Parkour strength exercises: Top 5 to get stronger
Whether you are mad about parkour or feel the basic moves are boring, strength training for parkour is the only way to enter the advanced level. Getting physical and mental strength is a must to perform those advanced parkour skills to get through any obstacles in the environment. And strength training brings the opportunity to be prepared to face any challenge.
Following, we have mentioned five of the simplest yet most effective parkour moves that are ideal for parkour strength training. These will help improve parkour skills safely and efficiently.
Building strength for parkour
There are the most common parkour moves that can effectively build your strength through parkour:
Monkey plant
This move is slightly challenging yet practical to build upper body and leg strength. You can also consider this exercise a burpee, which is obstacle-based. During this move, the traceurs need to use the object to cover a large vertical space compared to the normal jump. This way, the traceurs consume more energy.
During getting through the obstacle, this monkey plant move brings the trainer to a squatting or standing position. So, by practicing this parkour move, the traceurs get the ability to handle difficult progressions.
Soft landing from vertical jump
This parkour move helps to land safely after vertical jumps. The vertical jumps improve the jumping power and the soft landings build the leg strength. Combining these moves, the traceurs get the ability to land safely.
Landing silently is one of the effective ways to improve parkour skills and enhance the ability to absorb the impact gently.
Pull-ups
It is a common parkour strength and an effective way to build strength. But before practicing this pull-up move, the traceurs need to learn to do the dead hang pull-up. This move will build upper body strength, which is essential for brachiating, swinging, traversing, and climbing.
After you can easily perform 5–10 dead hangs, you can progress to more complex movements such as gymnastics, muscle ups, and kipping pull ups.
Quadrupedal moves
This quadrupedal move is one of the most popular among traceurs as it helps build both strength and practical skill. It also strengthens the whole body to improve balance and coordination. A quadrupedal move is also an effective way to get through obstacles.
Air squat
You should become a master of this air squat before you try squatting, jumping, or landing. A good ability to do air squats will let you land safely and solidly. However, many traceurs overlook it as they feel it’s boring or basic.
Practicing air squatting also helps improve quality of life while squatting improves performance. A traceur should be targeted to achieve full squatting ability. But if you can’t go any lower, keep practicing slowly till you see improvement.
A few exciting benefits of Parkour
Parkour is beneficial for both mental and physical health. Some of the benefits worth mentioning are:
Parkour is fun
The traceurs use the whole world as a huge playground during parkour. It offers an opportunity to discover new ways to beat obstacles in the environment. Parkour helps wake up the inner child to explore the world without limitation.
Great exercise
In parkour, the traceurs need to perform jumps, swings, runs, and climbs. It allows full-body workouts to improve the awareness and coordination of the body.
Boost confidence to face challenges
The traceurs need to push themselves physically and mentally to conquer obstacles in the environment. At the initial stage, the traceurs can’t do certain moves. But as time goes on, the traceurs get the strength and coordination to perform any desired move. And these abilities come out as life savers during emergencies and unexpected situations.
Allow making new friends
Parkour is a social sport and mostly needs to be performed in groups. So, parkour brings the opportunity to find a supportive group. Along with spending a great time, these benefits help improve the ability of each participant.
Things to consider before starting any parkour moves
Anybody can get through surrounding obstacles in the environment. Parkour helps get through any obstacle in different moments and conditions. After getting a traceur’s eye, you will see the obstacles differently, making it easier to get through.
However, there are some conditions you can’t control. For example, you can’t do anything if the environment is wet, dry, cool, or sunny. Unfortunately, avoiding these conditions can admit you to a hospital. But the things you can control are your mindset and body.
FAQs
What muscles do you need for parkour?
The muscles engaged during parkour training are the shoulders, back, and arms. The traceurs also balance the musculature, making the pulling muscles vital for parkour. And the traceurs also can’t avoid pushing muscles.
Can a fat man do parkour?
Of course. It may sound strange, but many fat men practice parkour. After all, parkour is all about movement and improving it.
Are parkour and freerunning the same?
Many people use the terms “parkour” and “freerunning” interchangeably as both have plenty of similarities. Still, they have a few differences as well. Parkour is about getting through obstacles in the environment efficiently by vaulting, jumping, or swinging.
It does not require any flipping, spinning, or performing acrobatics. Conversely, freerunning doesn’t compactly focus on efficiency and includes a range of cool movements like spinning and flipping.
Final words
Apart from practicing those parkour moves, you can also join a group or online class to perform strength training for parkour. Remember, parkour has a wide range of moves that can improve your strength.
So don’t fret about asking for help learning whenever you get a chance. Strength training is a must for performing parkour moves safely and appropriately, avoiding injuries. It also improves confidence so the traceurs can take on challenges to improve their parkour skills.
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