Hello, I want to do Parkour.

[Rejectedturtle123]

Hello friends. I've been on this site for awhile and I've introduced myself before, but I fell off the wagon almost immediately because I got a job in construction and it kicked my ass. Well, it's still kicking my ass, but now I've gotten more used to it. 

 

The other night, I had a vivid dream that I was incredibly proficient at parkour. I was climbing all over an old church, jumping and landing and vaulting and climbing with grace and power. You see, I dabbled with parkour a few years back, but my friends and I all fell out of it after a while and I've always regretted that. In this dream, I was everything I aspired to be back when I was actively training. It feels more like a memory of something I did last week than a dream, honestly. 

 

I've tailored my workouts over the last few weeks to better meet my PK goals and now going to the gym is finally exciting for me. I've been vaguely working towards getting back into PK, but this recent dream has completely revitalized me and I'm more ready than ever. 

 

My goals are to establish a good foundation of strength and flexibility so that when I do get into PK, I'll have the power necessary to do all the cool moves and tricks that tripped me up in the past. 

 

Some personal info: I'm a 19 year old guy, I live in Colorado, and I'm already suffering the early stages of male pattern baldness but I look pretty decent with a shaved head so at least I have that going for me. 

[PaulG]

You might find this interesting. I can vouch for the school, I know several of the instructors at the Boulder location.

 

http://www.apexmovement.com/locations/

[svilardo2]

Hey there! Here's the cool part - when you have dreams like that (or even use visualization techniques) your brain sends messages to your muscles so they act like they are actually going through the motions. Ever woke up with a charlie horse when running away from a bad guy? Yep...your muscles thought you were actually running. Sure, definitely not a substitute for actual exercise, but you do get extra experience points for muscle memory.

 

So keep dreaming and get back out there. That's the best thing about Parkour (and being an Assassin) - any time, anywhere.

[Balthazar]

Hey man, welcome to the forums

Do you have some cool parkour based workouts planned out?

[Rejectedturtle123]

Hey man, welcome to the forums

Do you have some cool parkour based workouts planned out?

 

Indeed I do!

 

At the moment, I'm just doing selective weight lifting to build my strength, i'm putting off skill work until I have a bit more power behind my movements. It's a basic 3 day split, with a back/bicep day, chest/tricep day, and leg day. I've been continually changing my routine to better train myself (for example, I just added dumb bell overhead presses to build my handstand muscles, and I changed my wide grip lat pulls to close grip to better simulate a climb up). 

[Rejectedturtle123]

You might find this interesting. I can vouch for the school, I know several of the instructors at the Boulder location.

 

http://www.apexmovement.com/locations/

I've always wanted to try Apex, but unfortunately I don't live anywhere near one of their locations. I think there's a new gym called Path Movement opening in my area in a week or two, maybe I'll check them out in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[Amp]

Welcome! I'm also looking to get into parkour eventually so I love following other newbies with similar interests to get inspired and find ideas. Good luck on your quest!

[Rejectedturtle123]

Welcome! I'm also looking to get into parkour eventually so I love following other newbies with similar interests to get inspired and find ideas. Good luck on your quest!

Thanks very much. As a matter of fact, today I just had my first legit training sesh in I don't even know how long. Like I said in the post, I have a little background in PK, and it was crazy how naturally some of the moves came back to me after years of inactivity; it's like riding a bike. 

 

Best of luck on your quest as well, maybe some day we'll see each other on the roof tops!

[svilardo2]

Just wanted to check in and see how your quest was going. How are those new shoes working out for you and what kind did you get?

[Rejectedturtle123]

Just wanted to check in and see how your quest was going. How are those new shoes working out for you and what kind did you get?

It's going okay, I'm actually leaving in a few minutes for leg day. The shoes are unfortunately a size too big and my family apparently threw out the box it came in so I guess I'm stuck with them, but I'll make it work. I got a pair of Dunlop Volleys, they're running shoes from Australia. They're super thin and it hurts like hell walking around in them but my feet will get stronger so it's all good. The sole is a solid piece of rubber around the edge with a weird plastic-y interior. Hopefully the shoes will last a while since the sole is basically just one solid piece.

