- Start simple: ~10% body weight is a good beginner load; many find 15–20% effective. Avoid frequently exceeding ~33% of body weight without professional guidance.
What is rucking / walking with weight
- Definition: Walking or hiking while carrying external load (backpack, weighted vest, duffel, or handheld carries).
- Variations: Long-distance rucks (packs), short loaded walks, gym-style loaded carries (farmer’s carry, suitcase carry, waiter carry), and incidental carrying (grocery baskets, luggage).
Why it works — main mechanisms
- Combined stimulus: endurance (calorie burn) + strength (muscle recruitment) in one activity.
- Preferential fat oxidation: field data (e.g., long backcountry hunts) show weight loss from prolonged loaded carrying tends to be mostly fat, with muscle preserved or even slightly increased.
- Metabolic protection (gravidostat idea): extra load can signal the body to maintain resting metabolic rate during dieting, reducing rebound weight regain.
- Neuromuscular and structural benefits: carrying engages the core and postural muscles, increasing spinal stability and resilience.
Health benefits (concise)
- Fat loss and better body composition (more fat loss, less muscle loss compared to many diets).
- Improved cardiovascular conditioning: walking with weight increases heart-rate zones similar to moderate cardio and can be adapted with hills and pace.
- Back pain prevention and rehab: loaded walking recruits the anterior core and can strengthen stabilizing muscles; used in some rehab protocols.
- Longevity & healthspan: preserves muscle mass while improving endurance — a favorable combination for functional ageing.
- Mental health: outdoor variation adds benefits (reduced stress, improved mood/creativity).
Safety, dosage, and progression
- Beginner guideline: start around 10% of your bodyweight. Adjust down if it feels too heavy; increase slowly as tolerance improves.
- Practical upper guideline: avoid routinely exceeding about 33% of body weight — older military data point to more injuries above this threshold.
- Michael Easter’s typical: ~20% bodyweight for moderate-distance rucks; vary load depending on distance and goal.
- Injury risk: walking/rucking has low injury rates similar to walking (much lower than running) when loads are reasonable. Military-style extreme loads (100+ lbs) are a different context and carry much higher injury risk.
- Equipment and fit: use a backpack or vest with a hip belt to distribute load; portable water bladders let you fine-tune weight mid-walk.
- Technique: keep a slight forward lean with the load, engage core, use proper footwear, and prioritize gradual mileage increases.
Practical implementation ideas (how to weave it into life)
- Daily/low-effort: toss 10% bodyweight into a backpack and add it to your regular dog walk, commute, or airport terminal stroll.
- Airport tip: use waiting time to walk terminals with your pack instead of sitting.
- Household prep: do chores (vacuuming, yard work) while wearing a loaded pack to simulate mission-specific carrying.
- Work integration: take phone calls while walking (potentially with a light pack) — small “exercise snacks” add up.
- Gym options: include loaded carries (farmer’s carry, suitcase carry) to train similar patterns in shorter bouts.
- Start small, repeat often — micro-doses of movement compound into large NEAT gains; some people can add hundreds to thousands of calories/day through increased daily movement.
Gear and simple load hacks
- No fancy gear required: use any backpack and household items (books, water bottles, sandbags).
- Water bladder hack: easy to add/remove water to adjust weight on the go.
- If buying gear: choose backpacks/vests with good hip belts and fit for your body — Walkfully (Michael’s company) and other brands offer rucking-specific designs, some tailored for women.
- Alternatives: dumbbells wrapped in towels, duffels, grocery baskets (suitcase carry), or kettlebells for short-distance carries.
Historical & military context
- Carrying loads while moving is an ancient human trait and a core training modality for militaries across history.
- Example: Roman soldiers (~140–150 lb) often carried ~84 lb packs and trained with long marches; modern militaries still use rucking as primary conditioning because it transfers to battlefield demands.
- Cultural shift: technology has dramatically reduced everyday carrying (shopping carts, cars, roller luggage), removing this natural stimulus from daily life.
The "Super Medium" body concept
- Easter advocates a "super-medium" physique: enough muscle to be functional and resilient, but not so heavy that mobility and endurance are compromised.
- Practical sweet spot: population-level BMI ~22–25 aligns with better longevity/healthspan outcomes (not a tailored prescription, but a general target).
- Balance is key: avoid extremes of lightweight-only endurance or hypertrophy-only training; rucking supports a middle ground.
Notable quotes / insights
- “You’re getting more from every step.” — walking with weight makes ordinary steps substantially more beneficial.
- “Carrying is a moving plank.” — useful mental model for understanding core engagement and spinal stability.
- “Begin to begin.” — simplest instruction: start now with what you have; you don’t need perfect gear.
Actionable 7-step starter plan
- Calculate a beginner load: 10% of your body weight (e.g., 150 lb person = 15 lb).
- Use an available backpack and pack with books/water to that load.
- Go for a 20–40 minute walk 2–4 times per week with the pack; keep pace conversational.
- Focus on comfort: use a hip belt, adjust straps, wear supportive shoes.
- Progress gradually: increase weight by ~5% increments or add distance/time once workouts feel manageable.
- Add variety: once comfortable, try weighted vests, farmer carries, or short uphill segments.
- Combine with sensible calorie intake and strength training for best body-composition results.
Resources
- Book: Walk With Weight (Michael Easter) — a practical guide and history (available for pre-order/purchase).
- Michael Easter’s Substack: “2%” — TWOPCT.com (articles, practical tips, case examples).
- Practical clinicians: if you have existing spine issues, consult a PT (e.g., Stuart McGill-style back experts were referenced as using loaded carries selectively).
Final bottom line
Walking with weight is a low-tech, highly scalable practice that recreates a foundational human movement pattern we’ve engineered out of modern life. It delivers combined cardio and strength benefits, supports sustainable fat loss, protects metabolic rate during dieting, aids core and back resilience, and is easy to integrate into daily routines. Start small, progress sensibly, and make carrying a regular part of how you move.