The 7 Must-Read Books for Parkour Beginners and Professionals

Parkour is a type of physical activity inspired by the natural method of physical education, designed by Georges Hébert. He devised a route for military training, called parcours militaire, which is widely used by the French army. Hence the name, Parkour has its origins in parcour, in French. The Parkour practitioner is called a traceur. Your goal is to try to find a way to make the paths that people would normally walk, in different ways. For this, he observes the path to be taken and traces a path that is simple, fast and effective. Simplicity does not occur when there is a claim to include acrobatic movements, but its practice using the medium as an obstacle often results in a particular aesthetic associated with personal pleasure. Here are the 7 must-reads for every Parkour lover:

• Parkour Strength Training: Overcome Obstacles for Fun and Fitness, by Ryan Ford and Ben Musholt

This book is key to beginners in Parkour, as it contains excellent explanations of drills, principles of training and programming. Since it is the basics, it does “not” contain a lot of in-depth skill description, but it tackles some movements such as vaults and cat progressions. You will learn basics such as how to encourage the versatility and agility required for healthy, obstacle-based fitness, “practice safely outdoors, improve your athletic growth with three basic bodyweight exercises and design an efficient strength training program”, says Sigrid D. Sutton, Parkour writer at Essay Roo and Custom Writing Services.

• Breaking the Jump, by Julie Angel

This book explains how Parkour is the exploration of movement, as well as the return to the innate capacity of our body to sprint, leap, hang, and move fluidly. Julie Angel tells the tale of the origins of Parkour.

• The Parkour and Freerunning Handbook, by Dan Edwardes

A detailed four-color, fully illustrated guide to parkour and free-running strategies, theory and history by Dan Edwardes of Parkour Generations, which is the oldest free-running group in Britain. This critical handbook offers parkour a guide aimed at building confidence to become a comfortable and creative free runner.

• The Parkour Roadmap, by Max Henry

This is Parkour’s first published guide to history, society, and technique. Combining insights from the best Parkour athletes and coaches in the world, this book is an invaluable resource for novices as well as experienced practitioners alike.

• Overcoming Gravity, by Steven Low

This is a really excellent book, a really detailed bodyweight training guide. Within this book the greatest interest is programming, as it gives you “essentially a structure and some models to work with and discusses how to set goals and how to build a plan that will help people to achieve them”, says David S. Moore, sport blogger at AustralianReviewer and Best essay writing service.

• The Ultimate Parkour & Freerunning Book, by Ilona Gerline

This book includes detailed diagrams for teaching both basic Parkour and Freerunning techniques, easy to follow breakdowns of movement, and methodical instructions for indoor and outdoor workouts. Context, theory, behavioral laws, training tips, competitive definitions and performance requirements are only a few examples of the contents of the book. This book’s steady and slenderly growing training levels continue to help the reader move a step forward with each point. It’s for both Personal trainers and coaches, and those who want a Parkour workout.

• The Obstacle Is the Way, by Ryan Holiday

This is a smart self-help book packed with examples from people throughout history who became great even through adversity. It also provides a framework for approaching life as a more normal citizen, transforming challenges into rewards and using constant determination to achieve what you want. Holiday uses Stoicism as a foundation for the novel, but this is by no means a dry novel of philosophy. Using modern example, he makes the words of thousands of years ago come alive.

Parkour receives a lot of criticism for being considered a high-risk sport, but it must be emphasized that experienced practitioners never get hurt, as they calculate all the risks before performing their maneuvers. A traceur in excellent physical condition, well-defined musculature and a good degree of flexibility, better resists impact with the ground, which reduces the risk of injury. The books in this article will hopefully help you better understand the sport.

Beatrix Potter is a Parkour writer at Custom Writing Service UK and Best UK essay writing services, as well as a manager at Top European writing services. She is passionate about psychology and human behavior, being a great student of topics such as Positive Psychology and the impacts of happiness on physical and mental health. Beatrix found sources of discipline, focus, happiness and productivity in street running and meditation.