A New Start, Tabbing, Rucking and Personal Fitness. What Beginners Can Learn from British Army Recruits
- Alastair Hunt
- Jul 30
- 6 min read
Starting a new fitness programme is exciting, whether your goal is improving your health, preparing for a long-distance hike, taking up tabbing (aka rucking), walking with a weighted backpack) or simply becoming more active. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is assuming that faster progress comes from doing more, sooner. A large study of more than 6,600 British Army recruits suggests the opposite may often be true.
Although few civilians will ever experience the demands of military training, the lessons from this research are surprisingly relevant to anyone embarking on a new physical challenge.
As ever, please talk to your doctor or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle, especially if you are under treatment. Links to all studies at bottom of page.
Why Study Military Recruits?
Military recruit training provides a unique opportunity to understand how the body responds when physical demands increase rapidly. New recruits arrive with varying levels of fitness before beginning an intensive programme involving running, loaded marching, strength training and military skills.
Researchers followed more than 6,600 recruits at the British Army Infantry Training Centre over two years, tracking musculoskeletal injuries that required physiotherapy. The recruits belonged to four different infantry regiments, each completing the same core military training but with different specialist requirements.
For civilians, this creates a useful real-world example of what can happen when training volume and intensity increase faster than the body can comfortably adapt.
More Training Isn't Always Better
One of the clearest findings was the enormous difference in injury rates between the regiments.
The Parachute Regiment, whose training involved the greatest physical demands, had an injury rate of 86%. The Guards and Line (infantry) Regiments experienced injury rates of 46% and 48% respectively, while the Gurkha Regiment recorded just 10%.
The researchers believe these differences were largely influenced by variations in training demands, recovery opportunities and possibly differences in how readily recruits reported injuries.
For anyone starting a fitness programme, the message is simple. The body becomes stronger by adapting to gradually increasing workloads. If demands increase too quickly, the body's ability to recover may be overwhelmed.
Why Did the Gurkhas Fare So Well?
The remarkably low injury rate among Gurkha recruits was one of the study's most interesting findings. Unlike the other regiments, Gurkha training regularly includes two- and three-week language and cultural education blocks. During these periods, formal military physical training is reduced, giving recruits opportunities for relative recovery. The authors believe these recovery periods may help reduce accumulated physical stress and lower the risk of overtraining. However, they also raise another possibility.
Becoming a Gurkha soldier represents an enormous opportunity for many recruits and their families. Because of this, some recruits may be less willing to report injuries for fear of jeopardising their chances of completing training.
The researchers acknowledge that under-reporting could partly explain the unusually low injury rates, although the study could not determine how much influence this had.
Your Body Needs Time to Adapt
One of the study's most important observations was when injuries occurred. Most happened during the first nine weeks of training, with the single highest injury rate occurring in just the second week. Injury rates then gradually declined before rising again during particularly demanding specialist training later in the course. This mirrors what many coaches see in recreational exercisers.
The first few weeks are often when enthusiasm is at its highest. New runners suddenly increase mileage, new gym members train every day, and first-time ruckers load heavy packs before their bodies have adapted.
Muscles can become stronger relatively quickly. Tendons, ligaments and bones generally take longer to strengthen. Pushing ahead faster than these tissues can adapt increases the likelihood of overuse injuries.
Most Injuries Developed Gradually
Perhaps the most useful finding for civilians is that most injuries were not caused by dramatic accidents.
More than 60% of all musculoskeletal injuries were related to overuse, either as primary overuse injuries or recurrent overuse problems.
Rather than occurring after a single fall or twist, these injuries developed because the body was repeatedly exposed to more stress than it could comfortably recover from. This is encouraging because many overuse injuries are potentially preventable.
Persistent soreness, increasing stiffness or aches that worsen with each training session should not simply be dismissed as "part of getting fit". They are often early signals that recovery is failing to keep pace with training.
Recovery Is Part of Training
The discussion section of the paper repeatedly highlights recovery as an important factor. The authors note that prolonged physical loading, mental stress, sleep restriction and insufficient recovery may all contribute to musculoskeletal injury. This is particularly relevant for adults balancing exercise with work, family life and other commitments.
Training stimulates adaptation, but much of that adaptation occurs during recovery. Sleep allows muscles and connective tissues to repair. Rest days help accumulated fatigue dissipate. Without sufficient recovery, each new session adds to an already stressed system. Many beginners mistakenly view rest days as lost progress. In reality, they are an essential part of making progress.
