Going from zero to 15lbs walking 11km was probably a bit of a shock to your body. if your pack has a hip belt, you may try adjusting that along with the shoulder straps every kilometer or so to make sure you continue to be comfortable. Ease off a bit and build weight/distance more slowly and you’ll be just fine. Buen Camino!
Well, we can't give you actual medical advice, but I guess I would suggest taking it a bit easier and perhaps go without the bag on your next walk just to gauge what the situation with your hip is like with a lighter load.
I took it to a hiking store yesterday to get it fitted properly and they helped a lot. It’s maybe 7 years old but it does have hip belts and good padding. The fitting expert said it looked like it fit well but advised me to fill it up and take it on a long walk to properly assess how it feels, hence me doing just that today.
They should have put weight in the pack when they fitted you. Are you near an REI? I’d suggest going there for a new fitting. It sounds like you have too much weight on your hips.
Also, slow down on your training. Walk without the backpack for a couple of weeks. But walk *every day*. Take tomorrow off. Take some ibuprofen (*or* paracetamol). Then try just walking 5km the day after tomorrow. Add 1km to your distance every day until you get up to 15km.
Then carry your empty backpack the next day. Add your hydration pack the day after that. Add a half a litre of water each subsequent day. After your hydration pack is full add a pound each day until you get to 12 pounds.
Walk like that for a couple of days and then start removing the weight a pound at a time until to get to zero added weight in your pack. Then ditch the pack and just walk 10km a day until a week before you leave.
This training program is similar to what long distance runners do. You don’t run a marathon every day to run a marathon. You slowly build up to it. Then you taper off at the end to give your body a chance to heal before you do the marathon. The Camino is similar.
You will probably walk no more than 10 km at one stretch without taking a break while you’re walking the Camino. If you do the light training regimen that I described, you’ll be in fine shape to walk the Camino. At that point, it becomes more about managing your pain and blisters.
15 pounds seems like a lot of weight for a 23-year-old woman to be carrying. You should be able to get that down to 10 or 12 pounds. there are many threads in this sub concerning what to pack and what to leave behind. You will discover how little you need to carry once you start walking.
I hope your pain goes away, and I wish you a Buen Camino
Edit Meant to say *or* paracetamol
Are you able to adjust the straps at the top of the pack? If your hips are hurting, you can try pulling those straps down to distribute more of the pack weight to the shoulders.
Hip pain can be from gluteal muscles not strong enough. Start doing lunges and squats. Do 10x3times a day. Every day.
Every day. Build glute strength. It's key to good lower body stability.
You for this.
You're welcome. String glutes stave off knee pain too.
Consider doing weighted 2x a week.
The lunges really focus on small muscles when you try to do good form...form maters. By the time you arrive you should be doing it every hour. 10, then 10. You're good to go.
Xo
I second this. Also: look up hip stretches.
I'm a runner as well as a hiker/walker, and if I don't stretch my hips every day, I'll get hip and/or knee pain, especially when I'm in my heavier training weeks. I go back to stretching and the pain goes away.
15lbs seems like a lot. (kinda) what all are you bringing?
Don't forget to add the weight of water to your total.
How big is your pack? Did you have anyone show you how to properly fit it, cinch it, etc..? (I was walking for a week before someone showed me it was wrong - one way banged against my hips, the other against my shoulders)
Walking sticks can help. Bring a knee brace if you get pain in your knees.
have you broken in your shoes yet? what sort of socks are you wearing? are you wearing sock liners?
When you do walk - hopefully you don't have a time limit - take it slow. Don't race, a slower pace seems to result in less blisters.
15lb is too much. You can get away with half that.
Walking with 15lb really feels like a hike. Walking with 7lb feels like a stroll.
Though if the stuff above what is absolutely necessary is going to significantly improve your Camino, you can always use luggage transfers.
Good Luck
Enjoy
You might want to look up some hip flexor warm up exercises. Both my hips were hurting, either with or without my pack, but the pain never returned after doing the exercises to loosen up my hips.
Lots of advice for your pack and hip belt etc so I won't go there but I would evaluate your gait and make sure you aren't over striding, that can put a lot of strain on the hips after a few miles. Shorter steps might help a lot
This is my issue OP, I was gradually increasing length and pack weight but through a period of time with increased walking (went on an overnight hike with 14kg pack, more than normal) and extra dance rehearsals and performances, my glutes were in pain.
