Forgot to post this a couple of weeks back, better late than never.
Its a tiny bbc interview when me and dave accidently crawled past the station then got later contacted to do a small interview, gets cut short of about 5 minutes though:
Been having some killer revision for exams as I'm sure a lot of people have, makes summer all the more delicious!
I have just been able to keep on top of my basic training with this months workload, and have been thinking about parkour a lot (as we all do) and about what constitutes training. Just come up with something for myself, that, at first glance looks extremely commonsense, but for me it is finally a way of seeing my components of how i want to/do train.
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If I were to build a kind of pyramid to my training it would be:
-Movement
-Drills
-Conditioning
-Strength
So, starting from the basics:
Strength Training:
This is the part which is where my focus is if I want a new skill concerning strength. Eg) could be more a one arm chin, planche, a certain amount of handstand pushups, whatever. It could be a group of targets concerning strength, but either way this is the component which is the focus of how to achieve that. Around this, I plan the exercises and routine in order to achive that skill, maybe some periodization or whatever. So for example, my strength training at the moment is by each day: legs/pulling movements/legs/pushing movements/repeat. So for legs for example, I'll do weighted pistols, isometrics, calf raises, weighted precisions etc. So its about getting a goal, then devising a solid plan to achieve it, and once its achieved, finding a new goal (of which there are plenty :) ).
Conditioning:
This compliments my strength training by just tiring out the muscle group I am training that day. For example, if I am training for a one arm chin (which im not), ill do weighted pullups, negatives, assisted chins, etc. At the end of this session of strength training, I will do a bunch of other movements which involve pulling such as loads of climbups, traversing, hanging, pullup max rep sets, muscle ups, etc.....all movements which emphasise the muscle group I am training that day for strength, just to wipe out the muscles at the end for (hopefully) better gains.
Drills:
This is where parkour specific movements are drilled over and over for embedding into the muscle memory. Movements like small drops concentrating on landing silent, rail precisions, passes etc. So for example, I would go to a particular rail precision and do it X amount of times, or do X amount of speed passes on both sides, over and over. Also circuits of combined movements, practicing transitions between movements. I must say that UF vol 3 stuck with me from when i watched it for the first time and this is one inspiration from it.
Movement:
This is where the benefits of the other 3 components are hopefully evident. This is the block of training which used to be almost solely how i practiced. Its like exploring, playing, experimenting, trying new things, and really progressing in terms of confidence and learning and performing newer and bigger movements. So unlike the old days when I used to just go out to 'train' in this way, this is only one quater of the equation for my training now. Its the part where I can do what I want and just move and experiment.
Throughout time the emphasis on each block can change. At the moment with exams it is something like 80% strength and conditioning with about 15% drills and 5% movement. The summer this may switch up with more emphasis on drills and movement, but I think it is a safe bet that about 40/50% should be on strength/conditioning at all times. If I had to have one, I would probably have the strength training because that is a matter of setting certain goals and the strength training is my means to achieve them, but then I also think that conditioning is just as essential so they are almost inseperable to me. Strength/conditioning are the bread and butter of my training, and I think it should be also for a lot of people.
Its the staple carbohydrate food which I compliment with some drills (protein) and some movement (essential fats) lol.
Ultimately I want to eat a lot of fat though because it tastes the best :P
Me and Dave just finished doing a two hour crawl through sheffield which was about 2 miles today.
Our hands were fairly trashed by grit and glass at the end with a few blisters swelling up and skin missing, but it was done and we were happy we did it.
In light of this, and the promise of more donations, I am going to crawl 4 miles instead of 2 on the 10th of august. Main things i need to concentrate on is getting leather hands and just keeping on training for the next 3 months,
cheers for the donations those who have donated already, everyone has shown huge generosity and compassion by the amount raised in just FOUR days. So thanks everyone,
take care,
This community supports PARKOUR, not COMPETITION -
Run Without Rivals!
The members of this community stand firmly against the idea of organized parkour competition.
Our reasons:
ONE:
We don't believe in elites.
We don't believe in any form of selection among practitioners.
We don't believe in the necessity of any form of hierarchy of performance among practitioners.
We believe to be "the best" doesn't mean anything in parkour, because winning or losing don't mean anything in parkour philosophy.We do not accept such a drive as part of the parkour philosophy.
Instead, we believe the drive to train should always and only come from within.We strive to be stronger for ourselves and others, not against people, but with and for others.Therefore, we reject and disregard any form of rivalry between practitioners.Instead, we value mutual respect and solidarity in making progress as individuals and as a community.
TWO:
We believe it stands against the philosophy of parkour to compete to win or earn anything that is not part of parkour values, such as medals, prizes, trophies, money, fame, recognition, or glory.
Same goes about showing off for a crowd.
Instead, we look for priceless and beneficial outcomes to our actions.We also look for benefits we all can share.
We are givers, not takers.
THREE:
Competition encourages the unready to sacrifice their health for early victories, or to reach a ranking that has no true meaning.
It forces elite competitors to constantly and repeatedly endanger their most precious good, health, because of obsession and obligation of victory, and whatever is at stake as a direct consequence of it, including money, rank or status, pride, and also professional or sponsoring contracts and profitable commercial deals.
It leads competitive practitioners to unbalance their training and focus only on the specific skills needed to win, leading to chronic injuries.D
espite official denials, doping is most of the time involved in every level of competition, that money is involved or not.
We believe the physical consequences of competing at high level goes against the philosophy of parkour which emphasizes on moderation and the necessity of enduring.
Instead, parkour is a humble, patient and lifelong discipline, and the human body requires incremental conditioning to ensure its resistance and longevity.Moderation is a truly important value of parkour and an indispensable quality in order to preserve oneself and for the body to endure.Therefore, we reject whatever goes against moderation and that impairs the body.
FOUR:
Parkour doesn't belong to corporations, sponsors, medias, and people sitting at home to watch.
We believe we must not accept activities and plans that are abusively called parkour, that misuse its name and hijack its image to draw public and medias attention to something that is NOT parkour, despite the resistance of the majority of the community against such intentions.
Instead, we affirm parkour is a non-competitive discipline that belong to all practitioners, to the local communities, to the teams and friends, and to the human race as a whole.
We believe we must stand together against ambitions that do not reflect the original philosophy of parkour and that are disrespectful to the parkour philosophy and the parkour community.
Competition is not inevitable - it is just another obstacle! Support original parkour, keep our discipline free!
(written by TK17/Erwan)
