Nowadays, there are many young folks that think they’re somehow too old for this or that. Now, ain’t that ironic! Some of them have the guts to go ahead and ask: can I start parkour at 19?
One might guess what we’ve got to say about this topic. However, simply saying YES and acting like there’s nothing else to mention isn’t really our thing. That’s why we’ve figured out it might be best to introduce you to this amazing activity and tell you how you’ll kick-start your parkour adventure. So, if you’re wondering if it’s possible to start parkour at 19, don’t hesitate to read this text.
It’s absolutely fine to start parkour at 19 years of age. It’s not like there’s an age limit one should respect here. However, it’s very important you take all the preparatory steps. For instance, you’ll need to get your mind straight and focus, your body in good shape, and learn how to balance. Among other things, that is.
Think it’s enough just to read the preview? Think again.
Table of Contents
Start parkour as an adult 101
We’ve prepared a little intro section filled with all those questions folks type into their search bars related to the topic of dear-Google-can-I-start-parkour-at-X (insert number of years). You’ll notice that many folks seem to be pretty interested in this activity. However, many of them have their own doubts about whether or not they’re qualified to start parkour practice. Anyway, let’s see those questions!
Should I learn parkour?
It’s a fairly modest question: excuse me, dear Google, what do you say, should I learn parkour? So, how does Google respond? You’ll want to know that it’s almost a unanimous YES. Now, why that’s so? Why should anyone want to learn parkour?
Like all physical activities, parkour’s got its own set of benefits (both mental and physical). Here are some you’ll probably find appealing:
- Parkour’s a full-body workout. By practicing parkour a person will utilize their body as a whole. Some go as far as to say that it’s a way better workout than going to the gym.
- Parkour inspires creativity. There are obstacles, but there’s no proposed way of how you can handle them. Therefore, you’ll have to get creative.
- Parkour increases confidence. By overcoming more and more difficult challenges, you’ll boost your self-confidence.
- Parkour’s a social activity. There were some studies that have shown parkour greatly decreases antisocial behavior among youngsters.
- Parkour fosters quick thinking. This will influence your everyday life since you’ll become able to make good decisions based on little observation.
- Parkour can be practiced by everyone. Since there are no limits and boundaries, everyone can find their own way of parkour practice.
We reckon those are good enough reasons for anyone to give parkour a try. If you want to take a closer look at the subject of whether or not should everyone practice parkour, we recommend your read this article we’ve published some time ago.
Is parkour hard to learn?
Needless to say, learning a sport’s that absolutely new to you surely isn’t easy. Parkour’s no exception. One would be right to say that parkour is a pretty tough sport to master. Well, it involves mastering things like extreme jumps, flips, and rolls in conditions that are downright risky. (Did you know that you can also do parkour in the woods?)
Now, of course, the levels of difficulty vary, and it’s up to you to choose whether or not you’ll move up the difficulty ladder. Once you try it out for the first time, you’ll want to focus on traversing slowly and handling easier obstacles such as walls, steps, or fences. A beginner should, by all means, be realistic and that’s what we, here at Go Extreme Sports, strongly recommend.
How long will it take to learn parkour?
We’re afraid that we can’t name how much will it exactly take to learn parkour. Here’s why that’s so: everyone will advance at a different rate. Mainly, that’s because different folks come from different athletic backgrounds. If your personal history’s filled with various sports and exercise, you’ll most likely progress quicker than a person who only played basketball in high school (we’re not trying to discourse those folks, though). However, the key element is practice.
The more you practice, the better you’ll get at parkour. Who would’ve assumed? It’s best you come up with a list of specific goals and try to focus on achieving each one. You’ll need to find a way to get better at parkour on a daily basis. Also, if you don’t really have an athletic background, you might want to consider doing some additional conditioning and exercise just so your body becomes able to handle the impacts with more ease.
Okay, so now that you’ve realized parkour isn’t something you’d call the bogeyman among extreme sports (it can’t beat BASE jumping, that’s for sure), let’s see if a person is able to start parkour at 19 years of age!
Can I start parkour at 19?
You know how they say: you’re never too old to start parkour. Now that you’ve heard that phrase, you might guess what’s our opinion on starting parkour at 19 years of age. That’s right: it’s absolutely possible and double and whatever to start parkour at 19!
You already knew what we were gonna say, but still… There’s something you still don’t know. We’re talking about all the necessary steps you’ll need to take in order to kick-start your adventure in parkour. So, how does one do it?
How should one start parkour training?
Here we’ll introduce you to a little guide on how to begin parkour training. All that you need to know can be found in the lines below!
Step #1: Prepare your mind
First of all, you’ll have to prepare mentally for the activity. That means you should try to wipe your mind clean of all those thoughts that would somehow block you from trying to enjoy parkour. Also, try to be confident in what you’re able to do, but fairly reasonable when it comes to the things you’re not able to do.
Step #2: Shape up
A good mind inside an unfit body ain’t a good combination for parkour. In other words: before trying out parkour, you’ll need to get your body in good shape. Now, of course, we’re not saying you should absolutely lose this or that amount of kilos/pounds. The thing is: you need to work on your endurance (push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc.). A parkour beginner needs to be able to do a series of 25 push-ups, 5 pull-ups, and 50 squats without much hassle. There’s your goal.
Step #3: Practice balance
One of the most important preparatory steps is concerned with learning how to balance. Therefore, you’ll have to master the craft. That’s because you’ll have to keep your balance to prevent not-to-be-messed-around-with falls. If balancing is key to learning parkour, concertation and focus are keys to balance.
Step #4: Landing/rolling practice
Two moves that every beginner parkour enthusiast must learn are rolling and landing (in a proper manner). Otherwise, beginner folks would most likely have to endure dislocations, some broken bones, and everything that’s similarly nice. Keep in mind that you should take baby steps, don’t bite more than you’re able to swallow. Here’s an example: as a beginner that wants to do jumps, start from heights between half a meter and a meter. You’ll want to land on the first part of your feet while keeping your legs bent.
Step #5: Practice wall-runs/tic-tac
You might’ve tried wall-runs as a kid (and most probably failed). It’s one of those techniques that most beginner parkour fanatics can hardly wait to try. As we’ve mentioned above, just take baby steps. Also, we recommend that you wear extra-hold parkour shoes.
Step #6: Consider your style
According to some parkour experts, one should work hard on developing a personal style. That means you should possess a unique way of positioning your body as you’re nearing obstacles. Eventually, you’ll develop your own, original style that works best for you.
Step #7: Organize your training
Okay, this is the last time we’ll mention baby steps. Try not to overdo your training and exercise. Make sure you know what is it that you want to achieve and don’t go over your set boundaries. Pick a starting and finishing point of individual training, and work inside those brackets.
Step #8: Group training
As we’ve mentioned earlier in the text, one of the key benefits parkour offers people is the whole social aspect of the sport in question. One should consider finding a crew, as hearing a voice other than your own cheering for you is better than relying solely on yourself.
And that’s about it when it comes to steps each beginner should go through before getting all serious and tough about parkour.
Parting thoughts
Okay, so that’s that on the whole can-I-start-parkour-at-19 topic. Hopefully, this has eliminated some of the doubts you’ve had about this phenomenal human activity. For more tips and info surrounding this extreme sport, visit this page on our blog.