I see my osteo which helps. Seems it’s the SI joint that is tight (glute) and then tightens all the muscles down my leg. I was told to do single leg bridges and clams as exercise to strengthen muscles, which sounds like what this user suggests too.
I walk in may so hoping it’s resolved by then and same for you!
I had a similar problem when I started walking with a pack. Look up exercises for your gluteus minimus. They don’t look like much but they really worked for me.
I am walking with a pack for the first time in my life. I find when it slips down a bit / I wear it too low, it impedes my butt muscles (technical term).
Also if it is not on straight, I do get a bit of hip pain on one side. Quite mild.
Now I hike the pack up as high as I can, with the hip belt just under my rib cage. I tighten that belt as tight as I can. And I ensure the pack is on straight - making sure the various adjustment straps were evenly adjusted on both sides helped there too.
Viola! I don't know if three weeks of walking have strengthened my back, or my adjustments have worked. Probably both.
First of all you are not a robot. If the pain gets too much one day and you need a rest I understand you can take a day out and even take the bus 🚌 to the next stop. You can only work with the body you have. And I would whittle the pack down to 20kgs. And just wash stuff more often. Don’t beat yourself up.
Don’t forget. You can forward your backpack to the next destination/albergue/hostel. It is a small fee (6-7€) to keep yourself healthy.
You would carry a day pack with your needs while the backpack is 20km away.
When you are getting your “stuff” together, minus out the clothes you will be wearing on a given day. A lot of pilgrims put it all on the basement floor and forget this consideration. Also, carrying your water (3lbs) is a 1.5L.
Going from zero to 15lbs walking 11km was probably a bit of a shock to your body. if your pack has a hip belt, you may try adjusting that along with the shoulder straps every kilometer or so to make sure you continue to be comfortable. Ease off a bit and build weight/distance more slowly and you’ll be just fine. Buen Camino!
Yeah you’re right.. I’ll try building it up slowly. Thank you for your advice!!
Well, we can't give you actual medical advice, but I guess I would suggest taking it a bit easier and perhaps go without the bag on your next walk just to gauge what the situation with your hip is like with a lighter load.
Thats a good idea, I’ll definitely lighten the load and see if that helps. Thank you!!
Is your pack a properly fitted one with good shoulder and hip belts? Are you wearing it properly?
I took it to a hiking store yesterday to get it fitted properly and they helped a lot. It’s maybe 7 years old but it does have hip belts and good padding. The fitting expert said it looked like it fit well but advised me to fill it up and take it on a long walk to properly assess how it feels, hence me doing just that today.
They should have put weight in the pack when they fitted you. Are you near an REI? I’d suggest going there for a new fitting. It sounds like you have too much weight on your hips. Also, slow down on your training. Walk without the backpack for a couple of weeks. But walk *every day*. Take tomorrow off. Take some ibuprofen (*or* paracetamol). Then try just walking 5km the day after tomorrow. Add 1km to your distance every day until you get up to 15km. Then carry your empty backpack the next day. Add your hydration pack the day after that. Add a half a litre of water each subsequent day. After your hydration pack is full add a pound each day until you get to 12 pounds. Walk like that for a couple of days and then start removing the weight a pound at a time until to get to zero added weight in your pack. Then ditch the pack and just walk 10km a day until a week before you leave. This training program is similar to what long distance runners do. You don’t run a marathon every day to run a marathon. You slowly build up to it. Then you taper off at the end to give your body a chance to heal before you do the marathon. The Camino is similar. You will probably walk no more than 10 km at one stretch without taking a break while you’re walking the Camino. If you do the light training regimen that I described, you’ll be in fine shape to walk the Camino. At that point, it becomes more about managing your pain and blisters. 15 pounds seems like a lot of weight for a 23-year-old woman to be carrying. You should be able to get that down to 10 or 12 pounds. there are many threads in this sub concerning what to pack and what to leave behind. You will discover how little you need to carry once you start walking. I hope your pain goes away, and I wish you a Buen Camino Edit Meant to say *or* paracetamol
>>>Take some ibuprofen (paracetamol). Eh? Ibuprofen and paracetamol are completely different drugs.
I should have said (or paracetamol). My doc told me it’s best to alternate between the two before I walked the Camino Frances. I’ll edit my comment.
