If you are planning to walk the Camino de Santiago, you probably know already that planning the trip is one of the key success factors. Almost that important, as a good training to walk the Camino.

Why? Because it is not the same to walk some kilometers now and again, and to walk during 8 hours every single day: no matter it is windy, rainy or cold outside.

The most common mistakes in training to walk the Camino

As experts on planning the Camino de Santiago, we know very well how many clients got surprised about the hardness of this experience.

And quite right too! The medium average of the stages in the French Way, the most popular one, it is 20 km (12.42 miles). That supposes between 6 and 8 hours of daily walking, sometimes overcoming serious uneven distances.

And the most challenging fact, as long as we have experience on this, it is that the next day you should start again, no matter that you couldn´t sleep well, or you feel pain as you have never felt pain before, in more muscles than you thought you have.

So, the most important mistake you should avoid is to undervalue the fact that the Camino will be demanding. It is, and you should get prepared to it.

The second most typical mistake is to change your footwear just before the beginning of the Camino. Many pilgrims consider that will be a good idea to buy new walking boots precisely for it, and the reality is that it is much more convenient to use your usual footwear, many times used: the most often used, the best.

Last, but not least, a minor error that in Living the Camino we have detected, it is to train without weight.

Despite we offer transfer of equipment between stages, you will need some basic valuable things to bring back in your shoulders during all the day. For instance, food, spare footwear in case something goes wrong, some warm clothes, and a raincoat. And don’t forget about the pilgrim’s first-aid kit! We should bring it everywhere, every day.

Although it seems not too much, consider that it will imply 6 or 7 kilograms on your back, during 8 hours. That is why the training to walk the Camino will be much more efficient if you take a backpack loaded with some weight.