A pilgrimage is fundamentally different from any other journey.
This is not a simple trekking route, although sometimes it seems that way when you overcome climbs.
This is not a typical walk through parks, forests, and beaches.
Here, you are more likely to meet people with cardio machines than trained athletes, although walking 12 miles a day with a big backpack is a serious physical exertion.
In fact, this is an emotional path, an opportunity to understand yourself, think, strengthen your spirit, and find answers to your own questions.
Now, with good weather and holidays approaching, making this pilgrimage a sporting goal is becoming quite a common practice.
How Fit Do You Need to Be to Walk the Camino de Santiago?
More than an average person who does fitness two times a week.
Not everyone starts with the same training base, and you shouldn’t just do simple training (walking for hours a day).
It will be very important to train strength in order to develop different muscle groups and thus reduce injury or pain from the constant overloading of your luggage.
All major muscle groups need to be strengthened to handle the pilgrimage with sufficient strength.
It would be desirable that you pay attention to the muscles that we are going to train the most (core, back, shoulders, and lower body).
On the Camino Way, either you have your muscles ready or you will get seriously injured.
Strength training will provide you with the pleasure of traveling without overload or pain.
Remember that you should also enjoy this experience and not suffer.
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Can You Do the Camino Without Training?
Yes, people do the Camino without training, but this is very hard.
People who are not athletes do the Camino Way.
They walk an average of 19 miles and take 40 thousand steps a day.
Many of them scream and cry from the pain.
But they chose to go, so they must go.
Each person evaluates his or her own strength and decides how many steps he or she can take.
Many complete the journey in two weeks, not 10 days.
Elderly people usually walk 12 miles a day, but not all of them do—German pensioners overtook me more than once on the way.
Once, I walked 25 miles and really regretted it.
I do not recommend it to anyone except for experienced and physically strong travelers.
How do I Get in Shape for the Camino de Santiago?
Only with regular physical activities.
Getting the perfect body for Camino without regular physical activity will not work.
You need to train at least three times a week and take 1–1.5 hours to train.
Start with:
Push ups
Choose a comfortable hand position: narrow or wide.
The advantage of the exercise is that it can be performed at home; it does not require any specific simulators or equipment.
Take a seat lying down, place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, and begin to slowly lower yourself until your chest touches the floor.
Then return to the original.
Make sure your back and legs stay in a straight line and your stomach is pulled in.
Pull-ups
If you have a horizontal bar at home, great!
You can do this exercise in the morning and evening, before going to bed.
Pull-ups not only strengthen muscles but also perfectly develop endurance.
Choose the optimal grip and the way to perform the exercises; just remember that sudden movements are contraindicated here!
Breeding hands with dumbbells
To do this, you will need dumbbells, which can be successfully replaced with two half-liter bottles of water, sand, or any cereal.
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Start spreading your arms to the sides, making sure that there is enough tension in the muscles.
Hold at the top and start slowly lowering.
Train your legs.
Feet tend to get very little attention.
As a result, excess volumes leave here last.
A few simple exercises will help to make the buttocks more toned and the hips slender.
Lunges. Bring your leg forward, place it on the floor, and bend your knee at a 90-degree angle.
The back should rest on the toes.
Spring back and return to the starting position.
Repeat.
Keep your back straight.
Squats. Choose the most comfortable way for you to squat and do them daily, at least 50 times a day.
You can divide this process into three to five approaches; this will be easier for beginners.
“Bike”. Lie on your back and put your hands under your head.
Raise your legs and start “pedling”, while tensing your muscles.
You can take 1-2 minutes to complete the exercise.
How Hard Is It to Walk the Camino de Santiago?
It can be challenging, so that’s why you have to have an average physical fitness level, walk with heavy backpacks around 10 to 16 miles a day, and it must be within your power, so you are not even particularly tired.
Before the Camino, I didn’t read any of the reviews, deciding that my Camino would be what it would be.
So I didn’t worry too much about preparation.
I already went to the harsh tracks in Kamchatka and Altai, so I just stuffed all the hiking things into my backpack.
This was probably my only mistake.
For the Camino, a backpack of 13–16 gallons is suitable.
It is believed that its weight should not exceed 10% of the weight of the pilgrim.
Mine was 21 gallons and looked so huge that everyone I met was worried about how I was carrying such a burden.
Several things were obviously superfluous, and I took some extras, for example, a film camera, realizing that it was an extra burden.
By the way, for those who still prefer to go light, there are luggage delivery services, such as Camino Fácil or Jacotrans.
Your luggage is picked up and taken to the place of your next overnight stay; it costs € 5 per day.
Do You Need to Train for the Camino?
Yes, I would recommend that you train.
In order for the Camino Way to not bring discomfort, it is necessary to increase the overall endurance of the body.
This requires training, of course.
How Long Should you Train for El Camino?
A couple of months.
Follow a few simple rules, and in a couple of months you will be able to enjoy the Camino Way!
Do not forget that rest is as important as work, and good nutrition and healthy sleep have always been the basis of health.
What is The Best Month to Walk the Camino de Santiago?
April, May, June, September, and October are the best months to walk the Camino de Santiago.
Many are afraid to go alone.
I didn’t have such a fear, but on the way I understood why people are afraid: the heat and the possibility of heat stroke, the climbs in the mountains on stones.
My support came from my subscribers.
I posted a lot of stories and talked about my journey.
After reviewing all the stories, it seemed that I was mostly whining, but this did not stop me and those who followed my path online from walking this path together.
