Why do you want to build strength parkour? Do you find conventional exercise boring? Or are you just a fan of parkour? If so, we are going to share with you some of the best ways to get your body moving without having to go to the gym twice or thrice in a week.

Parkour involves moving through obstacles in your environment naturally and efficiently. The practitioners of parkour usually climb, vault, or jump over obstacles in their environment. The goal is to get to the desired destination as efficiently as possible.

In parkour, you move through obstacles in whatever way that suits you best at the moment. In short, there is no code or prescribed method for doing anything.

Parkour is not freerunning

Parkour and freerunning are often used interchangeably because they have lots of similarities. However, there is a slight difference.

Parkour is all about getting through obstacles in your environment as efficiently as you can by jumping, vaulting, or swinging. You don’t have to spin, flip, or perform any form of acrobatics. On the other hand, freerunning is not entirely focused on efficiency. You can include a variety of cool movements. So, when you see someone flipping and spinning that’s freerunning. If they are just vaulting or jumping over obstacles, they are doing parkour.

Are you too old for parkour?

Anyone can get through obstacles in their environment. Think of parkour as a mindset that helps you get through obstacles in different situations and moments. When you develop a traceurs’ eye, you’ll start seeing different ways to get around obstacles depending on the conditions.

There are some conditions that you cannot control. For instance, is it dry, wet, cool, or sunny? If you ignore these conditions, you may find yourself lying in a hospital bed. The conditions that you can control are related to your body and mind. Are you feeling hungry, tired, fresh, or distracted? While training, you can control these conditions.

Parkour benefits

There are a lot of reasons why you should practice parkour:

• It’s fun: In parkour, the world around you is like a huge playground. It’s always fun to discover new ways to get through obstacles in your environment. Parkour awakens your inner child that has been dormant for years and just wants to explore the world without limits.
• It’s a great exercise: You are going to swing, jump, run and climb. Parkour allows you to have a full-body workout that improves your body’s coordination and awareness.
• It’s a challenge: To get through obstacles in your environment, you’ll have to push yourself mentally and physically. In the beginning, you might not have the ability to perform certain moves, However, with time, you’ll have the strength and coordination to master anything you want. You’ll face a wide range of obstacles that will be difficult to surmount. However, if you dig deep within, you’ll realize that you can push yourself beyond your limits. As you overcome these challenges, other aspects of your life will naturally improve.
• You’ll make new friends: Parkour is a social activity. It’s usually done in groups. And most parkour groups are usually supportive. It’s not about competition but to have a great time and help participants improve.

Building strength for parkour

1.     Air squat

The air squat is an important movement pattern that you should master seriously before jumping, squatting, or landing seriously. A good squat is one of the keys to safe and solid landings. However, it’s usually overlooked because it’s basic or boring.

Practicing good squats will improve the quality of your life. Squatting will improve your performance, help you mitigate injury, and become a badass elderly who can move like a teenager. You should aim at developing a full squat. If you cannot go any lower, keep working slowly until your mobility improves.

2.     Monkey plant

The monkey plant is a challenging but practical movement that is useful for building upper body and leg strength. Think of this exercise as a burpee that’s obstacle based. When you use the object to cover extra vertical space than a normal jump, you’ll be using more energy. Once you get through the obstacle, the monkey plant will bring you to a standing or squatting position. As you practice, you’ll have the ability to get through difficult progressions.

3.     Knees to elbow

Knees to elbow offers a full-body workout. The bar skills require an explosive chest to knee tuck. To improve at pullovers, underbars, laches, and kips, you need to learn to lift your legs and support your torso using your abs and hips. When you master this movement, you’ll have an easy time vaulting, back flipping, and jumping.

4.     Wall handstand

The handstand is one of the most important gymnastics and parkour strength training exercises. The wall handstand enhances body tension, increases upper body strength, balance, and spatial awareness. Plus, it’s one of the best ways to control your body while facing upside down. You can easily learn how to spin and flip.

However, it can be frustrating and scary to try this exercise as a beginner. To perform it safely and master it, you need to befriend the walls. Lean on the wall when practicing until you position yourself in the right way and promote better habits.

5.     Broad jump

One of the best power movements of parkour strength training is broad jumping. In the world of parkour, this move is applied to improve landings, leaps, and gap jumps. The broad jump offers a full-body workout that boosts strength, power, and enhances coordination and mobility. Most coaches from the NFL use the broad jump when assessing their athletes.

6.     Soft landing from vertical jump

This is an essential parkour move that helps you land safely from vertical jumps. Vertical jumps build jumping power while soft landing enhances leg strength and improves the skills needed to improve safe landings. Landing softly or silently is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your techniques and improve your ability to absorb impact softly.

7.     Pull-ups

Kipping pulls up is a common parkour movement that you should perform to build your strength. However, you should first learn how to perform the dead hang pull up. It’s one of the simplest and most effective ways to build upper body strength needed for swinging, brachiating, climbing, and traversing. Once you are capable of doing five to ten dead hangs, you’ll have an easy time practicing other complex movements such as gymnastics, kipping pull-up, and muscle up to name a few.

8.     Quadrupedal moves

The quadrupedal move is a favorite move to most traceurs because it not only builds strength but it’s also a practical skill. The simplest form of the Quadrupedal move is reciprocation forward-moving variation. It strengthens the entire body and helps in developing coordination and balance. Generally, this move is useful when you are trying to get through obstacles.

Conclusion

There are a lot of groups and online classes on parkour that will help you learn a wide range of moves that will build your strength and improve coordination. Don’t be afraid to seek help.

Author bio:

Tiffany Harper is a journalist and an experienced writer from New York, USA. The range of her interests is wide: education, career, technologies, dissertation writing services. You can find Tiffany on Twitter if she is not working on research for AssignmentHolic.