Body
If you’ve only ever been doing
Freerun/Parkour training then the issue of conditioning has
probably arisen. As with any other athlete you need to understand
the need to condition your body for the rigors of play or competition.
Little or no physical preparation for Freerun/Parkour simply
predisposes you to injury and ultimately, stifles untapped potential.
Proper strength and conditioning can facilitate your development
as a practitioner. For the beginner almost any kind of training
will yield an improvement. The type of program you follow will
affect the training adaptations you achieve, so following a
bodybuilding or powerlifting workout wouldn’t be the best
course of action for obvious reasons.
I’m commonly asked for beginner workouts and how to start
training forFreerun/Parkour, so I’ve come up with a series
of fun workouts designed to train the different strength facets
required. Each “animal” set up has a set of goals
to achieve so that when you hit those goals you move towards
the next stage so here are the Gibbon, Chimp and Gorilla templates.
These are just simple ‘templates’ to give an idea
of goal setting and structuring workouts but also a sense of
progress. See where your strength targets lay and see what workout
you match up too.
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The Gibbon
The Gibbon is aimed at the beginner who wants to try conditioning
work for the first time. With primarily bodyweight movements
and low equipment needs, most people who begin strength
and conditioning programs are often gymless. This is no
obstacle to improving strength and conditioning though.
Goals for the Gibbon
6+Pull-ups.
10+ Inverted Rows.
4+ Pistol Squats each leg.
30 push ups in a minute.
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Workout A
A. Push ups or Bench press (weight you can life for 15-20
reps) 3-4 sets of as many reps as possible stopping 1
rep before failure resting 1-2 minutes between sets.
B. Pull-ups 3 sets of as many reps as possible stopping
1 rep before failure resting 2-3 minutes between sets.
C. Pistol squats 2-3 sets of as many reps as possible
stopping 1 rep before failure on each leg resting 2-3
minutes between sets.
D. Bodyweight Tricep extensions 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
Workout B
A.1 The Gibbon.
The exercise from which the workout gains its name, essentially
your lifting your self pull ups style with two arms and
lowering your self with one as slowly as possible. It
is one of the main challenges of the program 4-6 sets
of 1 gibbons on each arm.
or
A.2 Isometric Pull ups Pulling yourself up or jumping
up into the top position of the pull up and hold that
position for as long as possible. 6-10 sets of holds.
B. Inverted Row 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
C. Romanian Deadlifts or Glute Ham Raises 3-4 sets of
8-12 reps.
D. Bicep Curl variation, Zottoman curls, 2-3 sets of 6-10
reps.
E. Sit-up Variation 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps.
Workout Coverhead Squats
Using a broom handle/barbell/sandbag/rucksack filled with
stuff, be sure to keep your heels down and your back straight.
4 sets of 6-10 reps.
Kneeling Squat jumps 8 sets of 3 reps.
Overhead press variation 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
Bicep or Triceps Variation 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps.
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The Chimp - Intermediate
If you achieve the goals of the gibbon or your more experienced
and want to start with something a little more challenging
you can move onto the ‘Chimp’. At this point
I expect the trainee to have some basic equipment or a
gym membership. Here the loads get heavier and the workload
gets larger. Were as the Gibbon was about introducing
hypertrophy and strength endurance, the focus here is
improving our Maximal strength with optional speed conditioning
workouts.
Goals for the Chimp10+Pull-ups.
15+ Inverted Rows.
8+ Pistol Squats each leg.
40 push ups in a minute 75%-100% BW (bodyweight) bench
press 150% BW Deadlift.
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Workout A
A. Bench Press or weighted/suspended Push ups, focus
on explosively 2-3 warm-up then sets 3 sets of 3 reps
using a weight you can lift for 4-6 reps.
B. Dumbbell Bench Press or Weighted Push up Variation
3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.
C. Pull ups/chin ups 3-4 sets 8-12 reps.
D. Plate or Barbell Front Squats/Over head or Front Squat
Lunges 2-3 sets 8-12 reps.
Workout B
A. Deadlift or Trap Bar Deadlift 2-3 warm up sets followed
by 3-5 sets of 3 reps using weight you can lift for 5-6
reps.
B. Inverted Row 3-4 sets of as many reps as possible stopping
1-2 before failure.
C. Overhead Press or bodyweight tricep extensions 2-3
sets of 8-12 reps.
D. Goodmornings or Glute Ham Raises 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps.
E. Bent over flyes 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps.
Workout C
A. Push ups for reps 3 sets as many reps as possible.
B. Front or Overhead Squats 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
C. Seated Row or Chest Supported Row 3-4 sets of 6-10
reps.
D. Bicep Curl Variation 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps.
E. Leg Raises or Dragon Flags 3 sets for as many reps
as possible stopping 1 or 2 before failure.
Additional Conditioning workouts
Here you can introduce an extra conditioning workout
if you want. Simply finding some open space is all you
need and possibly some markers. I like using the Illinois
drill as a speed and conditioning tool. Its pretty straight
forwards looking to take about 30 seconds rest between
each drill after 3 runs take a 3 minute rest then perform
another 3 sets so you should be doing 4 sets of 3 runs
this should take about 25 minutes and up to 35-45 minutes
with warm-up and cool down.
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The Gorilla - Advanced
The objective of the Gorilla is further development of
maximum strength to what would be considered high levels.
A 1.5 x BW bench press and double bodyweight deadlift
is no mean feet and reaching this level is no mean feat.
For those who easily achieve the goals of the wolf the
gorilla (strength and size focus) is the next step. There
should be a real focus here on performing reps as fast
as possible.
Goals Of The Gorilla
12+Pull-ups.
20+ Inverted Rows.
10+ Pistol Squats each leg.
45+ push ups in a minute 150% BW bench press 200% BW Deadlift.
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Workout A
A. Squat or Deadlift 5-8 sets of 3-5 reps.
B. Bench Press Variation or Push ups on rings or chains
3-4 sets of 8-12.
C. Bent Over Row or Inverted Row 3-4 sets of 8-12.
D. Bicep curls or Triceps variation.
Workout B
A. Bench Press Variation 5-8 sets of 3-5 reps.
B. Pull ups 3-4sets of 6-10 reps.
C. Squat Variation 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.
D. Romanian Deadlifts or Good Mornings 3-4 sets of 6-10
reps.
Workout C
A. Vertical jumps 8 sets of 3 reps 1-1.5 minutes between
sets.
B. Pull ups or Inverted Rows for Max reps or pull up holds
for time 3 sets of max reps or time, 1 minute between
sets.
C. Suspended or med ball push-ups 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps.
D. Weighted Pistol Squats 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps.
E. Sit-up Variation 2-3 sets 10-15 reps.
Once you achieve this stage in development the main focus
of training would look to turn to improve rate of force
development or power performance as its also known.
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More About The Author - Will Wayland
Will’s academic background, coupled with his ‘under
the bar” experience , has proven to be a recipe for success.
Will has worked with athletes of all levels, from youth sports
to the professional. Will specialises in developing the body
for the goal of enhancing performance. Heavily inspired by russian
conjugate squence system his training methods are used by athletes,
bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts of all ages and from all
walks of life. He has a Bsc honours degree and HND in Applied
Sports Science from the University of Teesside, and he specializes
in the muscular and neurophysiology of human movement and performance.
He currently trains, consults, and lectures around the country.
You can find him on the net at http://williamwayland.blogspot.com
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