Fuel Your Body Properly
Although this study did not directly investigate nutrition, military training places exceptionally high energy demands on recruits, with daily energy expenditure often exceeding 5,000 calories. For civilians, the principle is still relevant.
Beginning a demanding walking, hiking or rucking programme while significantly restricting food intake may make recovery more difficult. Your body needs sufficient energy, protein and nutrients to repair muscles and other tissues after exercise.
Eating well does not necessarily mean eating more than you need, but it does mean ensuring your diet supports the work you are asking your body to perform.
Listen to Your Body
One lesson that extends beyond the study's statistics is the importance of paying attention to how your body responds. Many beginners feel pressure to stick rigidly to a training plan, even when they are unusually fatigued or developing persistent pain. The military study found that injuries clustered during periods of high physical demand. Rather than viewing discomfort as something to ignore, recreational exercisers should learn to distinguish between normal training fatigue and pain that continues to worsen.
Taking an additional recovery day, reducing pack weight or shortening a walk may feel like a setback in the moment, but it is often preferable to several weeks away from training because of an avoidable injury.
What Ruckers and Fitness Beginners Can Learn
Whether you are preparing for your first charity hike, starting Couch to 5K or building up to carrying a weighted backpack, the findings from this study support several sensible training habits.
Increase distance, pace or pack weight gradually rather than making large jumps from one week to the next.
Schedule recovery days into your programme rather than waiting until exhaustion forces you to stop.
Prioritise sleep, as this is when much of the body's repair and adaptation takes place.
Support your training with a balanced diet that provides enough energy and protein for recovery.
Pay attention to persistent aches and pains. If symptoms worsen rather than improve over several sessions, reducing training temporarily is often wiser than trying to push through.
Finally, remember that long-term consistency almost always produces better results than short bursts of excessive effort.
If you are training for the PARAS'10, a Norwegian Foot March, or just to get fast and fit carrying a loaded rucksack, our self-paced online course"Built to Ruck The Science and Practice of Rucking"Â covers everything the research tells us about load carriage training, pacing, progression, heat management, hydration, fueling and more. It is built for tabbers at every level of experience, and draws directly on the peer-reviewed military and sports science research.
Final Thoughts
Although this study examined British Army recruits rather than civilian-recreational exercisers, its central message applies remarkably well to anyone beginning a new exercise programme. The highest injury rates occurred where physical demands were greatest and recovery was likely to be most challenged, while most injuries developed gradually through overuse rather than sudden accidents.
For new walkers, runners, hikers and tabbers this offers valuable reassurance. You do not need to train as hard as possible to make good progress. Instead, focus on building fitness steadily, increasing your workload gradually, eating well to support recovery, getting enough sleep and listening carefully to your body's early warning signs.
The goal is not simply to complete your next training session, but to stay healthy enough to complete the one after that and the many more that follow.
Wherever you are: train safe and enjoy the process!
Alastair
Related resources & research
The study in review... Sharma J, Dixon J, Dalal S, Heagerty R, Spears I. Musculoskeletal injuries in British Army recruits: a prospective study of incidence in different Infantry Regiments. J R Army Med Corps. 2017 Dec;163(6):406-411. doi: 10.1136/jramc-2016-000657. Epub 2017 Nov 24. PMID: 29176004.
Other
Oeschger R, Roos L, Wyss T, Buller MJ, Veenstra BJ, Gilgen-Ammann R. Influence of Soldiers' Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Physiological Responses and Dropouts During a Loaded Long-distance March. Mil Med. 2022 Jan 7;188(7-8):e1903–9. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usab540. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35015894; PMCID: PMC10363014.
Orr R, Pope R, Lopes TJA, Leyk D, Blacker S, Bustillo-Aguirre BS, Knapik JJ. Soldier Load Carriage, Injuries, Rehabilitation and Physical Conditioning: An International Approach. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 11;18(8):4010. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084010. PMID: 33920426; PMCID: PMC8069713.
Godhe M, Helge T, Mattsson CM, Ekblom Ö, Ekblom B. Physiological Factors of Importance for Load Carriage in Experienced and Inexperienced Men and Women. Mil Med. 2020 Aug 14;185(7-8):e1168-e1174. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaa050. PMID: 32248224.
Norwegian Foot March, Guidelines
header.all-comments