Post by synergyphystrain on Sept 30, 2009 14:11:45 GMT
Hi,
My name is Matt Jeffery and I will shortly be opening a strength and conditioning facility in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire called Synergy Physical Training. I have a degree in Physical Education and am an associate member of the UK Strength & Conditioning Association and a member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association. I carry out strength and conditioning for Shipston Tennis Academy (an LTA funded High Performance Tennis Centre).
I was taking a look at your blog here as I have a massive amount of respect for Parkour and the new standards that it is setting in relation to the ability of a human being to move effectively and efficiently. I am starting to realise that there does appear to be a massive hole in the conditioning for it. So I thought I'd point you guys in some directions that may be of interest;
I've got the following headers;
Strength
Flexibility
Balance and Proprioception
DOMS & Rest
Resources & Further Learning
Strength
Definition - The ability to exert force
This physical attribute underpins everything you do in Parkour, the stronger a muscle is the more force it can exert and the longer it will be able to function in a co-ordinated way (which is important when you're trying to be as precise as you guys sometimes need to be).
I personally recommend full body exercises (Deadlifts, squats, press ups, inverted bar pulls (opposite to a press-up), pull ups, standing military presses) to increase your overall strength as these exercises all treat the body as a chain of muscles that have to work together in order to apply the force you are producing.
DON'T CONFUSE STRENGTH WITH MUSCLE SIZE
Yes muscles that are bigger are stronger but massive changes in strength can be made before you build the size of it.
If you are 16 years old and upward then look to perform 3 to 5 sets of the above exercises with a weight that will allow only 3-5 repetitions.
Below the age of 16 using heavy weights could lead to damage of the end plate (growth area) of the bone and could put an end to your Parcour very quickly. Instead concentrate on a repetition range of 15 - 25 and try to accept the fact that you aren't old enough to lump heavy weights around just yet (in my experience a very difficult thing to convince most guys - women tend to listen better ;D
Increased strength will lead to increased power - important in your jumps. Power is defined as; the time rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
Muscles produce force to work (work = shifting your bodyweight) then the more strength they have the easier it is to move an object (your bodyweight). A stronger muscle will move a load faster and therefore if you are stronger you will be more powerful = faster running, easier movement, bigger jumps = All good
Power can also be trained and the Olympic lifts really help to develop power - did you honestly think Michael Jordan jumped that high by not training? If you can try to find a qualified weight lifting trainer in your area (Qualified with BWLA or UKSCA - links at the bottom of the page)
Plyometrics are also awesome to develop power but again you have to be careful if under 16 yrs old and most accredited strength and conditioning coaches recommend that you should be able to squat at least1.5 x your bodyweight before undertaking plyometrics.
FLEXIBILITY
Yes excessive flexibility can lead to joint instability and injury but only when the muscle is not strong through its full range of movement.
Carrying out a structured strength training program in addition to your parcour will promote strength through the full range of movement.
It is highly probable that a lack of flexibility will lead to an injury
As an example, you run and jump over a gap and come up a bit short and land with only half the foot on the opposite wall. If you have a lack of flexibility and strength around the ankle joint then you run the risk of straining the calf muscle (a group of muscles above the ankle back of the leg). The force of landing has either taken the muscle beyond its safe length (range of movement) or as the muscle contracted it didn't have enough strength to 'catch' your weight and deal with the forces being applied to it. Both can mean time at the physio and away from Parcour.
A lack of flexibility can also lead to postural problems as well, this will also lead to injury.
If you spend hours sitting down every day try not to - simplest way I can put that without going into lots of detail ;D
Check out; www.thestretchinghandbook.com/ for more info
BALANCE & PROPRIOCEPTION
Proprioception - Your proprioceptors are specialised sensory receptors that provide the central nervous system with info needed to maintain muscle tone and perform complex co-ordinated movements.
Although the research is split on unstable surface training (BOSU boards, wobble boards, swissballs) its no coincidence that most of the worlds professional sports teams employ unstable training in their programs. The main thing about unstable training is that it is fun, its a great addition to your training. Parcour involves a lot of balance work at times and remember that balance is not just a static act it also happens while moving.
