Don’t fall into the ‘walk more’ trap.

If you are preparing for a Spring departure or planning for Autumn, you may have heard the words: "Just put on your pack and walk. Build up your miles/kilometres and you'll be fine".

Our Field Team has trained and led over 10,000 people in twenty five years of guiding and coaching clients, this has included many Camino groups over the past four years.

One thing we know: Walking more miles is often the very fastest way to a mechanical failure.

Why is this? Walking is a repetitive, single-plane movement. But the trail is never just a straight line. It is slanted, gravelly, rocky, and sometimes unpredictable - sometimes it's 'too' flat and repetitive. If we only train for the 'forward leg swing,' we are neglecting the lateral stability muscles that act as the shock absorbers for our ankles, knees, hips and torso.

For most people, to thrive on the Camino, more miles is not the priority, especially at first. We rather want skill, strength, balance, coordination, flexibility and efficiency - we call this 'Trail Fluency'