FitSugar

Jillian Beats Boredom With Parkour

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:00:28 PDT

Getting stuck in a fitness rut is the worst, so it's important to mix up your workouts and motivate yourself by trying new activities. Fitness guru Jillian Michaels recently shared on Facebook how she's keeping her workouts fresh these days:

"Great Parkour beginner video. My favorite workout these days. Anything to fend off monotony."

Parkour is getting a lot of attention because like running, you can do it anywhere. All you need is a trusty pair of sneaks, and everyday objects like benches, railings, trees, walls, stairs, and fences become your fitness props. This inexpensive yet totally extreme sport involves leaping over, climbing up, and rolling off these common structures and using them as your playground, all without any protective gear. This sport may enhance your strength, coordination, and balance, and definitely won't leave you bored, but it looks like you might end up with some bumps and bruises along the way.

Tell me, are you into Parkour? If not, what's your favorite workout these days?

MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge

FitSugar — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:30:06 PDT

When I hear the word "Parkour," I immediately think of the season premiere of The Office, where Michael, Dwight, and Andy attempt to take up this extreme sport, meekly somersaulting over couches, barely hopping over cars, and falling into refrigerator boxes. It made me laugh out loud, but seeing real Parkour athletes in action makes my jaw drop. Their gravity-defying tricks, amazing strength, creative balance, and bold fearlessness will blow your mind. You can check out the best of the best because MTV is teaming up with World Freerunning & Parkour Federation (WFPF) to bring you the Ultimate Parkour Challenge. This hour-long special is bringing eight of the world's greatest Parkour athletes together for a little friendly competition.

The show airs on MTV, Thursday, Oct. 22. Here's a sneak peek of their amazing, gravity-defying tricks.

And if you missed The Office's rendition of "hardcore Parkour," see the video when you

Ditch the Gym and Go Extreme With Parkour

FitSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:00 PDT

With the price of gym memberships rising, we're all looking for a less expensive way to burn calories and stay fit. Instead of putting your foot down and refusing to pay, put that foot to good use and practice Parkour -your fitness props become the things around you like benches, railings, trees, walls, stairs, and fences. This extreme sport involves leaping over, climbing up, and rolling off theses common structures and using them as your playground, all without any protective gear. So while it might be great if you have given up your gym membership to save dough, you might want to think twice if you don't have health insurance. Parkour enhances your strength, coordination, and balance, so the practitioner becomes more comfortable controlling his or her body in order to overcome obstacles. It takes trust in yourself and a fearlessness to be really good at this sport. Although a sane person may not find this appealing, this video below may inspire you to get started so

If it has, look for a Parkour group in your area.

Movie News That Teaches Me Stuff: Channing's Parkour Drama

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:35:27 PDT

I was unfamiliar with the word "Parkour" until I read this new bit of movie news about Channing Tatum's next movie, an untitled drama about Parkour, which Variety describes as "a free-jumping extreme sport in which agile practitioners run and jump from rooftops." The article goes on to say the movie follows "a pair of jumpers who use their skills in heists," and that "Parkour was featured in the opening sequence of Casino Royale." In fact, my buddy FitSugar discussed Parkour as a burgeoning fitness movement a little while after Casino Royale came out.

A little jaunt over to Wikipedia provided a whole new world of information regarding the practice that is apparently, "miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport." The Wiki page is incredibly helpful:

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of movement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment - from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls.

The practice differs from a sport in that it "has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness. On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts."

In any event, I bet this movie of Channing's will be pretty awesome to watch. Also, now I've learned a few things. And learning is fun.

Source

I'll Have What She's Having

GiggleSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:00:00 PDT

We see a lot of guys doing parkour, that urban sport of jumping over things that get in your way. This is the first time I've seen a woman do it. I can't even last for 10 minutes on a treadmill without wanting to call it a day! Maybe it's her brand of coffee...(Thanks, eBaum's World!)

Parkour Motivation: Go Girls

FitSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:00:00 PDT

By midweek we can all use a little bit of extra motivation. Watching these ladies climb all over the place certainly inspires me to get off the couch and get moving.

If you are interested in learning more about turning your city into an urban playground, check out Parkour Generations.

Parkour: Movie Chase Scene as Fitness Philosophy

FitSugar — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:00:00 PDT

You know if The New Yorker is covering a burgeoning fitness movement, the fitness movement must be a bit highbrow. You also know if the movement is French, there must be some existentialist philosophy involved. Parkour is taking the sport of exercise to a whole new level.

David Belle created parkour as a teenager in the mid 90's in a suburb of Paris. A restless spirit, he found regular sports and gymnastics overly complicated (too many rules) as well as boring and pointless. Ahhh...the ennui of youth. Parkour is a verbal riff on the French word "parcours" which means “route,” and it is a quasi commando system of leaps, vaults, rolls, and landings designed to help a person avoid or surmount whatever interferes with his or her route. If you saw Casino Royale, then you experienced an amazing parkour run as Bond chases an assassin through, in and around an active construction site. For me, this scene was the most exciting part of the movie and I was even more excited to learn that the scene was based on activities of real people (don't know if I should use the word "real" here since the men and women that participate in parkour seem almost superhuman) not Hollywood.

Philosophically, parkour requires both physical and mental strength. One slowly works up to jumping from extreme heights, challenging the body more as it acclimates to the landing. One also has to confront the fear of the challenge, but with a heavy dose of realism. Participants of parkour love and respect life, in fact they often imagine that their workouts may some day save them if they are ever chased by some sort of criminal element.

Parkour, like extreme sports, is truly difficult to describe. I found a commercial David Belle made for television station BBC One. While it is edited and cannot be considered "true" parkour, at least by the strict definitions of those that participate in the sport, this clip will give you a taste of what it is all about. Want to watch it? Then

If you want to read up on Parkour, you can find the entire article No Obstacles by Alec Wilkison on the New Yorker website.

If you are interested in learning more about parkour here in the states, check out this web site AmericanParkour.com.

Source

Stacy Keibler Reveals That She's Living With George Clooney

Katie Henry — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:03:21 PDT

Stacy Keibler talks about sharing a home with George Clooney - Lainey Gossip
Howard Stern says he's "more wonderful" than Piers Morgan - Zap2it
Kourtney Kardashian celebrated at weekend baby shower - People
Taylor Lautner to star in Parkour movie - HuffPost Entertainment
Jessica Simpson's maternity line to launch this Fall - TooFab
Mark Ronson shares new stories about Amy Winehouse - The Frisky
Find out what brought Jennie Garth to tears - D-Listed
Is Jennifer Connelly planning for more children? - ET Online
Mandy Moore and Emmanuelle Chriqui team up for Tron - JustJared
Larry David joined Twitter - BuzzFeed
Justin Bieber dedicates a song to his mom on Mother's Day - Pink Is the New Blog
Katy Perry the dominatrix? - Hollywood Tuna
Rihanna shares sexy behind-the-scenes photos from her latest video - The Superficial
See who's coming to TV this Fall - The Daily Beast