You are only limited by your imagination one example is standing on one leg, then closing your eyes, then raising your heal off the ground, then standing on a stability disk etc - there is always something more difficult you can try. Over time your balance and proprioception will improve and this should be evident in your Parcour.
Check out the BOSU site for some ideas; www.bosu.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BOSU/story.html
DOMS & Rest
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness - this is your muscles in bits for two days after 6 hours of Parcour ;D
The body does not improve its fitness during exercise it improves its fitness after the exercise during rest - In order to get better at Running and jumping you must rest your muscles after vigorous bouts of exercise. Over-training will lead to injury.
Contrast bathing helps - 2 mins in freezing cold and then 2 mins in a hot bath as close as possible to the end of your training session helps to shift the lactic acid out of the muscles you have been using. The England cricket team use it at the end of each day of a test match in order to be better prepared for the following days play. You can do a mild version at home in the bath with cold and hot water but if you have access to lots of ice then great stuff ;D
You can do light (and I mean light) exercise on sore muscles as this helps to flush out lactic acid and increase oxygen and macronutrient supply to the muscles, but it must be light exercise. Did I say it has to be light exercise?
RESOURCES AND FURTHER LEARNING;
If you have some spare cash then try to find an accredited strength and conditioning coach in your area;
www.uksca.org.uk/uksca/Common/practitionerSearch.asp
Olympic Lifting; Either the link above for UKSCA or BWLA; www.bwla.co.uk/
Here's a link to my website resource page including courses books etc;
www.synergypt.co.uk/links.htm
Hope this has been of help - bare in mind that in the UK you can now do strength and conditioning at A-Level, Degree, Masters and PhD level. In other words its a full on subject that I have only waved at in this very brief thread. Don't be afraid to seek out an expert in your area and get some proper advice and training.
Cheers,
Matt Jeffery
Director, Synergy Physical Training
www.synergypt.co.uk
My name is Matt Jeffery and I will shortly be opening a strength and conditioning facility in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire called Synergy Physical Training. I have a degree in Physical Education and am an associate member of the UK Strength & Conditioning Association and a member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association. I carry out strength and conditioning for Shipston Tennis Academy (an LTA funded High Performance Tennis Centre).
I was taking a look at your blog here as I have a massive amount of respect for Parkour and the new standards that it is setting in relation to the ability of a human being to move effectively and efficiently. I am starting to realise that there does appear to be a massive hole in the conditioning for it. So I thought I'd point you guys in some directions that may be of interest;
I've got the following headers;
Strength
Flexibility
Balance and Proprioception
DOMS & Rest
Resources & Further Learning
Strength
Definition - The ability to exert force
This physical attribute underpins everything you do in Parkour, the stronger a muscle is the more force it can exert and the longer it will be able to function in a co-ordinated way (which is important when you're trying to be as precise as you guys sometimes need to be).
I personally recommend full body exercises (Deadlifts, squats, press ups, inverted bar pulls (opposite to a press-up), pull ups, standing military presses) to increase your overall strength as these exercises all treat the body as a chain of muscles that have to work together in order to apply the force you are producing.
DON'T CONFUSE STRENGTH WITH MUSCLE SIZE
Yes muscles that are bigger are stronger but massive changes in strength can be made before you build the size of it.
If you are 16 years old and upward then look to perform 3 to 5 sets of the above exercises with a weight that will allow only 3-5 repetitions.
