• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Set backs, How in shape do I need to be?

audge

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
june 2013
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Last year I walked from Porto with the help of a bus and train for several days, I was supposedly suffering from sciatica. Now my condition has been diagnosed as neuropathy but I plan to walk the CF come hell or high water this year beginning on 6 June. Just do it!
 
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?

My advice to people who think they need to be in some sort of quality fitness is this: take your time as you walk ........... if you planned 35 days and are thinking you might have issues then plan 40-50 days and walk slower. This is not as easy as it sounds since most people are limited in the amount of time and money they can allocate to a Camino. You will also have a compulsion to keep up anyone who walks past you ........ forget it. Let go and enjoy the experience ...... you might lose some people you wanted to be with but there will be more. Have fun and you are going to love it!
 
Last edited:
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?

Your enjoyment will be directly related to your expectations. As Jump said above - GO SLOW. You are not any crazier than any other pilgrim. Some things to consider at the beginning - start somewhere in Spain rather than St. Jean; consider having a service carry your pack the first week or two; set realistic goals and listen to your body. As you gain more strength and are able to easily go further then do so.

If you attempted to walk a full day with a pack I suspect that you would end up hurting yourself and ending your Camino long before you are ready. The Camino is not a race; it is a personal experience and it is far more about the journey than getting from point A to point B. If you need to take a bus then take a bus. If you need to walk four miles per day, then do so. There are no rules. Consider doing a shorter distance - one to two weeks. If you have a lot of time you can still go slow and still cover a lot of ground. Do what works for you.

Make sure you have a good pair of shoes that fit perfectly. Consider learning to walk with poles; this will alleviate a lot of potential problems when used properly. Your pack should be extra light - pack wisely. If you want to bring more stuff have it shipped ahead to a point where you can pick it up.

Some of us need to plan a little more than others, but each of us that hears the call can have a wonderful Camino. If you don't go you will hear that call until you do; just go.
 
Thank you all so much for the encouragement and wise advice. I am a teacher and have already arranged to take the fall term off, so I am lucky I can take it slow, especially the first few weeks. And I know I will need to do that. I am giving myself 50 days or so and at this point I think I will start in Roncesvalles. Knowing me, the hardest thing will be wanting to keep up with the wonderful people I will meet.....Thanks again for the support. I will get in shape on the Cam
 
realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?

Nobody on this forum can answer your question unless they are an experienced medical practitioner with first hand knowledge of your condition. However most people on this forum will wish you well and encourage you (perhaps mistakenly) to have a go. Most of us are crazy and no, the camino is not telling you anything as you are not yet acquainted.

Good luck!
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Do not concern yourself with keeping up with the wonderful people you meet as there will be more wonderful people catching up with you.

Your physical fitness level is a personal characteristic. It doesn't dictate IF you can do this; it dictates your speed and daily distance. Let it guide you and you will be fine.
 
Totally agree with all that's been said, remember the tale of the hare and the tortoise
 
I walked into San Nicolas del Real Camino with a 78 years old lady who was blind. A neighbor was walking with her and the max they were aiming for were 12-15 Kms/day. Them BOTH seemed to be having a great time! I think you can still do quite a bit of training; weights, core exercises, and ellyptical machine. Good luck and Buen Camino!!
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?
I've seen a couple of training programs and a 16 week program beginning with doing nothing and building up to two 8 hour walks back to back. Do a web search on training programs for a camino and you will find a program that fits your needs.
 
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?

That really is rotten luck audge.

I'm not qualified to say whether you are crazy or nor :rolleyes:, however, for different reasons we are paddling the same boat.

After over a year of training for my first Camino which I plan to start on 24th May from StJPDP, I've been struck down with a nasty, unwanted, uninvited, unloved, unforgiving lung infection which has stopped me from from doing any walking for almost 2 months now.

I think my recent training and my background of backpacking/hiking may have given me enough 'reserve' to fall back on if I take the first couple of weeks nice and easy, (if I get well enough to start that is :confused:).

So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'll go if I recover enough, but,,,,,,,,,,,,, but,,,,,,,,,,,,, but, take it very, very easy and walk into fitness if I can. You know your body better than anyone else and I wonder if you might benefit like me from having the attitude of if I can, I will. If I can't, I'll start planning again.

