Camino Success Despite Being Overweight and Over 55

[Scott Powell]

I am almost 60 years old and still overweight despite dropping almost 15 kg in 5 months training and then 2 weeks walking the Camino. I wanted to offer encouragement having met a number of similar hikers (older, recently retired, could lose some weight) while completing my Compostela in May 2015. Many of us travel long distances for this opportunity and spend months or years preparing. It can be done by most but is not easy. Nothing ever worth doing is.

S. Yates excellent book “Pilgrim Tips & Packing List” states about a third of Camino pilgrims abandon their journeys in the first few days. Why - lack of training, mental toughness, the right equipment, etc.? The truth is the Camino is a challenging hike for many people, especially those of us who’ve spent a lot more time at work desks than the gym or on the trail. My weekly training total peaked at about 70 km/week but that did not compare to the daily demands on the Camino.

There is a lot of good information on physical readiness for the Camino. Be sure to check that out. To summarize some key points: seek out different terrain and elevation changes to train on; train multiple hours multiple times to get used to that; train with the same equipment (including pack) you will use on the Camino; and recognize how mentally challenging walking daily several weeks will be. Don’t expect you are going to walk yourself into reasonable shape on the Camino, especially if you are older. If you don’t care enough to train some in advance for weeks of walking you may find this is not the right trip for you.

One word about technology. Your smartphone can be a tremendous asset on your walk – contact with friends and family for encouragement, booking rooms, keeping an eye on the weather, reading at night, etc. A lot of value to help sustain you over the days and weeks on the trail.

Above all, give yourself a chance to succeed even when things aren’t going as well as you’d like. This is not all or nothing and this is your personal Camino. You cannot change geography, the trail, or the weather – you can control your preparation and training, diet, what you carry, what parts of the Camino you walk, etc. Be flexible and realize there are options that can help you be successful despite struggling at times.

Some ideas for when things get tough:

· Shorten your total distances per day, etc.
· Take longer breaks at rest stops.
· Add a rest day to recover strength or avoid bad weather
· Listen to some music to improve your mood
· Have your pack transported to the next town instead of carrying it that day
· Be patient – everyone has bad days and good days
· Don’t be afraid to take a hard look at your plan and make changes if you feel like you are getting worn out. I ended up skipping some planned legs over the mountains – I learned I hadn’t trained enough on hills but it did not ruin my pilgrimage
· Remember your goal in coming on the Camino and focus on how you will achieve it; rather than what’s not going so well. Tap into the inner strength that led you to the Camino and persevere

Along the way, you will meet many others working through problems and ultimately succeeding. That’s a big part of what the journey represents for a lot of us. Best of luck on your Camino!

 

[KinkyOne]

Very sound advices and I can only ditto most of them.
But "reading at night" is something I cant't understand although I've seen it. But it was done mostly by pilgrims coming to albergue very early, taking long afternoon naps and were therefore unable to sleep (+ snoring in dorms - let's say that's one of the reasons for not being able to sleep) during the night. Yes, yes, I know - the race for bed...

All in all very welcome tips for pilgrims to be!!!

 

[CaptBuddy]

Congratulations and great advice. Especially about being flexible with your plans.
It is a pilgrimage and an adventure, not a death wish.

 

[Deleted member 31702]

I am almost 60 years old and still overweight despite dropping almost 15 kg in 5 months training and then 2 weeks walking the Camino. I wanted to offer encouragement having met a number of similar hikers (older, recently retired, could lose some weight) while completing my Compostela in May 2015. Many of us travel long distances for this opportunity and spend months or years preparing. It can be done by most but is not easy. Nothing ever worth doing is.

S. Yates excellent book “Pilgrim Tips & Packing List” states about a third of Camino pilgrims abandon their journeys in the first few days. Why - lack of training, mental toughness, the right equipment, etc.? The truth is the Camino is a challenging hike for many people, especially those of us who’ve spent a lot more time at work desks than the gym or on the trail. My weekly training total peaked at about 70 km/week but that did not compare to the daily demands on the Camino.

There is a lot of good information on physical readiness for the Camino. Be sure to check that out. To summarize some key points: seek out different terrain and elevation changes to train on; train multiple hours multiple times to get used to that; train with the same equipment (including pack) you will use on the Camino; and recognize how mentally challenging walking daily several weeks will be. Don’t expect you are going to walk yourself into reasonable shape on the Camino, especially if you are older. If you don’t care enough to train some in advance for weeks of walking you may find this is not the right trip for you.

One word about technology. Your smartphone can be a tremendous asset on your walk – contact with friends and family for encouragement, booking rooms, keeping an eye on the weather, reading at night, etc. A lot of value to help sustain you over the days and weeks on the trail.

