Maintaining strength training on Camino.

[Kev]

So some background first. In preparation of my walk, I have been working out at a Gym for 14+ months. Not only have I worked cardio, but I have worked heavily on strength and while I haven't lost many pounds I have lost size and gained a lot of strength.
I would like to know if anyone does any upper body strength training while on their walk and if so, where do they have access to the proper equipment.

Kevin

 

[Kitsambler]

I'm assuming for the sake of discussion that no one is going to identify gyms along the route. So my recommendation would be for a body-weight-alone workout plan, possibly including the ready-to-hand backpack as a free weight. Your lower body major muscle groups will get plenty of work during the daily walk, so the focus would be on upper body and core. Push-ups and planks of various sorts would fill that space. Some resources include the New York Times 7-minute workout, the Gorilla app for iphone, or the Mens Fitness upper body routine.

 

[Rajy62]

Incorporating trekking poles into your walk brings your upper body equally into the daily workout, and do lots of stretching,

 

[uniQ]

You'll come across free gym equipment in parks all across Spain, whether you will actually feel physically inclined to use them during your walk is another matter.

 

[NicoZ]

So some background first. In preparation of my walk, I have been working out at a Gym for 14+ months. Not only have I worked cardio, but I have worked heavily on strength and while I haven't lost many pounds I have lost size and gained a lot of strength.
I would like to know if anyone does any upper body strength training while on their walk and if so, where do they have access to the proper equipment.

Kevin

1) If you're going to be walking a fair bit the last thing you should be considering is more work. A serious strength work out can leave you tired for days. It's not unusual for people to have slight injuries in addition to normal fatigue.

2) The fact you're asking about upper body sends warning signals. It makes me think of mirror workouts that teenagers do.

3) Body weight workouts won't do you any good if you've being doing anything even slightly serious.

4) Finally giving your body a break/rest from working out isn't the end of the world. Long term it'll actually help.

Unless you've got a competition coming up . Relax. Enjoy yourself. Walking. Lift when you get home.

 

[dougfitz]

Incorporating trekking poles into your walk brings your upper body equally into the daily workout, and do lots of stretching,

I agree. If you are using poles properly, you will be going a long way to retaining the muscle tone of your upper body. It won't build strength necessarily, but will help maintain it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Take a set of barbells with you???

 

[dougfitz]

Take a set of barbells with you???

With or without weights?

 

[Donna Sch]

Ditto to the protein recommendations. To maintain and build muscle you need to aim for twice your weight in grams protein. Eg I am roughly 70 kg so aim for 140 g of protein daily optimally although I'm happy if I am consistently over 100g. That can be quite difficult to achieve if you are a vegetarian. And no one wants me eating more than 1 tin of beans daily
I find I do better if I maintain a push-up regime. Ideally somewhere between 50-100 reps which is only minutes of my life. I like to fit in the odd pull-up/chin up too and it helps my traps not become a mass of trigger points from a pack.

 

[CdnDreamer]

Walking works your abs. When I came home from the camino the last time, I could do crunches and reverse crunches forever. They were so easy. You could probably add in some pushups with either your backpack on your back, or ask a very small pilgrim (?) ;-)

 

[Dutch]

So some background first. In preparation of my walk, I have been working out at a Gym for 14+ months. Not only have I worked cardio, but I have worked heavily on strength and while I haven't lost many pounds I have lost size and gained a lot of strength.
I would like to know if anyone does any upper body strength training while on their walk and if so, where do they have access to the proper equipment.

Kevin

Stop training while walking. Your body will get plenty of exercise while walking. No need to overdue it.
If, like you said, you have been working out for the last 14 months, it is very wise to have a break for a little while. Your body is getting used to the same movements over and over again. It does not see it as challenge anymore.
Every good athlete incorporates rest in their schedule. No rest=No muscle growth=no progress. So relax, just walk and when your done with your camino, pick it up again. Your body will be thankfull for it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

With or without weights?

A 120# set would do it...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Seriously, though, the Camino spends most of its time going through small villages; the population may be 20 people and 40 goats. The larger cities are likely to have gyms, but they also have history, food, and beverage to distract the pilgrim. Once bathed, clothes laundered, and body fed, there is typically very little time for a gym visit. Ditto movie theaters. They are few and far between, and not likely to have shows at convenient times.

