I’ve been watching a lot of parkour vids lately and I’m really impressed. Only problem is that the guys seem to be mostly skinny teenagers, which is fine (they’re adapted perfectly to their chosen sport). I, however, am not a skinny teenager. Even if I got myself super ripped I would still weigh north of 200 pounds.
So, do I have to give up my parkour dreams? I’m thinking I might have a shot if I take perfect care of my soft tissue and joints, eat a lot of supplements like chondroitin and MSM, train a lot of plyometrics to learn how to absorb shock, and get my bodyweight down as far as I can (which is around 215 realistically speaking).
Maybe try “free running” instead. I am 210 and did alot of free running for about year. Express yourself in free running - do some power things, like pulling up the face of of something instead of leaps. Do vaults instead of leaps.
[quote]AHA wrote:
I’ve been watching a lot of parkour vids lately and I’m really impressed. Only problem is that the guys seem to be mostly skinny teenagers, which is fine (they’re adapted perfectly to their chosen sport). I, however, am not a skinny teenager. Even if I got myself super ripped I would still weigh north of 200 pounds.
So, do I have to give up my parkour dreams? I’m thinking I might have a shot if I take perfect care of my soft tissue and joints, eat a lot of supplements like chondroitin and MSM, train a lot of plyometrics to learn how to absorb shock, and get my bodyweight down as far as I can (which is around 215 realistically speaking).
Your thoughts on this?[/quote]
Define ‘Parkour Dreams’. As far as I am aware, there is no professional Parkour league.
Hey man, if you’re really serious about getting in shape to do parkour, head over to www.urbanfreeflow.com and check out the forum on there. They have an excellent community and their fitness forum is top notch when it comes to parkour-specific training.
Define ‘Parkour Dreams’. As far as I am aware, there is no professional Parkour league.[/quote]
“And their off!!! The Blue Team is scaling the face of the Empire State Building at an unbelievable speed…Oh…Uhp…OH NO!!! three of the team just fell from 30 stories up!!..Now they are bouncing.”
“Bouncing, Bob?”
“Yes, bouncing. They hit the ground once, bounced 50 feet in the air, bounced one more time up to 30 feet…and now they’re dead, John. Yep…they’re dead.”
“Damn it, this is only year one of the National Parkour League and the Blue Team has been replaced six times, Bob. Was this a bad idea?”
This stuff does look cool to watch…but i cant imagine how you’d learn if you werent naturally talented at it. I’d imagine learning to be very painfull and demotivating, as i’m sure it would take time to manage the basic skills, let alown start fthrowing yourself off rooftops.
If your serious though, how do you handle your bodyweight? good vert? dips and chins easy?
[quote]-ironman- wrote:
This stuff does look cool to watch…but i cant imagine how you’d learn if you werent naturally talented at it. I’d imagine learning to be very painfull and demotivating, as i’m sure it would take time to manage the basic skills, let alown start fthrowing yourself off rooftops.
[/quote]
E:60 on ESPN had a segment on parkour sometime last year. It showed a beginner training class, and the training basically looked like playing around on a playgroud. Any jumping around was very low to the ground, and it gradually increased in amplitude.
My question might seem retarded but consider this: it is possible that above a certain weight you are able to do parkour, but you will be at increased risk for long term damage to your joints and such. There is of course also a weight ceiling above which you will get immediate damage to your body if you jump around too much, but that ceiling is probably much higher.
Investigating if the first ceiling exists and what weight it constitutes is the purpose of this thread. I hope that clears it up
As for getting strong enough to do parkour, I plan to train a lot of gymnastics type stuff (rings, planches, holds, stuff like that) as well as plyometrics before starting to do it. My main concern is whether I will be putting myself at risk for long term creeping injuries.
[quote]Zack Nelson wrote:
Maybe try “free running” instead. I am 210 and did alot of free running for about year. Express yourself in free running - do some power things, like pulling up the face of of something instead of leaps. Do vaults instead of leaps.[/quote]
[quote]Professor X wrote:
This post makes no sense. If you could do “parkour” (I had to look this shit up), then you would know whether your weight was an issue.
Further, if you have not done “parkour” what the hell makes you think you have the genetics and coordination to do it?
There is such a thing as innate ability. Everyone may practice at basketball, but not everyone can be Michael Jordan.[/quote]
I don’t believe in “innate ability”, aside from genetic limitations (height, tendon/ligament strength etc etc) skill in ANYTHING is a direct result of ones environment and how much they practice at it. I hold this belief after reading “Outliers” in which the reason Asians are good at math is explained, along with how people like Bill Gates were able to achieve their success. Nurture, whether intended or not >>>>>>>>> nature.
[quote]Doug Adams wrote:
Maximum weight depends on your height. Focus more on lowering your bodyfat% while getting stronger.[/quote]
Yeah, totally agree that the weight is relative for strength and body leverages. But is the same true for damage risk to joints? I would think that weight is somewhat absolute there. Ie above a certain cut-off, the risks of degenerative long term damage starts increasing a lot. But this is just my ad hoc theory, I am probably wrong
[quote]JLu wrote:
Professor X wrote:
This post makes no sense. If you could do “parkour” (I had to look this shit up), then you would know whether your weight was an issue.
Further, if you have not done “parkour” what the hell makes you think you have the genetics and coordination to do it?
There is such a thing as innate ability. Everyone may practice at basketball, but not everyone can be Michael Jordan.
I don’t believe in “innate ability”, aside from genetic limitations (height, tendon/ligament strength etc etc) skill in ANYTHING is a direct result of ones environment and how much they practice at it. I hold this belief after reading “Outliers” in which the reason Asians are good at math is explained, along with how people like Bill Gates were able to achieve their success. Nurture, whether intended or not >>>>>>>>> nature.[/quote]
There are probably some innate parkour ability variables, just like there is with bodybuilding and powerlifting. However, that is no reason to have self-limiting beliefs and not to do those things. Just like you say, training is the key to excellence. I believe that book mentions the number 10 000 hours. However, I believe one can become skillful in much less time, applying 80/20 principles and being sure to work smarter, not harder (hehe, I sound like a personal development cliche).
