So, you’ve heard of Parkour, right? Who hasn’t? Lots of people are doing it these days. Now there are Parkour centers everywhere. You can go there to learn it or practice it.
WHAT IS PARKOUR
Parkour is the most extreme form of human training by far. It truly enhances the human body’s abilities. It is an addictive sport by nature and the people who take it up usually get really into it. You must have seen some of the thousands of youtube videos of people jumping from tall objects, climbing up walls and doing other explosive movements fluidly.
You choose what to do and when to do it. It is a totally unstructured sport and a physically demanding sport. Some people see it as an alternative to gyms. It started out as a training discipline that developed from military obstacle course training.
Parkour has just one goal. To move from one place to another through the most direct route. You get to jump over things, vault, leap from place to place, roll and more. The great thing is that all of this depends on you.
So, let’s see how it affects our bodies.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Our cardiovascular system has the job of providing new and oxygenated blood to all the tissues and organs in our bodies and removing the waste. The more intense activity you perform, the more your muscles will need new blood and the more waste they will produce.
The American College of Sports Medicine has recommended that adults perform mild to moderate cardio exercise for thirty minutes five days a week or very intense cardio for twenty minutes three days a week.
Parkour, being the extreme sport that it is, really puts pressure on your cardiovascular system. It causes your heart to pump at a faster rate than normal and your blood pressure to increase. Over time, this results in a better heart rate and blood pressure. It also results in the growth of new blood vessels.
As far as your lungs are concerned, your body may need up to 15 times more oxygen than usual. If you keep doing it consistently it will increase your VO2 max. VO2 max is the maximum capacity of your lungs to take in and hold oxygen.
Just make sure to consult your doctor before starting Parkour.
MUSCLES
Just like our cardiovascular systems, Parkour really puts a strain on our muscles. Parkour is all about muscle strength, power and endurance. The more intense maneuvers you perform, the more muscle strength and power you are going to need. Parkour has different styles and techniques. The styles that need more muscle strength and power will affect you by increasing your muscle gain as more and more protein will be getting absorbed by your muscle fibers. Just make sure that you start off easy. And keep the number of your Chiropractor in Atlanta, Duluth, Albany or wherever you reside.
BONES AND TISSUES
Parkour really taxes your bones and connective tissues. It causes your bones to become stronger and able to endure more stress. But make sure you don’t put too much stress on your body too quickly. It might lead to injury. People with a sedentary lifestyle or musculoskeletal problems should start off very slow. Parkour involves jumping to or from tall objects, landing hard on the ground and rolling, so these moves should only be performed by healthy individuals who are fit, well trained and who have had practice.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Parkour requires tremendous hand-eye coordination and discipline. Your nervous system is continuously receiving inputs from your eyes, ears, skin and using those inputs to make split-second decisions about the next move that you are going to make. These decisions are then conveyed to your muscles and they act accordingly.
Once you spend a certain amount of time doing Parkour, your nervous system gets accustomed to it, it becomes better at handling these immediate decisions and works better with your everyday routine as well. Your fine and gross motor skills improve as well as your cognitive functions.
You will find that you are more alert during the day and you have got more focus. The more you work out, the more your brain gets to use this frequent surge of blood. This results in tiny little changes that boost cell function and even protects your brain from diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even stroke. Your brain becomes better at handling age-related decline.
It also triggers the release of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters including “endorphins” which cause the euphoria or the feeling of happiness you feel. The other chemical messengers that are affected by it are dopamine, glutamate, and serotonin which is well known for its effects on our mood and depression.
HIPPOCAMPUS
This is the part of your brain that is involved in learning new things and memory. It is the only part of your brain that can make new brain cells. The more blood reaches this part, the better the oxygen, the more it will improve.
KIDNEYS
Kidneys filter blood according to the level of your exertion. After an intense session of Parkour, your kidneys will allow more protein to be filtered through your urine. This will trigger better water absorption and help you keep more hydrated.
JOINTS
Parkour puts more weight on your joints than any other exercise. Sometimes it can get up to five or six times more than your body weight, depending on the move you are trying to perform. All joints like ankles, hips, elbows, knees and shoulders operate in similar ways. Over time, the joints can start to wear away or degenerate. So make sure that you stick that landing.
People who really get into it travel from place to place, looking for the next challenging course.
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