Parkour is a nice sports activity that began to gain considerable momentum. More and more youngsters start Parkour because it’s a nice and physically challenging activity. You need self-confidence, bone, muscle strength, and above all, courage. Parkour is not easy, but it is an engaging activity that keeps you trying and doing your best, developing your motor skills.
It is said that Parkour can change your life. It comes with a lot of practice, fun, failures, and a lot of creativity. You improve your adaptability and problem-solving skills, as you need to adapt to unpredicted situations and rapidly find solutions by combining twisting, bending, jumping, and many more Parkour moves.
However, Parkour training is a challenging activity for one’s body. It puts your muscle and bone strength to test. To improve your Parkour skills, you need to put in a lot of effort and time. Parkour is more than a gym workout, so Parkour enthusiasts and sportsmen might end up with severe injuries.
One way to prevent this is proper training. But one needs to also take care of his diet, which has to be healthy and full of vitamins. Bone injuries are frequent, especially for beginners and although failures and mistakes teach us the greatest lessons, one needs to have good nutrition to help his body face Parkour challenges.
- Calcium
Experts on health topics from the best essay writers uk advise on having about 1000 mg of calcium per day. Calcium is very important in physical and bone development and it is extremely helpful for people that practice extreme sports or that are exercising a lot. Parkour is one of those sports that challenges your physical shape and helps you improve your fitness.
However, to polish your parkour skills, such as jumping, climbing, and landing, one needs to put in a lot of effort, and this can drain your body’s strength.
When your diet does not offer you the calcium amount you need, your body will start to take it from your bones. This means that they will be weaker and more prone to severe injuries. Among the fullest of calcium aliments are yogurts, cheese, and all the other dairy ingredients. Also, there are fruits rich in calcium such as apricots, kiwi, oranges, and berries.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin C is very important for bones, even though its power is undervalued. It helps with the formation of collagen, which contributes to healthier bones. People who are rich in vitamin C, also have a greater bone density.
However, vitamin C has other benefits too. It also increases calcium absorption, so it has double benefits for bones. Among the foods that are the richest in vitamin C are fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet full of vitamin C should include citrus fruits, berries, watermelon, pineapple, but also broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers.
- Vitamin D
Vitamin C is not the only one that helps with calcium absorption. Vitamin D is another essential vitamin that must be in one’s diet to help keep your bones hardy. It is good not only for your bones but for your muscles too. And because parkour is a challenging sport, parkour sportsmen need to keep their bones, muscles, and body as healthy as possible.
Vitamin D helps people have stronger bones and muscles. A parkour sportsman diet should include aliments rich in vitamin D, such as mushrooms, fish, cheese, and egg yolks.
Another way to get vitamin D is to spend time in the sun. It is known that direct sunlight helps our bodies produce vitamin D naturally. However, some world regions do not have as much sunlight as others (for example Nordic regions), so it is advised to have a diet full of vitamin D.
- Alcohol
Alcohol is known to be associated with loss of bone mineral density. If consumed excessively, alcohol can alter bone formation, thus making them weaker. Chronic alcohol consumption has been associated with increases in parathyroid hormone, which in turn takes calcium from the bones, thus making them weaker and more prone to bone breakdown.
Alcohol has a bad effect on muscles, too. The frequency of cramps increases, thus interfering with sports activity, such as parkour. A healthy diet for your body, bones, and muscles should include a limited amount of alcohol.
- Tobacco
Smoking affects the body in so many ways. Smoking harms your body’s absorption of calcium, which interferes with the process of forming and strengthening the bones. Thus, smoking makes your bones weaker and more prone to injuries.
Moreover, tobacco and its smoke have toxic chemicals that have a negative effect on the body. For example, the nicotine in tobacco alters the production of osteoblasts, the cells responsible for bone formation. Even though some people continue smoking because it is a way to relieve stress and relax, this habit is a destructive one for one’s health. And in the case of athletes and sportsmen, smoking can make their body weaker and more prone to injuries.
Conclusion
All sportsmen know that a healthy diet is important for their health and body shape. And when Parkour is your passion, you must ensure you keep your bones hardy and healthy. Have a consistent diet full of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C.
Include fruits such as kiwi, berries, or citrus fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Give up smoking and reduce your alcohol intake to protect the health and strength of your bones.
Parkour is a sports activity that frees you. It makes you more creative and it increases your motor skills. But it is also a challenging and risky activity, so choose to protect your bones from serious injuries by adopting healthy eating habits.
Author Bio: Leon Collier is a freelance writer and editor at a dissertation writing service from the UK. He loves to write about topics such as music, travel, nutrition. He enjoys reading and playing tabletop games on Saturday with his friends. Follow him on twitter @LeonCollier12.