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MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge

FitSugar — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:30:06 -0700

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 read more.

Ditch the Gym and Go Extreme With Parkour

FitSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

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 read more.

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

Parkour Motivation: Go Girls

FitSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:00:00 -0700

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 -0700

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 read more

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.

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You Asked: Alternative Races

FitSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering.

Hi Fit,
The Olympics inspired me to get out and race, but I am looking for something more fun than just running. I would like to do some kind of obstacle race or fitness challenge. I guess I am looking for the thrill of adventure with a fitness element. Can you help me find a race?
Thanks,
- East Coast Adventure Gal

Wow! Sounds like you are looking for something that is a cross between parkour and an open water swim. The craziest race I could find was the Nettle Warrior Tough Guy race in the UK with obstacles like burning bales of hay, electric fences, and icy streams. Nettle Warrior also has the Guy Gorilla race on Feb. 1, 2009, but sounds like you want some stateside options, so read more.

For serious fitness competition, there is the Navy Seal Fitness Challenge. The event combines a 500-yard swim, calisthenics (read: pull-ups and more!), plus a 1.5-mile run. You can participate in Chicago, San Antonio, LA, and Dearborn, MI.
The Urban Dare is part photo treasure hunt, part trivia, and part dares. The dares are mental or physical challenges such as climbing a wall, shooting a few baskets, solving a riddle, or eating something, but nothing slimy like you see on Fear Factor.
Urbanathlon is sponsored by Men's Health in Chicago on Oct. 18 as well as NYC on Sept. 27 (but this date is already sold out), and it is not just for the dudes. The entrance fee is $90, but you get a month's free membership to Crunch gym for training. This race is an urban obstacle course that uses features of the city to create challenges.
Rat Races are urban adventure challenges that take place all over the UK. Participants run, mountain bike, and kayak as they navigate a course revealed hours before the race begins. These could be an excuse to travel to the other side of the Atlantic without having to endure the downright craziness of the the Tough Guy races I mentioned above.
City Chase is an urban adventure laced with challenges designed to test not only your physical abilities, but your mental and spiritual ones as well. It is part obstacle course, and part scavenger hunt.

Hope you can fit one of these races into your schedule. If any of you have an "alternative race" to recommend, please share the details in the comments section below.

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Fit Tip: Finding "Moderate Intensity" For You

FitSugar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:15:00 -0700

The new exercise guidelines recommend getting cardio exercise at moderate intensity. The question is what is moderate intensity for you - how do you find it and measure it? Well, Dr. Margolis, over at Yahoo Health has provided three ways to determine your intensity level.

The talk test. If you can hold an amiable conversation, then you are not working in the moderate intensity zone. You need to be breathing hard to be in this zone so a normal conversation should not be possible. Run by yourself? Then try singing with your playlist and if you can belt the entire chorus, you need to pick up the pace.
The "8 to 20" scale. Imagine a scale of intensity between 8 ad 20, with 8 being barely moving (like holding your toddler's hand while he or she navigates the early stages of walking) and 20 being working as hard as 007 in the "parkour/free running" scene in Casino Royale. You want to workout at and be able to maintain intensity of around 12.
Heart rate. Moderate-intensity exercise means working between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Check out the Fit Calculator to determine your numbers. You want to be work in the Endurance Training Mode - "going the distance."

Writing about all this makes me want to go for a run or a ride! See ya later!

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