Have you ever seen someone jumping crazily beside the railway track or throughout the city? Those people may be professional players practicing “parkour”. Parkour is a sport that values efficiency and speed. It requires you to get from one point to another as quickly as possible. The “free running” movement is similar but with some added aesthetics such as throwing, spinning, or some other form of movement. Next, we’ll tell you how to get started with both sports.

Self-Study

You’ll need the stamina to perform some of the most basic bodybuilding moves, such as push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and squats. These are the basis for practicing parkour. Experts suggest that before you officially start parkour, you need to be able to complete 25 push-ups, 5 pull-ups, and 50 full squats.

Landing and rotational movement exercises. Parkour involves a lot of vertical movement, and if you don’t know how to jump and land properly and safely, you’re going to have a painful fall when you complete a high jump. You also need to learn how to protect yourself after landing, such as forward rolls.

Jump drills, climbing drills. These harder drills are designed to allow you to navigate the city’s obstacles. With practice, you’ll figure out your preferred moves and develop a unique style in your practice.

Practice regularly. Parkour is the same as other sports. Regular practice can effectively improve the level, otherwise it is easy to become rusty. You should train at least 2 to 3 times a week, and make sure you practice basic skills while doing more difficult moves.

Apply methods of self-exploration. Begin to delve into the techniques you create, establish new ways of movement through experimentation, find new paths and environments to master these techniques, and complete the process of self-exploration. When you get into the zone, no one knows your body better than you.

Set a point and do whatever it takes to get there. Start at a slow and safe pace. Keep practicing and running between two points until you can completely control the terrain along the way. You will find that in the process, your speed and endurance will be greatly improved, and the transition between obstacles will become easier.

• This process can take hours, days, or even years depending on the path you choose, your talents, and a few other factors. But the most important thing is, no matter how slow the process is, keep at it. This approach is necessary for parkour and is fundamental to understanding the sport.

Develop your style. Approach obstacles in a unique way that suits your body and abilities. What works for others may not work for you. This is why you can’t rely on videos to learn parkour. Once you get past the mental hurdles and meet the general standards set by others, you can continue training in different directions if you prefer.

Group Training and Coaching

Train with other peers. Training with a small group (2-4 people) can breathe new life into your training life. New companions will provide you with new ideas on movement methods, handling of different paths, constructive criticism of your existing methods, and more. These suggestions help expand your possibilities for building on the style you’ve already established.

Make training a collaboration. Ideas are not static, and the standards set by individuals may not be suitable for everyone. Explore your mode between collaborations with friends. In other words, if you just start from scratch and imitate other people’s models, you will eventually discover in confusion that this method is not suitable for you.

• What needs to be noted is that although a large group of people practicing together may have the same effect as practicing with a few people, more often than not, when a large group of people “practice” together, it may not be practice, but a group of people chatting and hanging out together, or Everyone only pays attention to the obstacles that appear in front of them and ignores the training of skills. For parkour, enhancing self-discovery and exploration is a way to avoid losing time in group training. With more personal training experience, the trainer and his techniques will become unique.

Hire a parkour instructor. This is a great option for those who don’t know how to adjust themselves and avoid injury. But we still recommend trying self-experimentation first. If you rely on others for training too early, you run the risk that your training methods simply won’t work for you. In addition, you must choose a good coach. He can help you start training from basic skills and teach you how to protect yourself; at the same time, he can let you experience the process of exploring yourself and help you form your style. This is very different from inferior coaches who just want you to do things their way.

• Parkour is becoming more and more popular and more people are making money by becoming parkour instructors. Be wary of coaches who never offer free workouts. If you can contact coaches in the community who offer free classes, it may be of great help to you on your path to parkour.

General Methods for Continuing Parkour Training

Some surfaces may be more susceptible to damage. Be aware of the environment you come into contact with, as you may be held responsible for anything you damage while parkouring. Please carefully inspect the objects you are passing to avoid even minor damage. What’s more, some surfaces are slippery, brittle, or unstable, so you’ll need to watch your parkour route carefully beforehand. If you accidentally slip break or step on something, you may also fall, which will cause serious pain.

Prepare appropriate utensils. It doesn’t take much, all you need is a pair of running shoes and equipment that makes you feel comfortable while moving and practicing.

Determine the starting point and end point. You just need to set the starting point and end point of the path, and then you can choose the free way to move forward. Parkour is not a collection of “jumps, moves, and amazing performances.” But a way of moving. This approach is by no means set in stone. The best way to parkour is to try different paths from start to finish and find the most efficient and fastest.

Make movements smoother. This is an important criterion that distinguishes parkour players from general acrobats. “Flow” refers to the flawless connection and transition from one obstacle to another, as if the obstacle did not exist at all. It is not difficult to make your movements smooth. You only need to use the correct techniques to make every movement smooth, such as landing softly instead of falling or landing hard.

Exercise regularly. Make sure you are in optimal exercise condition. Parkour players often need to use all parts of their bodies to overcome obstacles, so it is important to keep their whole body healthy.

Practice often. Choose a venue where you can come and practice every day. A good site includes a variety of obstacles (walls, rails, etc.). Your overall goal should be to direct your body to creatively maneuver through a “massive” set of obstacles in every possible way.

Tips

• Exhaustion, hunger and thirst should be avoided before strenuous exercise, otherwise you may collapse due to exhaustion.
• Carry your cell phone with you as you will need it to call for help if you are seriously injured. This is especially important when you are alone.
• Don’t try an obstacle you’re not sure you can jump through.
• Watch your route carefully. You don’t want to climb over a wall only to find something sharp/poisonous/hot/fathomable on the other side.
• You need to be aware of the dangers of this type of training. If you are a beginner, stay off the roof and keep things within your control. One of the great rules of parkour is “slow but controlled” progress. Controllability means safety.
• The best judge is yourself. If you think something is beyond your capabilities or unusual, stop and ask for help.
• Don’t be disruptive when letting others try to make big jumps, or they may get frightened and fall.
• Before you jump or do other actions, make sure your belongings are secure and be careful to prevent your phone from slipping out when jumping.
• Be careful from the beginning as you may fall and get injured.