How fit do you need to be for our Comporta Escape?

How fit do you need to be for our Comporta Escape?

Our Comporta Escape is an active week, with daily training and adventures that’ll get you moving outside the workouts, too.

So if you’ve been eyeing it up and wondering “am I actually fit enough for this?”, here’s what you need to know.

You don’t need to be the fittest person in the group, but we always recommend a good base level of fitness, some consistency with your training and a willingness to get stuck in.

Here’s what the week actually asks of you.

What are the workouts like?

Expect Salt’s usual mix of strength, conditioning and cardio, programmed to challenge you and led by our expert coaches.

Monday gets things going with your first proper sweat session before breakfast, followed by a second workout later that afternoon. Friday is another two-session day, and yes, we’ll squeeze one last workout in before you leave on Saturday.

The training is challenging. We’re proud of that. But good coaching means knowing when to push you and when to scale something to your level.

You don’t need to lift the heaviest, run the fastest or finish first! Come with a good fitness base so you can enjoy the sessions and the adventures between them.

[SEE THE COMPORTA ESCAPE]

What about the surfing?

One morning, we're heading to Pego Beach and swapping the training kit for surfboards. Never surfed before? That's fine.

You don't need any experience to join the session, but surfing is more physical than standing on a board looking cool makes it appear.

There’s paddling. Popping up. Falling off. Getting back on. Doing it again.

A decent level of general fitness will help and you'll have the rest of the afternoon to recover before the afternoon team workout.

What should I do before I go?

You definitely don't need a special Comporta training plan!

If you're already exercising consistently, keep doing what you're doing. A mix of strength and cardio will put you in a good place for the week.

If your routine has been a little hit and miss lately, use the weeks before you travel to get some consistency back.

A good base might look like:

• 2 strength or conditioning sessions a week
• 1 to 2 easy runs or other cardio sessions
• Regular walking, ideally with a few longer walks thrown in
• Mobility or yoga alongside your training

The goal is simply to arrive with enough fitness behind you that you can enjoy everything we've planned, not spend the week worrying about getting through it.

[SEE THE COMPORTA ESCAPE]

What if everyone else is fitter than me?

You don’t need to match anyone else’s pace or weights! Our coaches can adapt movements so you’re challenged at your level and still part of the session.

Every Salt group has a mix of fitness levels and different things they're good at.

Someone will fly through the run and struggle with the strength session. Someone else will happily pick up a heavy kettlebell, then discover that surfing has very different ideas about their athletic ability.

Nobody is expected to be brilliant at everything.

Our coaches will challenge you at your level and scale movements where needed, while keeping everyone training together as a group.

Come with a decent base and give things a go.

Is there enough recovery?

Yes!

Wednesday is basically your muscles' favourite day of the week.

After a high-energy morning workout, you've got a full recovery window with ice baths, yoga and optional massages, plus plenty of time to read, nap or lie by the pool and move as little as possible.

Recovery and mobility are built into the rest of the week too, alongside plenty of proper downtime at the villa.

So, am I fit enough for Comporta?

If you already exercise regularly and feel comfortable with several active days in a row, you're starting from a good place.

If training hasn't featured much in your life recently, we'd recommend giving yourself some time to build that base before you come.

You want to finish a workout and still be excited to get on a surfboard. Head out onto the trails without worrying about whether you'll make it round. Have enough energy for the next day’s plans, too.

And when your body does ask for a break?

There's a pool in the middle of a Portuguese pine forest.

[SEE THE COMPORTA ESCAPE]