How can I prepare myself to do the Camino de Santiago?
How do I have to train if I want to do the Camino de Santiago?
I can tell you from my experience that, although I know people who have come with Viajeros Canallas without any preparation and have been able to do it - I remind you that it is only walking -, you will certainly enjoy it much more if you have prepared yourself beforehand.
And, for that, today we are going to give you 5 tips for training if you're going on an adventure.
MOTIVATION
There are days when you feel like exercising, when you look forward to it, but on days when you don't even feel like getting out of bed, when you go home with your workout done, the reward is 3 times greater.
So motivate yourself. I use visualisation a lot. Before any challenge, I imagine myself enjoying it, smiling, having a great time. And I know that if I go prepared, it will be easier.
CONSTANCE
This means that the training itself doesn't have to be very demanding so you don't need to get too fit in the gym or anything like that.
The key word is consistency. Every day you can, walk 1 hour, 4 or 5 kilometres and a little more whenever you can.
And every now and then, set yourself a little challenge: join a hiking group, go out with friends, do a 10 or 15 kilometre route and that way you will be able to test your physical condition.
If you are consistent, over 2 or 3 weeks you will start to see the change and improvement.
TRAINING WITH SLOPES
In my experience, I have come across people who always trained in coastal areas or in a very flat environment and I have seen how they suffered more from their joints and, above all, from their knees.
So, it is very important that you use slopes, and if there are no slopes in the area, that you look for places where you can go up and down to simulate the unevenness of the terrain.
STRETCHING
In this case, the important thing, since we are walking to do the Camino de Santiago, is to focus on the lower body, that is, stretching quads, calves, hamstrings and abductor.
If you are not very proficient in stretching techniques, don't worry: just rely on any simple tutorial on the Internet.
WITH FRIENDS, THE BETTER
Just the fact of meeting up, seeing people you love, going for a walk with them while you talk, laugh, and even have that famous beer afterwards (I don't know how many times I've gone to train for exercise or for the beer afterwards).
Here I recommend that you bring out your rogue side, that you organise your WhatsApp group with people in your area, with your friends, that you start to meet up to go on short routes... In other words, bring out your provocative side.
And before I finish I am going to give you an extra tip ➡️ Remember to always use for these trainings the shoes that you are going to take with you to the Camino de Santiago.
Sometimes you tell me that you have already worn a shoe that you bought a short time ago 5 or 6 times.
Wrong!!! A used shoe needs much more kilometres, so get going and train. And if you still have doubts about which route to take, don't miss our first post.
If you want to see the video of Alberto, director of Viajeros Canallas, talking about the training for the Camino de Santiago in group, we leave it here below
Get ready for your next adventure in Santiago de Compostela with our detailed guide about The Weather in Santiago de Compostela. You'll have the latest and most accurate weather information to make sure you have what you need to make the most of your trip.