You could look for places like this one in Pamplona:

http://spartasportcenter.com/tarifas-2/

 

[Kitsambler]

With or without weights?

...40 goats...

should work just fine ...

 

[Kev]

Thanks for all the input. I have received several pieces of useful information .
To answer some concerns :
I go to the gym 3 days a week doing a full strength circuit (legs, core, arms) each time. Partly to get healthy and partly to prep for my Camino.
I am not a body builder or even close unless you count fat - If you bump into me on the Camino this fall, don't expect me to be muscular but tubby.
Muscles loose tone after about 4 weeks, if I maintain an upper-body/arms strength routine about once a week that will prevent falling backwards.
I only expect to do my routine on a down day or at least on a short day.

It was suggested to me this morning (outside the forum) to take resistance bands (very light weight) that I could incorporate to keep the upper body strength from slipping backwards. This seems like a reasonable solution to my particular situation and who knows, maybe I can use the band to fix my backpack in a pinch

Kevin

 

[Bernard duffy]

I've heard it all now,look man just walk and enjoy the experience,lighten up with the heavy stuff

 

[cher99840]

@Kev, those bands don't weigh much so if taking them makes you happy, go for it. But please don't beat yourself up if you find that walking day after day after day (hopefully with poles) is enough of a workout for your body. The greatest thing about my Camino was starting out every morning saying to myself "The only thing I have to do today is walk." I wish you the same freedom. Buen Camino.

 

[Mark Lee]

I work out and run 4-6 days a week, but had no desire to do any additional strength training while walking either Camino, nor did I see any fellow pilgrims working out.

I lost about 10 kilograms of weight on both by the time I reached Santiago and my pants and shorts were baggy and loose. It was great.

Take the frame out of your pack, and overload it. Believe me, that will work a lot of muscle groups. The last thing on your mind after walking 20-25 kilometers with that on your back will be working out.

 

[Kev]

@Kev, those bands don't weigh much so if taking them makes you happy, go for it. But please don't beat yourself up if you find that walking day after day after day (hopefully with poles) is enough of a workout for your body. The greatest thing about my Camino was starting out every morning saying to myself "The only thing I have to do today is walk." I wish you the same freedom. Buen Camino.

Yes, poles is on my list and that might be enough in itself to keep everything happy .

 

[rlang290]

You'll come across free gym equipment in parks all across Spain, whether you will actually feel physically inclined to use them during your walk is another matter.

I used them just for the photo op!

 

[Kev]

falcon269 said: ↑
...40 goats...
should work just fine ...

And when I get tired, I can ride the goats!

 

[Dutch]

If your really that set on doing exercises, just use your full pack. Arms, shoulders and even chest are possible and just try to do a situp with your pack on your chest....if you can

You dont need fancy stuff to have a workout.

I still believe it is not needed and that it is much better to give your body rest after any exercise. Walking with a 7-10kg pack up and down hills for 20-30km is also exercise. Do not be fooled by that.
If you dont have enough rest, and start working out on days your not walking, your restdays or short days are useless (for body rest). If you do not give the body rest, it can not heal itself.

Be wise. Just try to eat as much eggwhites as possible, this will help you maintain your muscles so you are able to loose more bodyfat. As you yourself said, you have enough bodyfat. When loosing weight, your body will ALWAYS first burn those fatreserves before it starts eating away at your muscles. Even better when it has plenty of proteïne each day.

Dont be afraid to loose muscle. IF you loose some (big IF), you will gain them back fast enough once your at home and start working out again.

 

[tomwaitsfanclub]

If your really that set on doing exercises, just use your full pack. Arms, shoulders and even chest are possible and just try to do a situp with your pack on your chest....if you can

You dont need fancy stuff to have a workout.

I still believe it is not needed and that it is much better to give your body rest after any exercise. Walking with a 7-10kg pack up and down hills for 20-30km is also exercise. Do not be fooled by that.
If you dont have enough rest, and start working out on days your not walking, your restdays or short days are useless (for body rest). If you do not give the body rest, it can not heal itself.

Be wise. Just try to eat as much eggwhites as possible, this will help you maintain your muscles so you are able to loose more bodyfat. As you yourself said, you have enough bodyfat. When loosing weight, your body will ALWAYS first burn those fatreserves before it starts eating away at your muscles. Even better when it has plenty of proteïne each day.