Above all, give yourself a chance to succeed even when things aren’t going as well as you’d like. This is not all or nothing and this is your personal Camino. You cannot change geography, the trail, or the weather – you can control your preparation and training, diet, what you carry, what parts of the Camino you walk, etc. Be flexible and realize there are options that can help you be successful despite struggling at times.

Some ideas for when things get tough:

· Shorten your total distances per day, etc.
· Take longer breaks at rest stops.
· Add a rest day to recover strength or avoid bad weather
· Listen to some music to improve your mood
· Have your pack transported to the next town instead of carrying it that day
· Be patient – everyone has bad days and good days
· Don’t be afraid to take a hard look at your plan and make changes if you feel like you are getting worn out. I ended up skipping some planned legs over the mountains – I learned I hadn’t trained enough on hills but it did not ruin my pilgrimage
· Remember your goal in coming on the Camino and focus on how you will achieve it; rather than what’s not going so well. Tap into the inner strength that led you to the Camino and persevere

Along the way, you will meet many others working through problems and ultimately succeeding. That’s a big part of what the journey represents for a lot of us. Best of luck on your Camino!

 

[Deleted member 31702]

"Oh as I was young and easy in the glory of my days-
Time held me green and dying
Though I sung in my chains like the sea."
Dylan Thomas.
At age 27 my wife to be and I walked the Pyrenees with very heavy old fashioned camping gear.
I remember getting to the snowline in mid summer so we must have climbed a lot.
We did no fitness preparation, had no insurance, told no-one where we were going
we had just a map and compass and the invincibility of youth.

Now at 68 I'll have to exercise, will be walking a well marked route, sleeping indoors and carrying a tablet with GPS.
I'm waiting for my false teeth (at last I will be able to smile.
I need to loose a lot weight before September - rather than carry it up hill and down dale; Being temporally toothless my diet is
pretty minimal at present.
I was going to add something to my previous post and about cramp and tendonitis;

Walking up steep hills is painful anyway unless your a nut who loves racing up mountains.
I've recently found that playing my favouite music (acid rock etc.) or stuff with a marching type rhythm distances me from my creaky legs and panting lungs. (I an earlier post I mentioned my smashed pelvis)
Try it especially if you are an old coot like me.
As to exercise: I'm "digging" a vegie patch with a pickaxe:
I'll have to start walking although I hate the dry,burnt scrubby bush round here: It's about 440km to some decent scenery. (excuses?)
Regards. Dave

 

[Mooncat]

Scott, thank you. Excellent advice. I am coming to terms with the reality that I am not the young buck I used to be. I am older, more brittle, weaker, heavier, but I am mentally tougher and have some coin to spend on a trip or two. My job is 88% sitting behind a desk and 10% sitting in a truck. The other 2% involves walking from the desk to the truck and back. I will do what I can and will try to enjoy the trip for what it is. Two years of planning and preparation for 6 weeks. If I don't approach this right, I am in for a big letdown. Thanks. Buen Camino.

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I'm working hard at becoming more fit too. I teach, but have a ton of walking and on my feet at work. Lots of stairs are involved daily, which is good.

When I get home, I'm farming and working outside until nearly sundown, and in the summer, I get very fit every year--then the winter comes and I gain weight and lose strength. Fortunately, I'm going on my Camino in October, so I will not have time to get less fit. Also, I retire June 10th, coming right up, so I'll be able to find more time for getting prepared. Thanks for your great post. Many of us can relate with you, believe me.

 

[KatefromOz]

"Oh as I was young and easy in the glory of my days-
Time held me green and dying
Though I sung in my chains like the sea."
Dylan Thomas.
At age 27 my wife to be and I walked the Pyrenees with very heavy old fashioned camping gear.
I remember getting to the snowline in mid summer so we must have climbed a lot.
We did no fitness preparation, had no insurance, told no-one where we were going
we had just a map and compass and the invincibility of youth.

Now at 68 I'll have to exercise, will be walking a well marked route, sleeping indoors and carrying a tablet with GPS.
I'm waiting for my false teeth (at last I will be able to smile.
I need to loose a lot weight before September - rather than carry it up hill and down dale; Being temporally toothless my diet is
pretty minimal at present.
I was going to add something to my previous post and about cramp and tendonitis;

Walking up steep hills is painful anyway unless your a nut who loves racing up mountains.
I've recently found that playing my favouite music (acid rock etc.) or stuff with a marching type rhythm distances me from my creaky legs and panting lungs. (I an earlier post I mentioned my smashed pelvis)
Try it especially if you are an old coot like me.
As to exercise: I'm "digging" a vegie patch with a pickaxe:
I'll have to start walking although I hate the dry,burnt scrubby bush round here: It's about 440km to some decent scenery. (excuses?)
Regards. Dave

great post. made me smile..... you up and out Woop Woop? I didn't google earth it but will. wondering who asks where the bloody hell is Woop Woop???
all the best maaaate from sunny coast hinterland.