Good luck and Buen Camino
 
Dear fellow Pilgrims, as they say once you make the decision to do the Camino, the Camino has started. I have already postponed the Camino for health issues, a cracked rib and foot issues....Those are healing so I now am planning to go early Sept. I just started walking again and can do about 4 miles, but planned to work up to it in the next 4 months. I am 55 with osteoporosis, but a lot of spunk . Yesterday I broke my toe!!!!! Dumb, crashed into a vacuum cleaner. It's just the second to last toe, will heal, but it is purple and I can not walk on it right now. My question is.....realistically, can someone who is a bit frail with my issues get ready physically for the Camino in 2 months? (seeing that this toe will keep me from training walks for a while) I am so determined to do this and I will be fine going slowly. Am I crazy? Is the Camino telling me something?

Soooo sorry about your broken toe and previous health issues! I know you can do the Camino in September! When I broke my pinky toe, I could only wear flip flops and it took about 3 wks to heal. I also have osteoporosis, so once I committed myself on doing the Camino Frances in January, I started doing core exercises (the same exercises they gave me to do after I compressed my vertebrae a few years ago), then after building my walking miles to 7 a day, I started having pain in the ball of my feet with cramping in toes 2&3, eventually making it nearly impossible to walk further than 4 miles. Last month I added a 3 wk PT session for bone building, balance & strengthening home program and told my PT about my foot pain. She recommended I see a foot/ankle doctor, which I did and was told I have synovitis and was ordered and fitting for custom insoles which alleviated my foot problem. On 6-6-14 I went bowling and pulled a muscle (sciatic?), which effects my R calf and R booty - oh! so painful & am now limping by the end of the day. This muscle strain is also accompanied with my already diagnosed neuropathy and now hoping acupuncture treatments/massages will help. Sad to say, I haven't been able to do any core exercises for 2 weeks and just started walking again.

My recent lack of training got me questioning if I am fooling myself ("am I crazy?") about being able to do the Camino. I've concluded that this is the year I'm doing my pilgrimage... maybe next year my health issues will be worse! After all, I'm about to turn 62. Every part of me wants to be on the Camino Frances -- in my mind I am there. I do believe in muscle memory and doubt I'll have any trouble catching up to my regular walking/exercise program once my pulled muscle gets better. I'm optimistic and I'm going for it! Going to take 50 days to do it, taking it slow and easy, one day at a time and trusting that God will provide for my needs and for others I meet along "the way". Still haven't booked our tickets though.. My husband and I do have our kits out and ready to go, thanks to countless lists and recommendations from this forum!

Wishing you quick healing, Audge and Buen Camino!
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
Just finished Camino from SJPDP at age 67. No harder than a typical day grouse hunting in Pennsylvania. Japanese guy 85 walking the Camino and a blind guy from Finland with a wife pushing a baby carriage with two small kids in it walking it right now. My novia rode a horse up o'Ceibraro and I walked with a pack and beat her by 45 minutes! If you can walk across a Wal Mart parking lot carrying two six packs, you can walk the Camino.

I really don,t believe you can train for it. And take whatever makes you comfortable as you don,t notice the weight after a week or so but you will be jealous of the women carrying hair dryers and plush towels. Wait until you see what the Koreans bring!
 
Any toe is very relevant to what the foot does. And what the foot does reflects itself in the rest of your body. Be aware of those echoes. I would only be concerned about the toe in case, "For want of the toe the Camino was lost".
 
Congratulations on your walk Xin Loi. I don't agree with you. You are worthy of congratulations because it is not easy. Saying it is just sets people up to feel like failures. It is not easy. If it were there would be little point in doing it and I doubt many people would bother. You need grit and determination and good health and good luck and time.

You only need to search this forum to find stories of people who had to stop earlier than they had planned. I've farewelled numerous enthusiastic and committed people who finished their Camino by bus, and I think none the less of them.

There are health issues that will stop people. My friend with scarred lungs from sarcoidosis had Buckley's chance. Some disabilities make a Camino unrealistic. Tendonitis will stop people. A broken leg is obvious, stress fractures less so but just as final. Knees and crook backs and bad necks can stop people, depending on severity and their medical support.

I know there are people over eighty who have walked the Camino and last year I heard of a 90 plus woman who walked all the way carrying her pack. I walked with a girl who limped and struggled with spina bifida (she had support) and people with other problems.

