Stretching before and after

[TravellingSonn]

Hi All,

I'm curious to know if anyone stretched before and after their walk. If so, what stretches helped you?

Thanks again

Buen Camino
Love and smiles
Sonia

 

[vinotinto]

stretched before and after their walk

Check the Medical Issues on the Pilgrimage thread for more info on this, especially pertaining to helping one deal with preexisting conditions such as plantar fascitis... :arrow:

Edited to add exact thread name... :arrow:

 

[Arn]

Stretching is Always important! Get those muscles ready by warming them up and loosening everything that may move or have to support you should you slip and need a quick reaction with few side affects.

Then, of course, after a long day on the Camino...I do the 18-24 and 36 inch stretch routine.

1. Sit straight up in a chair that has a back.
2. have the first cervesa placed 18 inches from your relaxed extended arm...so you've got to STRETCH to reach it.

as you loosen up,

3. Have the next bottle/can placed 24 then 36 inches away...and repeat.

Salud,

Arn

 

[sillydoll]

You should never try to stretch cold muscles - its a bit like trying to stretch Press-stick before warming it up - it won't stretch and you could cause an injury. As a runner, we used to walk, or run on the spot, to warm up muscles before doing any stretches.
You can stretch whilst you are walking. Lay your walking pole across your shoulders and hold the stick from behind with each hand (like a dumb-bell), lifting the stick up, stretching from one side to the other with arms outstretched. Shake your hands every now and then to get the circulation going.
When you get to the albergue you will be taking a shower, washing your clothes, getting your pack sorted (all stretching). Lie on the bed on your back and lift your feet onto the wall to get the blood circulating back to your head. Lie on your stomach and do an upper body lift - like a lizzard - to stretch your back.
Massage your feet - or better still, find someone to do them for you. We offered foot massages at every albergue and in some places had pilgrims queuing for a foot massage.
Once you have done these exercises you can move onto Arn's suggsted arm, elbow and wrist and jaw stretches!

 

[vinotinto]

1. Sit straight up in a chair that has a back.
2. have the first cervesa placed 18 inches from your relaxed extended arm...so you've got to STRETCH to reach it.

as you loosen up,

3. Have the next bottle/can placed 24 then 36 inches away...and repeat.

You must've read my mind, except I'd substitute vino or orujo for cerveza, or cafe con cognac during the cold morning hours in Galicia...you'll be loose as a noodle in no time! :wink:

 

[sillydoll]

Arn is one up on all of us.

He will:

Carry Chair.
Twist body to remove chair from back.
Unfold chair.
Bend over to place chair on ground.
Bend knees, squat to lower backside onto chair.

Continue as suggested:

Sit straight up in a chair that has a back.
2. have the first cervesa placed 18 inches from your relaxed extended arm...so you've got to STRETCH to reach it.
as you loosen up,
3. Have the next bottle/can placed 24 then 36 inches away...and repeat.

 

[Arn]

Since I carry my own beer (which I give away) and,

I use the expensive box wine for a pillow (with the drool stained t-shirt as a cover).

I can now set up my camp table (more exercise/stretching) to complete a full cafe experience!

I just can't wait!

Buen Camino ya'all

Arn

 

[Deirdre]

HI Arn,
Back from retreat... here is an important word to add to your Spanish vocabulary. "Una caña" - usually what you ask for in a bar in Spain if you want a draught beer. Pronounced,(phonetically) "cahnya", if you are really thristy, tired or need to do more stretching without returning so quickly to the bar, you can request "una caña doble".
Buen Camino,

 

[Arn]

Thanks Everyone!

This will be one healthy, fun and socially invigorating experience.

Now if I can just learn enough Spanish to get by. Hey, Thanks DeirdrE, all I have to do is replace most questions to reflect my party bent.

Donde es barra.

Donde poder i conseguir a doble whiskey .

Poder i por favor tener seises latas de cerveza para ir .

Got to keep my focus on the prize.

Salud,
Arn

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Alas Arn none of the above will help you achieve your objective!

