Preparation

[48Shaun84]

What did or are you doing to physically prepare for the trip?

 

[Olivares]

I found training on ellyptical machines with up/down incline capabilities to be the perfect excercise to prepare for the Camino. It really trains the major muscle groups that you will be using, specially on your first 3 days if starting from SJPDP. Do train at least twice/week at the elliptical carrying your backpack/weights for added strength training.

Do STRETCH BEFORE AND AFTER. It will be a lifesaver preventing heel issues and plantar fascitis. Rmember to also stretch your Leg Muscles - Quadriceps, Hamstrings & Calves, it will help prevent knee and hip pain. Place band-aids on friction points on your feet BEFORE you even think of blisters. Afterwards, spread a thin film of vaseline over the area and wear your socks. I did this and never knew what a blister looked like! :wink:

BUEN CAMINO!!!

 

[CaminoGen]

I walk. Anything to avoid the gym. Every day at least 6 km and go for longer hikes on weekend with a pack. I'm lucky to be able ti take the free service bikes (Bixi) to work and come home on foot. Our Camino association also organizes a 3-day "camino simulation" every April where you walk 14 km on Friday afternoon, 24 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday. It's a great way to test your stuff. I've done it for the past 3 years, rain or shine. Plus, you want at least a day of rain to test your rain gear.

 

[supersullivan]

Assuming you're giving yourself a few months to get into good shape then divide your time into 4 week blocks, keep a brief note of your training activity each time.

Week 1: start with a frequency and intensity you're comfortable with eg: 2x 5 mile walks and 2x 45 minute treadmill or similar sessions in gym.

Week 2 increase by about 10%, 2 x 5.5 mile walks and 2 x 50 minute gym sessions.

Week 3 increase by 10%, 2 x 6 mile walks and 2 x 55 minute gym sessions.

Week 4 is your active recovery week: do less than week 3 but a little more than week 1, maybe 3 x 4 mile walks and 2 x 45 minute gym sessions.

Week 5 matches week 2, week 6 matches week 3, week 7: 2 x 7 mile walks and 2 x 1 hour gym sessions, week 8 is your active recovery week so something like 3 x 5 mile walks and 2 x 50 minute gym sessions.

Week 9 matches week 3, week 10 matches week 7, week 11: 2 x 8 mile walks and 3 x 45 minute gym sessions and week 12 is active recovery so 3 x 6 mile walks and 2 x 55 minute gym sessions.

Continue with this progession of gradually increasing training loads but remember every 4 weeks to back off a bit and allow the cardiovascular/muscular systems to recover and adapt.

Carry on until your Camino approaches but it is very important in the last 7 to 10 days before you depart to substantially reduce training loads to allow maximum recovery and adaptation occur.

My walks are usually 5 to 7 hour mountain hikes so I try to use my gym work to vary my training loads. Treadmill on a steep incline or elliptical trainer best in gym best but some weights within reason and as mentioned remember to develop good stretching routine for calves,
hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes.

PM me if you want further suggestions and buen camino

Seamus

http://supersullivan.wordpress.com/2013 ... -ramblers/

 

[Kanga]

Just to reassure any pilgrim who has "slipped up" on their training routine, my preparation is usually restricted to packing my bag.....
It does take me two or so weeks to get trail fit. I just take a lot of painkillers for the first week, whinge loudly to my husband and swear that next time I WILL train.

 

[dougfitz]

Just to reassure any pilgrim who has "slipped up" on their training routine, my preparation is usually restricted to packing my bag.....
It does take me two or so weeks to get trail fit. I just take a lot of painkillers for the first week, whinge loudly to my husband and swear that next time I WILL train.

You can re-assure your husband that he is not alone in his suffering :|

If you are not a gym person, there is an eight week pattern to prepare for 20-30 km at http://www.aussiewalk.com.au/training.htm. For the camino, increase the pack weight more rapidly than suggested to get to the weight of your camino pack in week seven of the pattern.

If you want to improve your upper body tone, get walking poles as early as possible, learn to use them properly (find Pete's Pole Page) and use them in all your training sessions.

Regards,

 

[Anniesantiago]

I'm with Kangaroo. Despite all my best intentions, most of my training consists of shorter stages the first two weeks on the Camino, gradually increasing distance.

 

[dmantony]

All of the advice is being taken to heart(and feet) as I prepare for my Camino experience in September.

It should make us all feel humble when we remember those early peregrinos who left home with a loaf of bread, the blessing of a priest, and hope for charity along the way.

