I’m often asked what supplementation exercises I recommend for serious Freerun/Parkour practitioners. This is an extremely subjective question and the best answer I can give is “it depends…” While this may seem like shortchanging, its common sense because the recommended exercises depend on the athletes training status. But over time I do see a pattern among my exercise choices because these generally give the best returns for beginners and more advanced athletes alike. Here is a list of exercises that really are worth a try:
The Inverted Row
This exercise is a great upper back strength builder and a great measure of relative strength. This movement is also perfect for beginners because it takes little instruction and doesn’t put much stress on the lower back unlike bent over rowing variations. This exercise can be done weighted, with feet elevated or on the floor, under hand over hand with wide or narrow grips. With emphasis on good scapular retraction this is a good exercise for fixing those slumped shoulders. If the gym you train at happens to have a smith machine this is the ideal place for inverted rows.
The Front Squat
While I utilise both the back and front squat, I like to recommend the front for a number of reasons. First of which is that it almost forces athletes into good squatting position, while I have seen some interesting interpretations of back squat, the front squat is very difficult to move through complete range of movement incorrectly because it usually means the bar has to be ditched. Obviously this means the weight used has to be lower than the back squat. Front squats lessen compression and flexion of the spine so are a viable alternative for those who can’t or don’t like back squatting. During this movement your shoulders support the weight, not your hands. Always keep your chest big & elbows up with a foot stance slightly wider that shoulder width.
Deadlift
Its hard to make a list of recommended exercises and not include the deadlift. Two primary varieties of deadlift are conventional and sumo deadlift. Both utilise trap, grip and posterior chain strength (hamstrings, glutes and upper lower back) and to some extent quads. As I mentioned in another article the posterior chain is what drives movement and well go towards guarding against injuries. The deadlift is pretty close to a true full body strength builder. With the athletes I work with a deadlift of 2-2.5 x bodyweight is usually a common strength benchmark. When deadlifting be aware that shoes with air or gel filling are compressible, impairing power transfer & stability. Wear shoes with hard soles. Deadlift by pushing from the heels & bringing your hips forward. Not by pulling back with your lower back. If you Deadlift correctly, you’ll feel most stress in your upper-back, glutes & hams.
Band Press Downs
There is one simple reason why this exercise is in this list and it is because most tricep movements seem to stress the elbow joint an awful lot and when you have athletes doing benching and pressing additional tricep work is difficult to prescribe. Band exercises like this provide the addition of accommodating resistance. I use a lot of heavy band press downs for athletes who are looking to improve their bench press. The other great thing about bands is that a good set isn’t too expensive and they will last you ages and are very easy to transport.
Overhead And Front Lunges
The term core stability is thrown around an awful lot these days, usually people are inclined to think of swiss balls, bosu balls and wobble boards. When issuing overhead or front lunges you can quickly assess what kind of unilateral and trunk strength an athlete has. True stability is tested when resistance is moved further away from centre of gravity, this why unstable surfaces for perfectly healthy athletes is a bad choice, because it becomes a proprioception and balance game which takes only weeks to master. Additionally these exercises are quite gruelling and ordinary lunges will seem like a reprieve by comparison. The overhead lunge is fairly straight forwards with the bar held overhead like a shoulder press for the duration of the exercise, while the front squat lunge requires the bar is held in a manner similar to front squat through out the duration of the movement.
Offset Barbell Side Bends
I like standing core exercises, this one is probably one of my favourites. Most core work is associated with anterior strength exercises like crunches and leg raises, where as this movement will hit the obliques hard. This one is pretty straight forward be sure to maintain good posture and don’t over load the offset too much.
Band Assisted Pull-Ups
I tend to use this with beginners, overweight and female clients, because many people who start out can’t do a conventional unassisted pull-up. Of course, you can alter the resistance by using different bands, or make the exercise more challenging by slowing down the eccentric action and reducing the plyometric effect. As many freerunners will testify pull ups are a great marker of athletic development and will help develop upper back, bicep and grip strength.
Chain Or Ring Suspended Push-Ups
The chain or ring suspended push up is a great way to improve shoulder strength and stability. The nature of this exercise forces the shoulder to unilaterally stabilize while loaded. This mimics many of the PNF stability exercises used to improve the integrity of the shoulder structure. Attach two chains to the chin-up bar of your squat rack. Attach a D-handle to the bottom of each chain (separate handle on each chain). You can also buy a pair of Blast straps or gymnastic rings and do the same job. Grasp a handle in each hand and assume the push-up position.
Conclusion
As mentioned at the start this list isn’t exhaustive, but is a small selection of exercises that I often prescribe for freerunners, field athletes and martial artists I work with. There are tons of exercise variations to play with and discover. These are also movements I get a lot athletes who have only been recently introduced to proper strength training to try. Using these exercises and their variations we look to build a good strength and stability base on which we can start introducing more explosive movements. Get into the gym and give these a go.
More About The Author - Will Wayland
Will’s academic background, coupled with his ‘under the bar” experience , has proven to be a recipe for success. Will has worked with athletes of all levels, from youth sports to the professional. Will specialises in developing the body for the goal of enhancing performance. Heavily inspired by russian conjugate squence system his training methods are used by athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts of all ages and from all walks of life. He has a Bsc honours degree and HND in Applied Sports Science from the University of Teesside, and he specializes in the muscular and neurophysiology of human movement and performance. He currently trains, consults, and lectures around the country. You can find him on the net at http://williamwayland.blogspot.com
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Awesome thanx for the tips
brilliant tips and can you buy tickets for the world freerun championships
tankyou
thanks