Take a look at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/lj/

Another way might be replicating the ubiquitous menus they have in Spain with pictures of the actual dishes they serve. You could carry one which illustrates everything from cans of beer to bottles and glasses of whisky.

Then all you would need to do is point!

Good luck!

 

[Arn]

Thanks Johnnie Walker,

I sorta knew the Spanish wasn't worth an empty can of beer,

JW wrote: Then all you would need to do is point!

I believe a picture IS worth a thousand words....pictures can be universal...with some obvious exceptions:

Haggis...doesn't appear anywhere on a Spanish menu...I don't believe! Then there's...blood pudding, scrapple, grits and my all time favorite possum belly!

Maybe I need to get a set of Spanish flash cards. Hey, I have a complete set...probably better start using them and learn a bit more than Dos cerveza, pour favor...or sum such...sorry DeirdrE!

Buen Camino,

Arn

 

[JohnnieWalker]

O ye of little faith

If you want to try Spanish Haggis then go for one of the variants of Morcilla which they make in Galicia - as for Morcilla itself,a finer blood pudding you won't find.

I have no idea what the other things you mention are...grits, scrapple and possum I take it these are delicacies reserved for the sophisticated American palate...

If by grits you mean coarsely ground corn you'll find polenta is the same perhaps...

as for scrapple and possum belly...the mind boggles...I think I'll give them up for Lent.

 

[vinotinto]

doble

Beware! As I discovered to my dismay in Cancun, "doble" is a very dangerous word when used as part of an order for an alcoholic beverage. After learning that word, and enthusiastically trying various doble drinks at the resort, I made it as far as the hotel lobby bar before being hit by a tequila and rum-soaked freight train. So, instead of going out on the town with my friends, I staggered back up to my room and began making offerings to the porcelain god... :mrgreen:

 

[Arn]

JW wrote:as for scrapple and possum belly...the mind boggles...I think I'll give them up for Lent.

In the "Spirits" thread I made note of the fact I'd given up hard liquor for lent!

But I just couldn't do without my scrapple and possum belly

Scrapple is typically made of hog offal, such as the head, heart, liver, and other scraps, which are boiled with any bones attached (often the entire head), to make a broth. Once cooked, bones and fat are discarded, the meat is reserved, and (dry) cornmeal is boiled in the broth to make a mush. The meat, finely minced, is returned, and seasonings, typically sage, thyme, savory, and others are added. The mush is cast into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until gelled.

possum belly Almost any variety of raw meats can be used, though pork is, by far, the most popular. The meat is ground and stuffed into either hog or sheep intestines, or a possum belly, which have been cleaned thoroughly and packed in salt, or into man-made collagen casings. The diameter of the casing will depend the kind of sausage being made. Small sausages, breakfast links and hot dogs, are stuffed into sheep or small hog casings. Regular hog casings are used for most kinds of sausage, especially Italian and Kielbassa. Large sausage is stuffed into beef casings, which range between 2½ to 4 inches.

Now, doesn't that just sound tasty!

Buen ummmm ummmmm Good! Camino,

Arn

 

[vinotinto]

Scrapple

possum belly

You can actually eat this stuff while SOBER?! You wouldn't happen to live in that part of the country where they sell medical weed in vending machines...would you? :wink: :mrgreen: :arrow:

PS - I'm still waiting for Ivar to add a "drunk" or "stoned" face to the Smilies formation...(hehe).

 

[Deirdre]

Since Arn has introduced the world to the epicurean delights of the American south, and beause we already have a thread related to libation, perhaps we should add a topic devoted solely to food...might prove interesting.... :idea:

Buen Comida,

 

[sillydoll]

On a historical note.
On special occasions, especially Christmas, when the Lord of the manor went out deer hunting on his estates, he would allow his cooks to use the deer's entrails to make pies for the servants.
The offal was called the 'umbles' and in old cookery books you can still find recipes for ‘umble pies.’
So, Arn, you will be eating 'umble pie' on your camino! Very good for the soul.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Sil has got the penitential possiblities absolutely right and since "high on the hog" was a reference to the choicest cuts of meat presumably "low on the hog" would refer to offal. So Arn for your penance you must eat humble pie and low on the hog!