 

[Deleted member 31702]

Dear KatefromOz
Woop Woop is in the Land of the Never-Never, so much so that we
on the pub verandah, gazing over the deserted road, half boiled in the wet season, anualy decide to become an independent State, (of insanity?) The only road is cut off North and South.
The geographical answer is that we are North-West of Cairns, opposite the Daintree . Mossman, on the coast, is East East South. Our only road goes to Mareeba - 180km. South, or Cooktown, 300km. North.
There are mountains between us and the coast where it rains; we are in the Dry Savannah. Scrubby trees, no rain, no wildlife, usually very hot: flat infertile 'soil' for gardening.

I will prize myself from the bed at dawn and walk the dirt road east.
it lead to the foothills to of coastal mountains. There is an unlikely stream running north,south along a ridge 8km. up. I haven't reached that yet because I would have to come down again. There are treacherous spherical tecktites that take your feet with them. Not a problem when going up.

Finally, is it the case that the ascent to Orison is only 8km? or miles?.
if so, with an early start, 1km an hour should suffice, slow even for a tortoise?

 

[peregrina2000]

Great advice here, so much of it resonates even with old timers like me.

The only thing I would add is that anyone who is serious about getting into shape for a camino can find ways to do it even without having weeks free to train or hours every day for the gym. I can only speak about the US, but we are a culture with cars and creature comforts galore. People drive to the gym and take the elevator up to the weight room. Where I work, probably 75% of the people take an elevator to go up or down one flight of stairs. I know it's hard to consciously avoid what is so convenient, but I think it's worth it. For my first camino, I made the typical huge effort to get into shape, taking long weekend walks, training with a pack, etc. When I got on the camino and asked a lot of others how they trained, the answers I typically got from the Europeans was a quizzical look and a response something along the lines of -- how do you train to walk? It became pretty obvious that most of them start with a much higher fitness level because in their daily lives they are much more active than we are.

So, I don't mean to get on a soapbox here, and I am not a fitness freak, but there are big campaigns now in the US telling us to get moving or to find "wellness," and the benefits extend far beyond the camino. And now I find that I don't need to train when I go back to the camino and that makes things so much easier! Wishing everyone a healthy camino! Laurie

 

[mspath]

As another old timer I agree with Laurie! We all should just keep moving. Each time I garden on our hillside, carry a load of groceries, stoop to make a bed, etc. I like to think that such effort will make it easier next time to climb up the Ibaneta pass or trudge through the O Cebreiro snow.

At any age what matters most is TO CONTINUE to move and, of course, to dream!

Margaret Meredith

 

[Scott Powell]

Mooncat, I can sympathize with any doubts you may have prior to starting your Camino. Probably most of us experience that – I certainly did. If you want to ‘prove’ to yourself you are physically ready to go, I would focus on doing some back-to-back long walks since that’s what the Camino is about. Also try out some hills to get used to that physical and mental experience.

One of my favorite sayings is “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Certainly applies to the Camino. As others have stated above, being physically prepared for the Camino is ideally a matter of daily fitness rather than a special effort for this one adventure. Personally trying to leverage my current fitness to a longer, healthier life, which would be a huge bonus on top of the Camino experience.

One thing I learned on my walk was the Camino has been the way it is for a 1000 years. It’s not going to change for any of us. It’s our responsibility to adjust as needed to complete the day and our journey. I want to share with you what I now call my ‘moment of doubt and pain’ on the Camino. It was a long journey to start my Camino – about 28 hours of planes, trains and public transportation to reach my start at Pamplona. Nevertheless, 12 hours after arriving I was getting dressed for day 1. Charged up with adrenaline and excitement, I made it over the Alto del Perdon and through the 24km leg to Puente de Reina. Day 2 was a different story. When I woke up the next morning, the accumulated jetlag and previous day’s exertions had me starting the day already tired. By the time I was half way through the leg in Lorca my muscles felt strained and I was confused and exhausted. Why had my Camino turned upside down so quickly? Should I call it a day and start again tomorrow? I didn’t decide – I took nearly 2 hours for lunch. Finally, decided to try a kilometer or 2 and see how I felt. Amazingly, the food, rest, and conversation with fellow pilgrims restored me and the rest of the day went really well. From that point forward, I remembered that day as a reminder that being patient and looking for ways to keep walking would carry me through this journey. Also, will point out I made a big mistake not allowing a day to recuperate after a long trip to Spain that was a major cause of this tough day.

