Camino Fitness Week Three
We were born to walk long distances.
We were born to walk long distances, in all weathers, up and down hills, everyday and when we need to - all day. We are simply designed to walk.
Think about this - we were born with hair on our heads to protect us from the sun! Our most powerful and biggest muscle is the Gluteus maximus, which keeps us upright and propels us forwards. One quarter of all the bones in our body are in the feet, allowing us to balance and move.
We are also designed to go long distances. Not only that, but our bodies adapt very quickly to become better at endurance through effective training. During this ‘Build’ phase, the primary purpose is to build endurance, both aerobic and muscular endurance.
Have you ever noticed how some people can gain endurance very quickly, and some try very hard but never can seem to get a breakthrough, no matter how hard we try? The secret is in the formula. Paradoxically, most of the time we can benefit not from trying harder, but trying softer - and by following a formula which directs our efforts to where we get the most gains.
Endurance training is not about addition - but about transformation. It’s about changing our biology, changing how we process energy, and about harnessing the magical system that is our body and the air we breathe. One thing is sure, the biology of a person who just completed the Camino de Santiago is very different from the average person, and the difference is not small.
Here’s a quick primer on what differentiates a long distance walker, or endurance athlete - from a non-endurance athlete.
Long-distance walkers vs humans who only exercise for shorter periods of time - utilize fat as a primary source of fuel during prolonged exercise. As the duration of exercise increases, the body shifts from relying on glycogen (stored glucose) to utilizing fat for energy. This adaptation is driven by several factors:
~ Aerobic Metabolism: Endurance activities are primarily aerobic, meaning they require sustained oxygen intake. Fat oxidation occurs in the presence of oxygen, allowing walkers to tap into fat stores for a more prolonged energy source.
~ Conserving Glycogen: Glycogen stores in muscles and the liver are limited. By relying on fat, long distance walkers preserve glycogen for when it’s needed, for example climbing a steep hill, or pushing up the pace to avoid weather, darkness or another reason.
~ Efficient Energy Production: Fat provides a dense energy source. During low to moderate-intensity exercise, the body can efficiently convert stored fat into energy which is then stored in the muscles
~ Training Adaptations: Endurance training enhances the body's ability to oxidize fat. Training at lower intensities also encourages the development of enzymes and mitochondria involved in fat metabolism.
In summary, long distance walkers rely on the efficient metabolism of fat to sustain energy levels during long days on the trail and road, optimizing our ability to perform well over extended distances. The way to achieve this, is by doing the long easy miles we do in training. We are not simply getting better at walking long distances, we are actually changing the way our bodies work and create energy.
So as we start week three - one obvious question is, “How long of a walk will cause the body to adapt?”
Generally speaking, highly trained athletes can begin to oxidize and use fat for fuel very quickly. A Tour de France cyclist may start utilizing fat stores in minutes at the start of a ride. Most of us will make the shift from utilizing glycogen - to utilizing fat - only after a longer period, often not less than 45 minutes. Therefore we consider an endurance-training session, which will cause the adaptation we seek, to require over 90 minutes of effort/walking. So while a two mile/3km walk certainly benefits us, a five mile/eight km walk will literally change the way we utilize fuel.
So given that this is the primary focus of our training for this ‘build’ phase. It’s true that the long walk is the priority of the week. The other training sessions are valuable, they are in support of this one gain. Developing the aerobic endurance system is the key to success at long-distance activity. So, if you have a situation where you can’t do all of the training sessions and have to choose one over the others, the recommendation is to choose the long walk, over secondary goals.
It’s tempting sometimes to make incremental increases to daily walks, but because the goal is to build long endurance, it’s more advantageous to keep the daily walks shorter and increase the length of the long walk. One analogous way to think of this is to consider tides…. If you have a boat stranded on a beach, what will float that boat, is not medium tides every day, because they won’t reach it - but just one high tide will do the job. So what we are looking for in each training cycle/week is to float the boat with one high tide, not lots of lower ones.
Another way to consider, is if you’ve ever been at a fairground and seen the game where you swing a sledgehammer to hit a plate - and it drives an object up to hit a bell…? Lots of medium swings won’t do the job, but they will cause fatigue. And this may prevent not-having the strength to do one big swing that we actually need to succeed. This is the same in endurance training…. It may be tempting to try hard every day, but really what we want - is to ‘try softer’ - most days and save ourselves for the day where our effort really counts!
As the weeks progress, we’ll add more ‘long days’ to the week, and closer to the end - add some back-to-back, and multiple days of long walks, to replicate the Camino. For now though, the priority now is to train the body to convert its fuel system from short-range/limited to long-range/unlimited (from glycogen-dependent to fat-adapted) and to extend our top range. Nothing will achieve this more rapidly, than prioritizing the long walk.
In Part Two of this week’s description, we’ll discuss more about how to personalize the length of the sessions to maximize your gains. We’ll discuss effort and recovery and how the human body achieves the quickest and most sustainable gains. We’ll discuss what you can do, if you feel that the suggested 180 minute walk is too much for now. Remember that generally speaking, the significant gains in endurance come from walks longer over 90 minutes, so there’s flexibility.
