What is Training?

Posted by misterparkour on March 22, 2008

Preface

This is the first paper of many that will start to unpack the physiological principles that are central to proper Parkour training. The education and knowledge behind these papers encompasses what I have gained from my personal Parkour training, my experience as a Parkour instructor, and the education and knowledge of Oregon based gym ADAPT Training, a gym with close to a decade of experience in athletic training, fitness, and physical therapy.

What is Training?

Training. We all do it, but how many of us understand its purpose and how to do it properly? Forrest of Parkour Generations says, “There are no secrets to improving your skill in Parkour other than hard training.” This idea is simple enough to understand, but the principles and methods behind this concept are many, and few of them have simple explanations.

So what is training? As you all know training is something that is usually referred to in the same context as “working out.” It is something we do to get better, faster, stronger, or more consistent at creating a specific physical result. In the context of Parkour it may be doing pull-ups to become stronger so you can progress to planches. Or it might be practicing a precision jump over and over again until you can stick it every time. Although both these examples serve to identify specific training methods, in order to be able to dissect the concepts of training and discuss how to implement proper training techniques –the goal being so we can progress in the safest and most efficient way- we must have a training reference point that we can always come back to. For that reason I offer you this definition of training:

Training is the act of introduction and reinforcing the ideal function of a muscle or muscular system. (Brian Cassidy, ADAPT Training)

Take a second to really think about this definition because whether you realize it or not it may be fundamentally different than the definition you are used to hearing. I’ll repeat the definition again:

TRAINING is the act of INTRODUCING AND REINFORCING the IDEAL FUNCTION of a MUSCLE OR MUSCULAR SYSTEM.

As the first paper in the commencement of my weekly training articles, I do not want to dive any deeper into the concepts of proper training and the implications they hold for you and your training sessions, progression, goals etc. To cover any more material would put us in way over our heads. For now this definition is enough because it is dense with conceptual information. Do your best to deeply contemplate this definition and think about what it means and how it applies to you and your own training. The more thoroughly you do this the more you will learn from it. In order to help you towards this goal I have created an assignment for you.

Sometime over the next week my assignment for everyone is to switch up and simplify your normal training techniques. Whether your training usually involves jumping, vaulting, balancing on rails, pushups pull-ups, squats etc. instead of the typical methods you employ, take all those techniques and break them down into the smallest possible foundational building blocks of physical movement. Question and analyze why and how you move how you move. What gives you the ability to jump over a bench? What fundamental movements are required to enable you to propel your body off the ground so you can clear an object or gap? How and when do your legs/arms/torso move to give you that physical result? What muscular systems have to fire to enable those actions? How can I train those systems at a less dynamic level to ensure the ideal function of my muscles and make sure those parts are working together in their most effective sequences? Very few Parkour movements, if any, can be isolated to single muscular systems. That is why the most effective training will involve every muscular system in your body. Ask yourself if this principle is included in your training. If it isn’t, find a way to incorporate it.

The goal of training is to get better, stronger, faster, and more efficient by introducing and reinforcing your ideal muscular functions. Whether that means becoming stronger by doing pull-ups, or becoming more consistent by practicing your precision jumps, the goal in your training should always be focused on improving the coordination and ideal function and performance of all the muscular systems in your body. Understanding this concept and learning how to implement it properly is the first step to truly effective training.

-MisterParkour