Parkour-the activity or sport of moving rapidly through a course, obstacles by running, jumping and climbing. My decision to try Parkour was fueled by watching The American Ninja Warrior which aired a marathon during the holidays. I searched Parkour in Denver and Apex Movement came up first and happens to be America's largest education organization for Parkour. I researched what they offered and decided to do the adult introduction to Parkour class ($145) which meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 weeks. The membership includes unlimited visits during the month.
I walked into my first class with my own ideas of what to expect. It was a very relaxed atmosphere with many people (instructors and students) hanging around the front desk. We began class with stretching and our instructor's and our own introductions. This first classes topic was quadrupedal movement (QM) which is using all four limbs to move; the way we all started to move in the beginning of our lives. After a lot of QM we moved into learning how to land from a jump or an elevated spot quietly on the balls of our feet. The class ended with 12 minutes of a cross-fit style workout which involved box jumps onto and off and hip lifts with weight. We stretched as a group to cool down.
My second class started with a new instructor introduction that just received his certification. We had the bonus of a second instructor (I suppose to help out the new guy) for the duration of this class. Both instructors from this class and last class were great; very knowledgeable and funny! The focus of this night was the Parkour roll (courtesy of Ryan Doyle) which has roots in martial arts. We combined QM from our first class with the Parkour roll for some interesting combinations. The class ended with eight minutes of three pull-ups, five bur-pees, five wall squats and five scapula wall slides. A few of us hung out to stretch out and cool down. My goal for the month will be to attend two classes the first week (I did:>) three the second week four the third week and finish with five visits the fourth week.
I will continue to update especially as the classes and new movements become more difficult!