It can be difficult at times but if you’ve prepared and are looking for ways to succeed, I believe your will find them. If you’ve been getting ready 2 years for your Camino I’ve no doubt you have the persistence to be successful. Just don’t be surprised if it occurs a bit differently than when you’d planned it on your couch!

 

[Mooncat]

Scott, you are right and I am getting mentally prepared to accept what the Camino presents. Actually, I am excited that it will be different than what I can imagine because I am doing it to change my way of thinking and how I approach life's obstacles. Thank you for your candid post. Last Saturday, I took a 21 mile walk and then went out with friends that night. No soreness on Sunday. Talk about a confidence builder! My doubts about being able to handle distances are much decreased. Now, if I could only set aside all the other fears, like missing connections, being accused of snoring in the albergue, smelling bad, running out of clean underwear, etc.

 

[Donna W]

Scott, you are right and I am getting mentally prepared to accept what the Camino presents. Actually, I am excited that it will be different than what I can imagine because I am doing it to change my way of thinking and how I approach life's obstacles. Thank you for your candid post. Last Saturday, I took a 21 mile walk and then went out with friends that night. No soreness on Sunday. Talk about a confidence builder! My doubts about being able to handle distances are much decreased. Now, if I could only set aside all the other fears, like missing connections, being accused of snoring in the albergue, smelling bad, running out of clean underwear, etc.

Hi, Mooncat.

Your comment about "running out of clean underwear" caught my eye, which of course relates to "smelling bad" as well! My husband and I are starting the Camino on August 11 from SJPdP and plan to take two--maybe three--pairs of quick-drying underwear and wash a pair every night. We also plan to take safety pins and pin them to our backpacks if they don't dry overnight...but based on experience so far, these things dry quickly. But I think having underwear pinned to your pack makes a nice fashion statement.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I am almost 60 years old and still overweight despite dropping almost 15 kg in 5 months training and then 2 weeks walking the Camino. I wanted to offer encouragement having met a number of similar hikers (older, recently retired, could lose some weight) while completing my Compostela in May 2015. Many of us travel long distances for this opportunity and spend months or years preparing. It can be done by most but is not easy. Nothing ever worth doing is.

S. Yates excellent book “Pilgrim Tips & Packing List” states about a third of Camino pilgrims abandon their journeys in the first few days. Why - lack of training, mental toughness, the right equipment, etc.? The truth is the Camino is a challenging hike for many people, especially those of us who’ve spent a lot more time at work desks than the gym or on the trail. My weekly training total peaked at about 70 km/week but that did not compare to the daily demands on the Camino.

There is a lot of good information on physical readiness for the Camino. Be sure to check that out. To summarize some key points: seek out different terrain and elevation changes to train on; train multiple hours multiple times to get used to that; train with the same equipment (including pack) you will use on the Camino; and recognize how mentally challenging walking daily several weeks will be. Don’t expect you are going to walk yourself into reasonable shape on the Camino, especially if you are older. If you don’t care enough to train some in advance for weeks of walking you may find this is not the right trip for you.

One word about technology. Your smartphone can be a tremendous asset on your walk – contact with friends and family for encouragement, booking rooms, keeping an eye on the weather, reading at night, etc. A lot of value to help sustain you over the days and weeks on the trail.

Above all, give yourself a chance to succeed even when things aren’t going as well as you’d like. This is not all or nothing and this is your personal Camino. You cannot change geography, the trail, or the weather – you can control your preparation and training, diet, what you carry, what parts of the Camino you walk, etc. Be flexible and realize there are options that can help you be successful despite struggling at times.

Some ideas for when things get tough:

· Shorten your total distances per day, etc.
· Take longer breaks at rest stops.
· Add a rest day to recover strength or avoid bad weather
· Listen to some music to improve your mood
· Have your pack transported to the next town instead of carrying it that day
· Be patient – everyone has bad days and good days
· Don’t be afraid to take a hard look at your plan and make changes if you feel like you are getting worn out. I ended up skipping some planned legs over the mountains – I learned I hadn’t trained enough on hills but it did not ruin my pilgrimage
· Remember your goal in coming on the Camino and focus on how you will achieve it; rather than what’s not going so well. Tap into the inner strength that led you to the Camino and persevere

Along the way, you will meet many others working through problems and ultimately succeeding. That’s a big part of what the journey represents for a lot of us. Best of luck on your Camino!

Great advice Scott, wish you well, Peter.

 

[nackyann]

I turned 55 three days into the camino and was kinda fit, but didn't really do any significant training before hand. My friend said "don't worry about it, we'll get fit on the way". We did, but it took about two weeks. I wouldn't recommend it!