How Important is Rucking for SFAS?
A few weeks ago, I had an exchange with a guy who claimed that rucking was not important for SFAS. This is, of course, absurd and self-apparent. But said heretic demanded the data…so here it is. This question could be interpreted a few ways, so I’ll address the two most common/important. First, how important is rucking to getting selected; second, how important is rucking in preparing for SFAS.
The standards at SFAS are obfuscated for obvious reasons. All candidates must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and the actual standards for each event is held to a tightly controlled few. Further, gaining access to actual candidates for sanctioned research is an incredibly rigorous process. Few are willing or able to navigate the process. Despite all of this there is a plethora of quality information openly available to even a casual researcher. I won’t violate my NDA, but the quantity and quality of the data is shockingly revealing.
Let’s first look at how important rucking is to being selected. Here are 3 studies (1990, 2010, & 2019) across almost 30 years (SFAS was introduced in 1986) that all conclude, with varying strength of correlation, that physical performance in general and rucking in particular was the MOST PREDICTIVE of successful selection. To be clear, there are many more studies that confirm this conclusion and I have never seen a study arrive at a contradictory conclusion; rucking is king. All three studies demonstrate that rucking performance is five times MORE PREDICTIVE of success than any other factor. In terms of statistical significance, that’s about as conclusive as you can get.
The 1990 study goes on to describe proposed time cut-offs. Ruck and run time standards are not published but faster is always better. If you arrive at SFAS performing 15-minute miles you will likely not be successful. Consider that you won’t have fresh legs, you won’t be well-rested, and conditions will not be ideal. 12–13-minute miles in training are a good goal. Ruck weights vary, but 65 pounds is a solid number. This is heavy enough to create good training workload yet light enough to avoid injury. More on this in the next section.
Having firmly established how important rucking is to being selected (very), let’s look at how important rucking is as a part of your train-up. As noted earlier, some heretical claims were the catalyst for this post. The heretic further claimed that focusing on rucking was just survivors bias. The data for SFAS is clear, but does this also mean that one need to focus on rucking as part of their prep? Here again we can rely on some already published studies. Mountain Tactical Institute did a really informative 2 part study (Part 1, Part 2) that gives us some important data points. I’ll leave the details to you, but it is best summarized as field-based training which includes progressive load carriage was most effective at increasing performance. The MTI study cites a more comprehensive peer-reviewed study based on the same data, but I could find that study. I’m confident that the methodology, analysis, and conclusions here are reliable. I would also note that all of the data cited in this post includes citations for amplifying data.
Everybody seems to have an opinion about what works best for them. This is great, but nobody really cares about your opinion because most of us are horrible judges of efficacy. The good news is that we have access to reams of data and we can benefit from proper expertise. You are free to ignore this data at your own peril. But we certainly shouldn’t be so bold as make claims that can be so easily debunked. Rucking performance is extremely critical to successfully being selected and the best way to get better rucking performance is progressive field-based training, probably 2-3 times a week.
This summary is of course a very simplistic representation of everything that gets assessed. You need to be smart, resilient, with good communication skills, high emotional intelligence, and of good character. But this stuff is hard to train (not impossible, but hard). There really isn’t a benchmark to train for either. But physical fitness is relatively easy. The Special Warfare Center actually publishes a recommended training plan (SFAS Prep); you’ll note that it follows the precise conclusions of the cited studies. Follow this guide and you’ll be well postured for the physical components.
Good Luck.