 

[fallow]

Just to reassure any pilgrim who has "slipped up" on their training routine, my preparation is usually restricted to packing my bag.....
It does take me two or so weeks to get trail fit. I just take a lot of painkillers for the first week, whinge loudly to my husband and swear that next time I WILL train.

You can re-assure your husband that he is not alone in his suffering :|

If you are not a gym person, there is an eight week pattern to prepare for 20-30 km at http://www.aussiewalk.com.au/training.htm. For the camino, increase the pack weight more rapidly than suggested to get to the weight of your camino pack in week seven of the pattern.

If you want to improve your upper body tone, get walking poles as early as possible, learn to use them properly (find Pete's Pole Page) and use them in all your training sessions.

Regards,


Thanks so much for this link. I do belong to a gym but hate going near it when the weather is good (which is almost every day here in Sydney!). I will use this guide to train for my Sept. 20`3 Camino. Mary

 

[SYates]

Also I do most of my training on the camino itself, i.e. shorter stages to start with. I take care that my backpack, for the camino, is as light as possible and do some walking with the fully packed pack at home. But that is it basically. Oh yes, I also make sure that my feet are well cared for long before I set out. SY

 

[mspath]

Time indeed takes its toll. Hiking 20 k up the 1060 meter Ibaneta pass via the Valcarlos route the first time in 2004 at 64 to the monastery at Roncevalles was one of the most difficult days on that Camino and certainly the most physically exhausting day of my adult life then to date. I was pooped! Although I had hiked throughout the summer in preparation for the trip, nothing had prepared me for such an effort. Beneath a deep blue sky and brilliant sun I gasped and ached while my pack weighed like bricks. But eventually I made it to Santiago walking all the way.

On that first Camino I learned the hard way that this is NOT a walk in the park! Thus for all my other Caminos 2005 through 2012 I always started walking slowly and very easy for the first week. Daily distances cited in the guidebooks are not sacred. Easy does it. Like a snail; slow but, determined you daily juggle the topography and the weather plus your health and pack weight as well as personal strength and ability to endure.

 

[kmrice]

If you want to improve your upper body tone, get walking poles as early as possible, learn to use them properly (find Pete's Pole Page) and use them in all your training sessions.

I've used poles for years and love them. For training, however, I've been thinking that walking initially without them will better train my balance. I don't leave until late August, so I'm training now without poles. I will start using them later, perhaps a month from departure. Not sure if this is a sound theory, but in the past I've felt that the poles, while providing support, actually prevented my balance from improving.

Karl

 

[capun]

We just finished the Sarria to Santiago section last Sunday. We prepared for a long time but we think we made a couple of mistakes:
- Try walking with full packs + 10% (you may pick extra stuff) on rough tracks with fairly steep up and down sections. We trained on fairly smooth tracks with long climbs and descents.
- Try different track conditions, muddy tracks, large rock/boulder tracks, small sharp gravel tracks. If we had done that, we may have taken walking poles instead of the walking staff.
- Walk at least 20 Km each day, 3 days in a row to see how you can handle. You may end up taking walking aids that you did not think (Knee brace, KT-Tape Pro, etc)

 

[Thengel1]

1. I realize this is not exactly new advice, but: Blisters are by FAR the most common ailment I see day in and day out on the camino, and in spite of what some people tell you, they are completely avoidable. Keep your feet dry, get properly fitting footwear and get your feet used to walking long distances.

The only other thing I would suggest is not worry too much about training. I am not saying don't worry at all, just don't wear your body out training for the camino before you actually start it. A month ago today, I started from SJPDP, nearly 150 pounds overweight ( and nearly half of it gained in the 8 months prior to departure). The only plus I had going for me was that I was used to walking. I am typing this from a bar in Portomarin, 4 days shy of Santiago. With the exception of the last 3 km between SJPDP and Roncesvalles, I walked the entire damn way. If I can do it, odds are you can to.

*Edited to add the word not to the second sentence of the second paragraph.*

 

[Stacy08]

I know others have already said this in one form or another but it can't be emphasized enough - do a lot of walking, use the shoes you plan to take on the hike, and at least some of the time do it with a full backpack. I've always found 3-4 hours is my tipping point, when my body really starts to get tired of the whole business, and since most days you'll be hiking a lot longer than that it is important to do some practice hikes that are longer than that to see where you stand and decide if you need to step up your training or if you'll be all right.