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  1. Richard Smith

    How to choose a Camino Prep Fitness Program?

    This is a common issue. On your camino feel free to stop and check/fix things. Only walk with others if this suits you - you will catch with them again. excellent choice!
  2. Richard Smith

    How to choose a Camino Prep Fitness Program?

    Walking with a pack is the best training in my experience, start with light loads and the distances you are already doing and slowly increase both (over say 10 weeks) until you have reached your planned camino pack weight and similar day distance. I don't stress too much about elevation but I do...
  3. Richard Smith

    Base training level-future Camino at least a year away?

    wow, 22 kgs is a lot. In my case I lost fat (I had sufficient to lose) and gained muscle. And since then even though my weight is good I know I have gained fat and lost muscle :( BMI (Body Mass Index) is a widely used measure but not perfect. I am tall and skinny so do well on this measure but...
  4. Richard Smith

    Base training level-future Camino at least a year away?

    I was 87.2 kg this morning. The 11-15 kg pack weight mentioned has heaps of stuff I wouldn't take on the camino, including 3 days food, lots of water and 0.5 litre scotch. My last few walks in Australia have been water scarce and for the last one we had to pre-position 15 litres at one of the...
  5. Richard Smith

    Base training level-future Camino at least a year away?

    As a 67 year old male, my base training approach is :- * walk the dog for half hour almost every day (this is an easy walk, 10 year old dog, 2km ) * at least twice a week there will be gardening, bike riding, swimming in season, day walk in bush with light pack, wash the car, up a ladder...
  6. Richard Smith

    Walking in warm weather when not used to it.

    I would suggest that you start early, perhaps just before dawn, and finish your walking before the day heats up (1pm? but check for you). Spain is west compared to many other places in their time zone so the day's heat starts later than the middle of the day (noon). And walking as dawn comes up...
  7. Richard Smith

    Camino training - now having lateral foot pain

    If your foot doctor does tell you to stay off your feet or similar, ask them what alternative training would be ok for your condition and then assess how beneficial this could be for your camino preparation. Swimming, aquarobics ... maybe cycling could be OK? Core exercises in the gym and maybe...
  8. Richard Smith

    How to hike the Camino without falling (too much)

    For those of use who use multi-focal or bi-focal spectacles, it is also worthwhile to get a pair of specs with a single, long distance script (sometimes called driving glasses) to be used when walking on rough ground or on a track. This allows the lower peripheral vision to be focussed at ground...
  9. Richard Smith

    Training Program

    Pirsing, you are a 36 year old fit guy who exercises and it looks like you have a very light pack. You do not need to do any physical training for a Camino. In my opinion all your challenges will be in another direction. I am 66 years old and if I were speaking to you as myself 30 years back, I...
  10. Richard Smith

    LIVE from the Camino Bad cold in Pamplona

    Great news! Take it easy to begin with.
  11. Richard Smith

    LIVE from the Camino Bad cold in Pamplona

    My son and wife tested positive last weekend. I had similar symptoms but tested negative five times over three days, then changed the brand of rapid test and tested positive later same day. I think rapid tests are not 100% accurate or maybe I wasn't doing it correctly. Anyway, I thought I had...
  12. Richard Smith

    Training for the Camino

    Rather than bags of sand, I use plastic bottles of water (1,2 or 5 litres) padded out with towels to fill out the backpack and spread the weight where I want it. It you are tired or when you are finished just tip out some of the water and if it is hot drink some.
  13. Richard Smith

    Walking and cycling after skin cancer

    Paladina, My first diagnosis was a real shock - I was in my late 20s at the time and melanoma is no joke. After two ops, I had a 5 inch scar and my calf muscle looked like a pagoda. Exercise rounded out the calf muscle, I did lots of roller blading after recovery (3 months? I can't remember) and...
  14. Richard Smith

    Walking and cycling after skin cancer

    I have had one melanoma on calf, many SCCs and BCCs on arms/back/chest/face. They heal after removal and don't stop you hiking afterwards. Wear a hat and use sunscreen is the advice, although the European sun is much weaker than in Australia IMO and I didn't use sunscreen in Spain. The hat I...

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