A Different Look on Training: Week 8
By Eric Higgins
The last two week of my 365 day parkour challenge were interesting because my structure and schedule were different. I've been busy with other stuff in life and the parkour community which caused my schedule to be different than the normal workouts I do. I still got the exercise however. This week has been an eye opener to me because of how it was different. I went to different open gyms and a class', and I got exercise while i was there. I was also able to work on things in a different way then I usually do. Because if what happened these last two weeks it has reconfirmed one of my favorite things of parkour. That is, how parkour doesn't feel like a workout most of the time, this is because of the amount of fun it is.
To begin parkour in reality is a way to be active. I remember when I first began parkour it was all about having fun and exploring. I trained mostly on my own so I would just see what I could do. As I met more people who did parkour I saw the same aspect in a Jam format. I would take my personal training time to work on things I learned and new stuff I wanted to train. It wasn't until a year into my training that I specifically began strength building to get stronger so I could accomplish greater movement. Parkour is still fun, there is just another level of structure in working out that balances and enhances my original ideas of parkour.
I was able to exercise in a different way this last week becauseof my friends who showed me different things they have thought of and have been working on. It opened up my parkour eyes. One example from this last week is when I went to a Trampoline Gym. There are quite a few in my area, but I have not had the chance to go to them as much as some of my friends. Some of the different things I worked on while I was there was a low cast back onto the tramp, a Kong gainer as well as my Webster's. More specifically I was able to plant my foot on the vertical part of the wall and Webster up on to the box I planted my foot on. Another example was when I went to our local gym, we did some different bar work I have never done before.
One thing that really has stood out to me as something different is, I began assistant teaching at the same local gym. This brought on a whole load of different experiences. It can be hard working with the kids and trying to get them to progress. One thing we did different for the kids in the class is set up a obstacle course to get them to work out. They really enjoyed this, and it added a level of fun on top of the structure of the class.
Twice in the last two weeks I also was on set filming a Splinter Cell video. It is a project we have been working on with the Warialasky YouTube channel. Its a small project but they are very professional. as part of it we all took basic Kav Maga lessons which Sam the main character uses to take down all the bad guys. We trained in Kav so we knew how to get taken out. The video should be out this week so find it on there channel or through the link below...
So that is how the last 2 weeks have been. Hopefully the weather is warmer soon. I'm tired of the snow... let me outside weather. While I was writing part of this weeks post it snowed.
Next week I plan on showing you in video what kinds of Parkour Arm workouts I have been doing as part of the Challenge.
Also look forward to a video showing some of my parkour from the month of February.
-HiggiE
