This week has brought the unveiling of a brand new Garmin that you probably have not heard of before.
Garmin’s Tactix range is a line of intelligent tactical watches with military application in mind. The new Tactix 8 offers an AMOLED screen, a robust design and applied ballistic solver technology offering personalized viewing solutions to pull a rifle.
As you can see, the Tactix 8 is military both at the same time and the objective, which also explains the inclusion of a brand new feature to follow an exercise that storms the world.
Ruck and roll
Rucking is an exercise trend that is gaining popularity. This implies exercising while wearing a weighted backpack or a backpack (hence the name) and naturally has its roots in military training, which explains the Tactix 8 link.
The outfit of Goruck passionate describes it as a basic food for military training. Infantry recruits in the United States army (and soldiers from around the world) must undertake several-hour ruck marches carrying heavy equipment.
Due to the potential to increase calorie burns and improve physical shape, rucking now takes off as a fitness trend beyond military application, and is now so popular that Garmin feels obliged to offer A dedicated training profile to support it.
Rucking: What are the advantages?
Rucking is an increasingly popular exercise because it is really easy to do. Everything you need is a backpack or backpack and a heavyweight. You also don’t even need to use dumbbells or real kettlebells, some old books or water will do very well.
Several studies have highlighted the advantages of loading exercises. This 2019 study revealed that 10 weeks of rucking training considerably increase the maximum strength of a person’s squat, pumps, sit-ups and estimated oxygen absorption. This 2021 study revealed similar improvements in male and female participants, including an increase of 5.4% of aerobic capacity in men.
Even among older participants (65 to 74 years), home training involving inexpensive steps has improved speed and staircase power, helping to prolong independence and avoid health conditions at age.
Garmin rucking
We had heard reports at the end of last year according to which Garmin planned to add support for rucking, perhaps alongside the new Garmin Instinct 3. Although he did not materialize with this launch, We are now rase a few weeks later.
As mentioned, it is currently limited to Tactix 8, but there is every chance that Garmin plans to increase support, bringing rucking to more devices in the future. We contacted Garmin to see if we can confirm future support and we will report accordingly.
The use of the Tactix 8 rucking activity seems simple. The only key metric you need is the weight of the pack, which you can enter before starting your exercise. Then Garmin will calculate all the metrics of health and fitness usual as you go, probably taking into account the weight you make.
Another rope in the Arc de Garmin
It was a jerky start until 2025 for Garmin, with the launch of instinct 3 of the company overshadowed somewhat by a world failure which saw thousands of devices rendered unnecessary by a blue triangle of death.
Although the infrastructure of the company has taken a hit, its commitment to monitoring health and physical form is undeniable, and this new support for rucking is another great reason why Garmin always places very among the Best smart watches, the best racing watches and beyond.
