This week I've had to do an enormous amount of maths and physics in preparation for Oxfords entrance exams. However in my down-time I've been trying to get myself ready to roll again as soon as I can. I've been doing mobility and flexibility work and some gentle grip work and things like that that I can do safely. In myself, I had about 4 very bad days where I was back on tramadol because the pain came back, thankfully it's gone again for the past two days. But, mostly, I feel good, just really getting rather frustrated. Last night I put on my running kit and my rucksack for the first time in ages, I wanted nothing more than to run out the front door and head for open country. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
EDIT: Also, please support my good friend Luke in his own charity challenge here.
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Running armjump from behind the rail, taken by Ben Anderson
A blog to chart my progress and achievements as I train. I train predominantly in the art of parkour but I also do some tricking and buildering too.
Me
Running armjump from behind the rail, taken by Ben Anderson
Blog Archive
About Me
- Alistair
- I have been practicing parkour since around September 2003 but only since September 2005 have I really started to take it seriously, since then I've become a bit of a fanatic. I have also been into rock climbing in all its forms since lateish 2006 thanks to Hollie. I'm 6ft 1, have brown hair, blue/green eyes and I'm a gemini.
My Stuff
- Shoes: K-Swiss Ariake
- Clothes: Trace, Nike, Under Armour
- Climbing Shoes: 5.10 Anasazi Lace-Up
- Climbing Stuff: Rapidly getting too much to list!
- Rucksack: Berghaus 64Zero or Vango Pumori 2
- Hydration: Platypus Big Zip II 3 litre
- First Aid Kit: Life Systems Compact
2 comments:
I've just learned about parkour and am trying to build up my stamina and flexibility before I do anything hardcore and break my shin. I'd love to know what you mean by grip and mobility work; is that like chin-ups and jogging?
Not really, no. A good starting point for mobility is this: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1778726. I have to admit, this is something I'd neglected and assumed my normal flexibility stretching would cover until fairly recently. But, those are some simple, quick exercises you can easily do and you'll definatley feel the benefits. Joint mobility is something traceurs have a habit of testing regularly when moving so it's a good idea to be prepared.
As for grip, that's more relevant to me because I'm a rock climber too. But, I do things such as squeezes with a grip trainer (though a tennis ball will work too) and wrist curls with light weights. Also try hanging from and doing pullups on smaller edges. The best way to develop strength like that is just to climb. I wouldn't say it's hugely important for the traceur but it's helpful. There's plenty of ideas in this article: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1411503
Any more questions, feel free to ask, it's good that you want to get strong before you jump right in. Pullups are definatley a good place to start because they're a good exercise but also a key component of several movements in parkour too. You also want some dips/pressup varients in there to develop pressing strength. Leg-wise, you want to be working squats (quads) and also trying to get some hamstring exercises in to strengthen the posterior chain. A strong core is also important, situps, stomach crunches, hyperextensions and other exercises like that are a good place to start. Remember, you can never be too strong for parkour. http://www.frixo.com/sites/fitness/exercises.html has a large selection of bodyweight exercises to chose from, these should help you get started, to develop strength you want to be shooting for exercises that are really making you work, perhaps 3-5 reps till failure but a bit of higher-rep endurance work won't go amiss either. Good luck!
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