Training
How sore will I be in the first week?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
Very, and in places you did not expect. Shins and the tops of the feet from kicking, hip flexors from knees and teeps, and shoulders from holding a guard. It usually peaks around day three and eases as the second week starts.
Shin conditioning is the one people are unprepared for. Kicking pads for the first time leaves bruising and tenderness that makes the second day genuinely unpleasant, and it settles with exposure rather than with rest.
Skin is the other early problem: the tops of the feet, the insteps, and the knuckles under wraps. Blisters and mat burn in constant humidity heal slowly, so treat small breaks in the skin early rather than training through them.
Ordinary soreness that eases as you warm up is normal. Sharp joint pain, anything that changes how you walk, and swelling that does not go down overnight are not, and are a reason to stop rather than to push.
Worth knowing
Nothing here is medical advice. A camp trainer is not a physiotherapist and an injury on day three ruins a trip that a rest day would have saved.
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