How to train for the Camino?

A common question people ask me when planning their own pilgrimage is:

“What did you do to train for the Camino?”

My knee jerk reaction has always been something blasé or profound, like…

“You won’t be ready for the camino until you finish the Camino.”

Which is a huge cop out, and highly inaccurate… and not just because most of us are completely physically broken by the time we reach Santiago de Compostella and won’t be walking anywhere.

Prior to my camino, I walked every chance I got, but not nearly enough. Living in London at the time, I walked thirty minutes to and from work each day as well as at least an hour power walk in the evening. However, I never really trained with a backpack of more than a kilogram or two (if at all). And that was a big mistake! Getting your body used to carrying the weight of your pack is essential for a happy camino.

By the time I started the Frances Way, I had a basic level of fitness and a severe lung infection (but that’s a whole other story). But I was young, and could tackle walking every day… how hard could it be right?

If you’ve walked the camino, you’re probably reading this thinking I was a complete moron. And you would be entirely correct.

I was an idiot!

You need more than a basic level of fitness to walk the Camino comfortably. And the stubbornness of youth will not get you to Santiago. Well it might, but you won’t be in good shape when you get there.

However, I did learn my lesson. I have already started my Chemin de Paris training, three years in advance! Let’s call it wisdom.

For some reason, the Chemin de Paris route seems so much more daunting to me than walking just the Frances Way. Yes it’s over double the distance of my previous pilgrimage, but I am taking it way more seriously and will be on a bike.

What am I doing to train for the Chemin de Paris?

I’m about two weeks into my training program. And with injuries, lockdowns and covid restrictions, my fitness is seriously lacking. But not just my fitness, my strength too.

With lockdowns still in place I have started an initial Chemin de Paris inspired workout regime. What is it?

Bike fitness

As I will be riding my mountain bike on this pilgrimage, bike fitness is essential.

With lockdowns restricting my outdoor exercise time, I have started an indoor program, with the Chemin de Paris to motivate me to pedal more, and pedal further.

Starting small I am using my Chemin de Paris guidebook to guide my way. Every second day I am riding two pages of the Orlean route through France. In another week, I will increase that to three pages. And so on.

For the month of October I have committed to riding 500km for charity, so will have to up the anty to get it done.

Motivation

Motivation is a major factor for training so far in advance. Especially when your predominately stuck indoors. So, to motivate myself I immerse myself in the route. I explore each segment on Google Earth before heading on my indoor journey along the Chemin de Paris.

Riding a bike indoors can be quite the boring exercise. To entertain myself so I enjoy exercising and want to continue with my training I indulge in Camino documentaries, movies and YouTube videos. The time passes so quickly! I’ll be sure to do some posts on camino inspiration resources soon.

Strength

In addition to bike fitness, with my strength almost non-existent, I am ending every ride with some 4kg weights and core exercises before a good stretch. Stretching is key to any successful training or camino experience. Get into it!

As time progresses, and restrictions ease, I will be branching out my training, to get that all around fitness and strength base. Once the base is reached, I will progress to riding a fully laden bike and small trips to prepare for my journey, so stay tuned.

I also intend to be honest with my successes and failures. Because let’s face it, exercising can become quite the chore sometimes. So as I discover ways to stay motivated and get back on track I will share them with you. That way you can stay on task and prepare for your own pilgrimage too.

I’d love to know what you did or are doing to prepare for your own pilgrimage, so feel free to drop and tips and tricks into the comments below.