Winter cold training

Now that we're finally getting some snow and cold, we can go back out and train in the bright, cold air! To train outside in the winter, though you need to remember a few things:

1. Wear layers, so you can take them off as you warm up and put them back on as you cool down. Nothing worse than getting drenched in sweat and then freeze.


2. Drink water while you train; with the cold you don't feel it, but you get dehydrated quickly.


3. Take it easy on the endurance exercises, and warm up your joints thoroughly before any strength or flexibility exercise.


4. Finish up with a big cup of hot chocolate!

Posture

An often ignored element of parkour training is to improve our general posture. Most of us lie somewhere close to the left side man on the picture, thanks to poor sitting habits and a desk & computer job. Without going to the excesses of the right side man (showing the equally bad military posture), we can stand (and sit) much better. Signs of a good posture are: 1) a straight spine; 2) forward-engaged hips; 3) shoulders rotated back. It should make you feel slightly taller, show off your muscular chest and perhaps seem a little constipated until you learn to relax into the posture.

To switch from lounging to straight posture, start with rotating your pelvis forward onto your hips. Your lower back will naturally straighten (and then arch back if you go too far). Then pull your head up, straightening your upper back, and finish with rotating your shoulders up, back and then down to open your chest. Take a deep breath, and try to relax without moving..

With a better posture, you can breathe better (your thorax is open, making it easier to fill your lungs with air), lower the amount of torsion on your spine (and associated back pain), maintain a strong torso when moving in parkour, and most importantly improve your looks!!

Rollin'

So, you've done a bit of training, and now your muscles are SORE. Do not despair, as there is a secret technique to make them happy again: the Foam Roller. The foam roller is a very, very simple piece of equipment, but an extremely effective one. Where to get one? on the internet, of course, and maybe at the local sports store. Choose the high density kind, which will hold longer. How to use it? put the roller on the ground, put the sore limb on top, and then roll gently back and forth while putting the weight of your body into it. Make sure you roll the entire muscle: if the front of your quadriceps, (close to the knee) is in pain, then you must roll the entire thing all the way to your hip to make the entire muscle relax. If you're not sure about this, have a look at an anatomy atlas, it helps figure out how it's all put together!

Parkour shoes

Many people ask about shoes. In fact, shoes are the only equipment you need for Parkour, so there's a fair deal of animated discussion on the internet over Parkour shoes. Here's our very personal recommendations:

• cheap shoes: Parkour is going to beat up your shoes rather fast, especially at the beginning. It's no use spending too much on a pair of fancy shoes until you know how long you can make them last.
• no plastic arch: many running shoes have a plastic support under the arch of the foot; those will hook on rails and make you slide to your doom. Don't do it. Continuous soles are safer.
• lighter is better: a thinner and flatter sole will allow you to feel the ground better and improve your grip. Thinner shoes have also more flexibility, while heavy shoes weight your feet down.

Beyond that, it's all about personal preference. We like the Feiyue wushu martial arts shoes because they're about 15€, ultra-thin and grippy, but they also absorb no impact whatsoever and you tear through the sole in a few months. Some have been happy with the Adidas Samba, which are sturdier and have a nice flat sole. Twio-X recommends the Kalenji Ekiden 50 from Decathlon, also for their low, low price. The Fivefinger barefooting shoes are cool but a bit too technical and expensive to my taste. There are many trail running (but not hiking!) shoes that are light and sturdy (we had some great La Sportiva, but they stopped making them) but once again pricey. You can find specialized Parkour and freerunning shoes from K-Swiss, FiveTen and others, also fairly expensive.

And in the end, the best way (but most challenging, and not recommended without a long and careful preparation) to train is barefoot!!