[Rejectedturtle123]

It's going okay, I'm actually leaving in a few minutes for leg day. The shoes are unfortunately a size too big and my family apparently threw out the box it came in so I guess I'm stuck with them, but I'll make it work. I got a pair of Dunlop Volleys, they're running shoes from Australia. They're super thin and it hurts like hell walking around in them but my feet will get stronger so it's all good. The sole is a solid piece of rubber around the edge with a weird plastic-y interior. Hopefully the shoes will last a while since the sole is basically just one solid piece.

Actually, I take back what I said about the shoes being too big. I think the issue is that I'm used to training in thicker basketball shoes with a lot of ankle support, whereas these shoes are basically canvas attached to a rubber sole. My feet feel like they're rolling inside the shoe because there's much more flex in the canvas than in my last shoes. It's a big change in footwear, that's for sure

[Amp]

Best of luck on your quest as well, maybe some day we'll see each other on the roof tops!

 

 

Actually, I take back what I said about the shoes being too big. I think the issue is that I'm used to training in thicker basketball shoes with a lot of ankle support, whereas these shoes are basically canvas attached to a rubber sole. My feet feel like they're rolling inside the shoe because there's much more flex in the canvas than in my last shoes. It's a big change in footwear, that's for sure

 

Looks like you're off to a great start! Any good resources for someone starting out in PK. I checked out the beginners guide on the NF website and the APK beginner's page, but it's kind of overwhelming and I'm not sure where to start.  I'm working on my overall fitness at the moment, but I wanted to start incorporating some beginner rolls into my next 6 week challenge. (I like to think ahead to stay motivated)

 

Also interested to hear how the Dunlops work out for you as you get more use to them.  I was looking into these Feiyues.  They were recommended by APK and are inexpensive.  

[svilardo2]

Actually, I take back what I said about the shoes being too big. I think the issue is that I'm used to training in thicker basketball shoes with a lot of ankle support, whereas these shoes are basically canvas attached to a rubber sole. My feet feel like they're rolling inside the shoe because there's much more flex in the canvas than in my last shoes. It's a big change in footwear, that's for sure

 

I have a pair of Kwon shoes. They are also cheap and I really like how light they are. They are for marital arts, but I think they are pretty sweet. I am going to have to check out the Feiyues though. I just read the review and they look pretty solid!

[Rejectedturtle123]

Looks like you're off to a great start! Any good resources for someone starting out in PK. I checked out the beginners guide on the NF website and the APK beginner's page, but it's kind of overwhelming and I'm not sure where to start.  I'm working on my overall fitness at the moment, but I wanted to start incorporating some beginner rolls into my next 6 week challenge. (I like to think ahead to stay motivated)

 

Also interested to hear how the Dunlops work out for you as you get more use to them.  I was looking into these Feiyues.  They were recommended by APK and are inexpensive.  

I'm liking the Dunlops so far. Like I said, whenever I take a landing it feels like my foot is rolling inside the shoe, but I'm attributing that to how flexible they are and how much I need to improve my technique. I've adopted them as my general purpose walking shoes, it's a good way to strengthen up my feet and ankles before I really mess them up while training. 

 

As for resources, my best friend in the whole wide world has been Youtube. One of the biggest reasons I fell out of the PK community a few years ago was because it had become swollen with a lot of cocky douchers, and in a lot of ways that's still true. Especially since I live in Colorado, it's hard to find someone vested in PK who isn't also a stoner or just someone I'd rather not spend time with. With Youtube, I get to skip a lot of that nonsense and get good tutorials straight from people who have a legitimate interesting in bettering themselves and helping others do the same.

 

I'd also suggest looking around online to see if there's any PK classes in your area. If you can afford the time and money, it's a great way to really speed up your progress. Personally, my money's all being saved up to buy a house a year or two down the road, so I'm just training myself with generous help from the internet. If you're a part of the APK forums, you could also find your state in their forums and see if anybody is actively training in your area. For now I'm content with training alone, but I know there's lots of people on APK looking to build a training community, and beginners are always welcome with open arms. If you run into roadblocks there, just keep focusing on general fitness, and when that 6 week challenge comes up work on landing and rolling. If you can drill those two skills until they're permanently etched into your brain matter, then the whole PK world is your oyster. 

 

Hope to hear about your progress, I'm always interested in learning from other beginners!

 

Edit: I'd be careful of Feiyues. I've read a couple reviews saying that they fall to pieces after a few hard sessions. Then again, I bought my Volleys completely on a whim, so I guess it doesn't matter either way, haha! Let me know if you get the Feiyues, I'd like to hear how they hold up.