I don't think that is a measure of the Camino being "easy"; I think it is a measure of some truly amazing and inspiring people!
 
Last edited:
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Thank you for asking this question! I am brand new here (my first post) and it would seem your Camino walk should have just occurred this fall if you were able. How did things turn out?

I appreciate your asking the question, and everyone's answers. I am "a little" disabled by systemic medical conditions and I worry that I won't be able to do this. These replies have been just what I needed to read. I'm going to give myself a year to get my body and plans sorted out and in 2016 I will walk the Camino, even if I have to use a service to carry my pack a little bit to help me along. ;)

I hope you did go.
 
Thank you for asking this question! I am brand new here (my first post) and it would seem your Camino walk should have just occurred this fall if you were able. How did things turn out?

I appreciate your asking the question, and everyone's answers. I am "a little" disabled by systemic medical conditions and I worry that I won't be able to do this. These replies have been just what I needed to read. I'm going to give myself a year to get my body and plans sorted out and in 2016 I will walk the Camino, even if I have to use a service to carry my pack a little bit to help me along. ;)

I hope you did go.

Hello AngelM,

Welcome to your forum.

I must confess I don't know what a systemic medical condition is, BUT, I do know that your very first post my friend suggests you are lucky enough to have a good mental approach to your Camino.

Enjoy your planning, training, worrying, fretting and panicky moments as you prepare for they are all part of your Camino.

Buen Camino
 
Hi all,

I'm no marathon walker in any way shape or form... 14km n I knew I'd walked it... When I walked my first Camino in May 2012 I never never had the chance to do a great amount of train as real life was to manic with 6 children, I did manage to get in a couple of 21klm walks though.

I started my Camino in SJPDP and made a command decision of tackling the Pyrenees in 2 hit by staying at Orison and found this was one of my best decisions I made on my whole camino...
I did find my fitness level start to increased day by day and after around day 8 the daily aches n pains started to subside and distance started to rise to the upper 20's and lower 30 kms it was never a race nor was there any time limit as I only bought a one way ticket and just hoped I would be able to get a flight home, this isn't the way for everyone but I made my mind up to finish when I finished no matter how long it took... I booked 6 weeks off work and completed my Camino in 28 days, saying this I do wish I had taken it a little slower as I feel as if I missed so very much along the way.

I'm now one week away from returning to walk the CF in stages and I plan to take in more of the wonderful views with the peace and tranquillity of many sections...


I'm just as excited as I was the first time around "like a little kid in a sweetie shop" I look to cherish each n every step... :)

Happy planning and Buen Camino
Bryan
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Not an easy question. You may be top seeded tennis player and not "fit for the Camino".

I am male, 59, BMI within recommended norms, walk to the office (5km) and back without any soreness, have "trained" by walking with a loaded backpack increasing distances culminating to 30+k, completed a half marathon a month ago. I also have an unusually high pain threshold.

So you could say I am fit. I thought it would be a breeze. Yet yesterday, on my fourth consecutive day, the skin of my feet literally cracked around the heels and I thought for a while that I would have to revise my plans.

(some explanation may be in order. I have leathery skin under the foot, the consequence of spending several summers barefoot. I thought
this would be an asset as I will never blister. What I didn't foresee was that the stress of walking unusual distances - - I average 35km/day, the day before my "injury" was the longest at close to 40k and I have to carry 10kg+. Thick skin cracked under pressure. A "baby skin" is vulnerable to blistering but would have expanded, not failed)

I now have the situation under control.

I see two ways to address the "am I fit enough" question.

1. Train according to what coaches suggest. Determine a target distance, your current level of fitness and slowly increase (10% per week is often suggested) repeating the sorties 3 times a week. (so if you start at 1k, you'll need 30 weeks to get safely to 25k.) If you have no health issue during your training, you should be fine on the Camino

2. Be free to adapt to the situation. Which means that you train as you go, and if you hurt, you take a zero day (rest) or ride. Or suffer.
 

Most read last week in this forum

I'm about a 6 weeks away from beginning the French Camino. Depending on how I feel when I get to St. Jean, I will either take a train back to Portugal, or continue on to Santiago. In the...
Hola, I was really hoping to walk the Camino again this coming summer but despite all my hopes and planning I am in need of a hip replacement instead, yea! I walked the Frances in 2017 and have...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Similar threads

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top