Natural Development
People often find themselves at a point where they do not feel like they are at all improving. If one finds themselves in this position it is important to look back across their parkour pathway and realise the large improvements that they may have made.
One way to conquer this feeling is to look at something I like to call ‘Natural Development’; this is where a Tracer/FreeRunner advances in a certain area just by constantly practicing and repeating simple movements.
A good example of this is the baby to toddler stages. Within about one year a baby will advance from lying down to crawling, to walking, then running, and finally jumping all in the short space of a year.
A Tracer/FreeRunner needs to know what they interpret as a basic or simple movement. This varies widely and is specific to each and every person but once you have found this out it will be a lot easier to work on improving. If you set yourself simple, challenging yet achievable targets whilst training you will be surprised at the rate that you emerge from this plateau. Here are some examples that I have used frequently in recent training: 100 fairly challenging precision jumps (with focus on height and silence) or 50 split legged kong vaults (working on distance and control). Obviously these are just examples so adapt the quantities, movements and areas of focus to your way. This technique is effective and is really refreshing to feel your muscles work under the pressure of these new challenges.
So if ever the feeling of ‘slow improvement’ approaches you; spend some time on replaying and advancing your ‘basic’ movements and the rest will come naturally.
Work hard, have fun and keep on training!
One way to conquer this feeling is to look at something I like to call ‘Natural Development’; this is where a Tracer/FreeRunner advances in a certain area just by constantly practicing and repeating simple movements.
A good example of this is the baby to toddler stages. Within about one year a baby will advance from lying down to crawling, to walking, then running, and finally jumping all in the short space of a year.
A Tracer/FreeRunner needs to know what they interpret as a basic or simple movement. This varies widely and is specific to each and every person but once you have found this out it will be a lot easier to work on improving. If you set yourself simple, challenging yet achievable targets whilst training you will be surprised at the rate that you emerge from this plateau. Here are some examples that I have used frequently in recent training: 100 fairly challenging precision jumps (with focus on height and silence) or 50 split legged kong vaults (working on distance and control). Obviously these are just examples so adapt the quantities, movements and areas of focus to your way. This technique is effective and is really refreshing to feel your muscles work under the pressure of these new challenges.
So if ever the feeling of ‘slow improvement’ approaches you; spend some time on replaying and advancing your ‘basic’ movements and the rest will come naturally.
Work hard, have fun and keep on training!