But...the Spanish use lots of offal in their cooking...and on most tapas menus even here will be Callos speciality tripe dish from Madrid. Then further into Galicia there are many, many varieties of sausage made in the traditional way of using stuffed intestines - I suspect the calorific content is as horrid as the thought of it!

So Arn, amigo mio - you will feast well en Camino.

Juan

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Well, I have just had a very enlightening visit to a podiatrist.

I have from time to time before suffered from sore ankles when walking, and sort of knew I should check it out with a podiatrist. But about ten days ago, when I first walked with my fully laden pack for nearly five hours, I ended up with some quite excruciating ankle pain. With my departure date looming I was quite concerned. So I finally got round to seeing a podiatrist.
Turns out my foot mechanics are fine.... no problems with over-pronation and all the rest of it. But my ankles are very tight at present, because my calf muscles are very tight. So I have been given a couple of calf muscle stretches to do, and some anti-flamme cream to massage in to my ankles. And hopefully that will do the trick.
Margaret

PS I should add 'fully laden' pack is now about 3kg lighter than it was. Amazing what walking with a full pack for more than four hours does to the 'essentials'!

 

[Arn]

Margaret wrote:Amazing what walking with a full pack for more than four hours does to the 'essentials'!

Yup...Margaret has the right of it:

When you compile your LIST of essentials and then place those "essentials" in your pack and put on your back...you quickly find that the LIST weighs much less than the essentials themselves.

Margaret...you will be fine on the Camino but please allow me to offer one suggestion:

As you continue to train, try to take your mind off your ankles, because you're now hyper aware for ANYthing...you consider associated with them. Consequently, you may try to adjust your stride, or put less pressure on that side, etc. What this does is put additional stress on other related areas, such as: your knees, hips and small of the back. I hike with an Ipod of music...it keeps me in the mood and the miles melt away.

Buen Camino,
Arn

 

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to know if anyone stretched before and after their walk. If so, what stretches helped you?

Personally, no. I just get up, get out and get walking. But I have observed some people doing their exercise routines vigorously in or outside the refugios early in the morning. I particularly remember a splendidly active gentleman in his sixties in the refugio in Villamayor de Monjardin, who woke us all up at some unearthly hour of the morning swinging from his bunk, doing press ups, pull ups, stretches etc. At the end of it all he proudly announced that if you didn't prepare yourself properly for the Camino, then the Camino would catch you by surprise one day.

We were saddened to find him sitting in the dust at the side of the Camino just two kilometres away, on the road to Los Arcos. He was nursing some nasty bruises after being trampled and jostled by a herd of sheep crossing the Camino. The herd of dusty sheep was now grazing in a field nearby. It was a very big herd and they looked quite demented: the kind of sheep you just don't get mixed up with.

Just goes to show, you can get as fit as you like but you can never be sure when the woolly thinking of others will spoil your plans. :wink:

Gareth

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Clearly the sheep had done more stretching

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Margaret...you will be fine on the Camino but please allow me to offer one suggestion:
As you continue to train, try to take your mind off your ankles, because you're now hyper aware for ANYthing...you consider associated with them.
Arn

Hi Arn,
Actually the very best thing about going to the podiatrist is that I can now stop worrying about my ankles. I know I don't have any underlying foot problem causing the pain... that I just need to be diligent about doing some calf stretches. That makes me feel much more relaxed about things!
Margaret

 

[TravellingSonn]

Hi All,

Once again, thanks for taking the time responding to my stretching question. There were some very insightful posts especially "18-24 and 36 inch stretch routine" and "hiking with an Ipod to take your mind away from my knee (in my case)." I tried this tactic this morning when I went for a hike carrying all the gear I intend to carry, and I gotta say it worked beautifully.

Thanks again folks

Buen Camino
Love, laughs, and smiles
Sonia