I bet that without much effort, you could tell me exactly where your yoga mat and foam roller are. I bet you could also quickly find your lacrosse balls and voodoo bands. The idea of having a daily mobility practice has been never been as popular as it is today. Thanks to Kelly Starrett, everyone …
2 Static Holds For Better Parkour Vaults
In the parkour world, to vault an obstacle means that you jump over something using one or two hands for brief upper body support. Think of how you might quickly hop over a low gate. You might let a foot touch down, but in general both feet clear the obstacle without contact. From beginner moves …
Shoulder Flag Tutorial
Holding yourself above the ground in a flag position is an amazing sensation. Imagine being able to soar above the earth like Superman, while also being able to rip a telephone pole from the ground like the Hulk. It is weightlessness and pure strength combined into a single drill. In this tutorial, I am going to …
3 Reasons Why Parkour Should Replace Gymnastics in Schools
The 2016 school year marks an important milestone for the history of physical education. Earlier this summer, American Parkour announced that parkour would replace gymnastics in Washington DC middle schools. That is huge news! From its debut on French televisions 20 years ago, to becoming a taxpayer-funded PE class, the sport has gained immense respect. …
Muscle as padding: One more reason to do your strength training
Hit the heavy bag. Drop to the floor for a push-up marathon. Flip over for 300 crunches. That is how we finished every class at Chavez Kickboxing. I trained there for a few months, while grinding through my physical therapy pre-reqs in Albuquerque. I LOVED stress-release of those workouts. The sparring boosted my confidence, and …
Achilles Tears and Parkour
Hearing your body pop unexpectedly is an athlete’s worst nightmare. It happened to me once when I was 15 years old. I went to toss a front flip during gymnastics practice, and as soon as I punched the ground, my leg popped like a mini thunderclap. After crashing on the spring floor, I looked down to …
Parkour Gym List
In recent years, the number of parkour gyms across the world has increased dramatically. The USA has the highest number of gyms of any country, but other areas are experiencing growth as well. To be included in the list below, a facility has to be primarily focused on parkour and have permanent structures for obstacle negotiation. Exclusion …
A parkour mecca: APEX Movement – Boulder
Pack your bags. Load the car. Get on a flight. Do whatever you have to do, to get yourself to Boulder, CO. The APEX Movement flagship gym there is beyond epic: It’s a mecca for parkour athletes. As some of you may know, I got to hang out there for a few days earlier this …
Natural Born Heroes Book Review
A scream stirs you awake. It’s the middle of the night and you open your window to find the neighboring apartment building ablaze. People are in trouble. They need you. Kids need to be carried down the fire escape. A grandmother needs help exiting the building. What do you do? Rush to the rescue, of …
Playing with the Elements
It doesn’t take a genius to recognize how the weather impacts your training. A recent rainfall demands precaution with jumping and landing. Two feet of snow obscures common obstacles. An ice storm might push your training to a covered area, someplace unglazed by frozen water. As parkour athletes, we pursue our craft in the elements, …