Dont be afraid to loose muscle. IF you loose some (big IF), you will gain them back fast enough once your at home and start working out again.

 

[tomwaitsfanclub]

Wise advice from the bard of Salford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dmAuSuV4IP0

 

[holmesmd]

Writing from the perspective as a hybrid athlete (ultra runner and lifter) and as one who is close friends with two competitive powerlifters that have done the Camino multiple times each: don't worry about it, the break will do wonders for your body and your lifting.

We all worried about it before our first Caminos, dropped some weight during (I took about 3 weeks for mine, their's ranged from 4 - 6 weeks each), and had a pretty disappointing first workout back. That said, once back our progressions in the weeks that followed were all ahead of our programs had we been lifting the entire time. Falling backwards is okay, you'll more than make up for it when you get back. They've both gone on to do the Camino multiple times since their first and hadn't given a second thought to lifting on the road for those trips. I'll be doing my second Camino as a runner in a few weeks (save the flack for the active thread already devoted to this topic ), my lifting coach put together a couple body weight workouts for me to do 2-3x a week on the road. They're just 20-30 minute routines to relax mentally, stay limber, and help with recovery from the running, but they also work small stability muscles that often get underdeveloped with just focusing on lifting heavy things. In addition to the relaxation part, the movements should have the added benefit of helping me progress that much faster when I get back.

Read up on the physical benefits of rucking if you're still worried that you won't be getting workout enough on the road.

Other folks are right on though: 1) lifting will be the last thing on your mind when you stop for the day, 2) public parks have plenty of body weight apparatuses, so if you want to do some light stuff to stay limber the option is there every couple of days, 3) eat plenty of protein and go light on the ever present pastries, and 4) if you must, packs make great things to lift.

Good luck, and remember rucking is a workout in and of itself. Even if there are plenty of coffee stops built in.

 

[Kev]

Writing from the perspective as a hybrid athlete (ultra runner and lifter) and as one who is close friends with two competitive powerlifters that have done the Camino multiple times each: don't worry about it, the break will do wonders for your body and your lifting.
............
Good luck, and remember rucking is a workout in and of itself. Even if there are plenty of coffee stops built in.

You bring up good points, at the gym it is common practice to change up the routine with a 4-6 week alternative. With that train of thought I'll take the advice of the many members advocating for trekking poles and use that approach (taking them anyways).

On a side-note, it is awesome that we have these forums and so many members willing to give good feedback. 25 responses later and I have really altered my approach on the issue and will just let the Camino provide. And if anyone happens to meet up with me, i'll be the overweight guy with the smile on his face!

 

[Dutch]

Wise advice from the bard of Salford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dmAuSuV4IP0

He looks like a hobbit, talks like a hobbit, probably sings like a hobbit.....but in the video it looks like he has the ears of an elf. Maybe he is the secret lovechild of Frodo and Tauriel

 

[MichaelNW]

Thanks for all the input. I have received several pieces of useful information .
To answer some concerns :
I go to the gym 3 days a week doing a full strength circuit (legs, core, arms) each time. Partly to get healthy and partly to prep for my Camino.
I am not a body builder or even close unless you count fat - If you bump into me on the Camino this fall, don't expect me to be muscular but tubby.
Muscles loose tone after about 4 weeks, if I maintain an upper-body/arms strength routine about once a week that will prevent falling backwards.
I only expect to do my routine on a down day or at least on a short day.

It was suggested to me this morning (outside the forum) to take resistance bands (very light weight) that I could incorporate to keep the upper body strength from slipping backwards. This seems like a reasonable solution to my particular situation and who knows, maybe I can use the band to fix my backpack in a pinch

Kevin

If you Google body weight exercise you will find plenty to do. Like this: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/ultimate-body-weight-workout

 

[Larazet]

Dear oh dear oh dear! I didn't do anything about my upper body strength at 70, two years ago and did 580 kms. Now again, I leave in ten days to continue the last 420kms with my 72 year old weedy upper body, but with strong legs, a pack that weighs 5.4 kgs and a lot of determination! Shall continue to eat sensibly and enjoy the lovely Spanish wine....