Below the age of 16 using heavy weights could lead to damage of the end plate (growth area) of the bone and could put an end to your Parcour very quickly. Instead concentrate on a repetition range of 15 - 25 and try to accept the fact that you aren't old enough to lump heavy weights around just yet (in my experience a very difficult thing to convince most guys - women tend to listen better ;D
Increased strength will lead to increased power - important in your jumps. Power is defined as; the time rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
Muscles produce force to work (work = shifting your bodyweight) then the more strength they have the easier it is to move an object (your bodyweight). A stronger muscle will move a load faster and therefore if you are stronger you will be more powerful = faster running, easier movement, bigger jumps = All good
Power can also be trained and the Olympic lifts really help to develop power - did you honestly think Michael Jordan jumped that high by not training? If you can try to find a qualified weight lifting trainer in your area (Qualified with BWLA or UKSCA - links at the bottom of the page)
Plyometrics are also awesome to develop power but again you have to be careful if under 16 yrs old and most accredited strength and conditioning coaches recommend that you should be able to squat at least1.5 x your bodyweight before undertaking plyometrics.
FLEXIBILITY
Yes excessive flexibility can lead to joint instability and injury but only when the muscle is not strong through its full range of movement.
Carrying out a structured strength training program in addition to your parcour will promote strength through the full range of movement.
It is highly probable that a lack of flexibility will lead to an injury
As an example, you run and jump over a gap and come up a bit short and land with only half the foot on the opposite wall. If you have a lack of flexibility and strength around the ankle joint then you run the risk of straining the calf muscle (a group of muscles above the ankle back of the leg). The force of landing has either taken the muscle beyond its safe length (range of movement) or as the muscle contracted it didn't have enough strength to 'catch' your weight and deal with the forces being applied to it. Both can mean time at the physio and away from Parcour.
A lack of flexibility can also lead to postural problems as well, this will also lead to injury.
If you spend hours sitting down every day try not to - simplest way I can put that without going into lots of detail ;D
Check out; www.thestretchinghandbook.com/ for more info
BALANCE & PROPRIOCEPTION
Proprioception - Your proprioceptors are specialised sensory receptors that provide the central nervous system with info needed to maintain muscle tone and perform complex co-ordinated movements.
Although the research is split on unstable surface training (BOSU boards, wobble boards, swissballs) its no coincidence that most of the worlds professional sports teams employ unstable training in their programs. The main thing about unstable training is that it is fun, its a great addition to your training. Parcour involves a lot of balance work at times and remember that balance is not just a static act it also happens while moving.
You are only limited by your imagination one example is standing on one leg, then closing your eyes, then raising your heal off the ground, then standing on a stability disk etc - there is always something more difficult you can try. Over time your balance and proprioception will improve and this should be evident in your Parcour.
Check out the BOSU site for some ideas; www.bosu.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BOSU/story.html
DOMS & Rest
Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness - this is your muscles in bits for two days after 6 hours of Parcour ;D
The body does not improve its fitness during exercise it improves its fitness after the exercise during rest - In order to get better at Running and jumping you must rest your muscles after vigorous bouts of exercise. Over-training will lead to injury.
Contrast bathing helps - 2 mins in freezing cold and then 2 mins in a hot bath as close as possible to the end of your training session helps to shift the lactic acid out of the muscles you have been using. The England cricket team use it at the end of each day of a test match in order to be better prepared for the following days play. You can do a mild version at home in the bath with cold and hot water but if you have access to lots of ice then great stuff ;D
You can do light (and I mean light) exercise on sore muscles as this helps to flush out lactic acid and increase oxygen and macronutrient supply to the muscles, but it must be light exercise. Did I say it has to be light exercise?
RESOURCES AND FURTHER LEARNING;
If you have some spare cash then try to find an accredited strength and conditioning coach in your area;
www.uksca.org.uk/uksca/Common/practitionerSearch.asp
Olympic Lifting; Either the link above for UKSCA or BWLA; www.bwla.co.uk/
Here's a link to my website resource page including courses books etc;
www.synergypt.co.uk/links.htm
Hope this has been of help - bare in mind that in the UK you can now do strength and conditioning at A-Level, Degree, Masters and PhD level. In other words its a full on subject that I have only waved at in this very brief thread. Don't be afraid to seek out an expert in your area and get some proper advice and training.
Cheers,
Matt Jeffery
Director, Synergy Physical Training
www.synergypt.co.uk