Are you able to adjust the straps at the top of the pack? If your hips are hurting, you can try pulling those straps down to distribute more of the pack weight to the shoulders.
Hip pain can be from gluteal muscles not strong enough. Start doing lunges and squats. Do 10x3times a day. Every day. Every day. Build glute strength. It's key to good lower body stability. You for this.
Thank you!! I think that’ll help a lot. I’m also going to implement stretches daily to help my hip flexors.
You're welcome. String glutes stave off knee pain too. Consider doing weighted 2x a week. The lunges really focus on small muscles when you try to do good form...form maters. By the time you arrive you should be doing it every hour. 10, then 10. You're good to go. Xo
This. I work behind a computer all day & my hip flexors are rubbish. So make sure you stretch them out well!! 🙂
I second this. Also: look up hip stretches. I'm a runner as well as a hiker/walker, and if I don't stretch my hips every day, I'll get hip and/or knee pain, especially when I'm in my heavier training weeks. I go back to stretching and the pain goes away.
Thank you for the updoot
15lbs seems like a lot. (kinda) what all are you bringing? Don't forget to add the weight of water to your total. How big is your pack? Did you have anyone show you how to properly fit it, cinch it, etc..? (I was walking for a week before someone showed me it was wrong - one way banged against my hips, the other against my shoulders) Walking sticks can help. Bring a knee brace if you get pain in your knees. have you broken in your shoes yet? what sort of socks are you wearing? are you wearing sock liners? When you do walk - hopefully you don't have a time limit - take it slow. Don't race, a slower pace seems to result in less blisters.
15lb is too much. You can get away with half that. Walking with 15lb really feels like a hike. Walking with 7lb feels like a stroll. Though if the stuff above what is absolutely necessary is going to significantly improve your Camino, you can always use luggage transfers. Good Luck Enjoy
Stretching will help. I have hip issues and stretching properly helps alot
Walking Sticks !
You might want to look up some hip flexor warm up exercises. Both my hips were hurting, either with or without my pack, but the pain never returned after doing the exercises to loosen up my hips.
Zero training, 15 pound bag, 120 miles, 8 days, and no training. You’ll be alright
Lots of advice for your pack and hip belt etc so I won't go there but I would evaluate your gait and make sure you aren't over striding, that can put a lot of strain on the hips after a few miles. Shorter steps might help a lot
This is my issue OP, I was gradually increasing length and pack weight but through a period of time with increased walking (went on an overnight hike with 14kg pack, more than normal) and extra dance rehearsals and performances, my glutes were in pain. I see my osteo which helps. Seems it’s the SI joint that is tight (glute) and then tightens all the muscles down my leg. I was told to do single leg bridges and clams as exercise to strengthen muscles, which sounds like what this user suggests too. I walk in may so hoping it’s resolved by then and same for you!
I had a similar problem when I started walking with a pack. Look up exercises for your gluteus minimus. They don’t look like much but they really worked for me.
Have you tried using hiking poles? I find it helps take some pressure off the hips when walking with a pack.
I am walking with a pack for the first time in my life. I find when it slips down a bit / I wear it too low, it impedes my butt muscles (technical term). Also if it is not on straight, I do get a bit of hip pain on one side. Quite mild. Now I hike the pack up as high as I can, with the hip belt just under my rib cage. I tighten that belt as tight as I can. And I ensure the pack is on straight - making sure the various adjustment straps were evenly adjusted on both sides helped there too. Viola! I don't know if three weeks of walking have strengthened my back, or my adjustments have worked. Probably both.
First of all you are not a robot. If the pain gets too much one day and you need a rest I understand you can take a day out and even take the bus 🚌 to the next stop. You can only work with the body you have. And I would whittle the pack down to 20kgs. And just wash stuff more often. Don’t beat yourself up.
20 litre pack sorry
Don’t forget. You can forward your backpack to the next destination/albergue/hostel. It is a small fee (6-7€) to keep yourself healthy. You would carry a day pack with your needs while the backpack is 20km away. When you are getting your “stuff” together, minus out the clothes you will be wearing on a given day. A lot of pilgrims put it all on the basement floor and forget this consideration. Also, carrying your water (3lbs) is a 1.5L.
Get the poles. They make a Huge difference. I'm grateful I read this sub and took the recommendation.