Tip of the Day

Hey guys, I've decided to give tips and advice for all those people out there interested in Parkour. I'll be giving out these tips mostly everyday.

Today's Tip of the Day:
OK, I've heard of some people having trouble with their cat leaps, cat hangs, and climb-ups. I myself have had this problem a month ago, and the solution was more simple than I thought it would be.

-Cat Leap
A good way to practice with cat leaps is practicing precisions. Precisions are easier and more simple than a cat leap. A cat leap and a precision jump is almost the same, except that in cat leaps, you don't land on the ground, but you hang on the wall, and the angle of the jump is different. The stability factor is also the same. You need stability when you land on the rail/surface in precisions and stability when arriving on the wall, or you fall. I've learned that the hard way. Some exercises that are beneficial for cat leaps, are squats, weighted squats, high jumps, long jumps, and leg extensions.

-Cat Hangs
For cat hangs, it's pretty simple. You hang on the wall. This technique itself won't do much, but once become more proficient, you can transition into a 180 leap. I might be discussing this tomorrow. For cat hangs, just practice. Find a wall about your height, and just cat hang on it. Its important that you ALWAYS keep your arms bent. If you don't, you'll be putting too much pressure on your shoes, and either wear them out, or slip off the wall. Again, everything I say here is based on experience. By keeping your arms bent, you'll be supporting some of the weight on your arms. An exercise good for cat hangs, are crunches and other abdominal exercises.

-Climb-ups
These are pretty simple, but you need the muscle to back it up. The best thing to do is to go to the gym and condition your body first. When you're actually in a cat hang on the wall, try to move your arm to the part of the top of the wall away from you, so you can support some of your weight on your forearm. Then, try to kick the wall. You might feel that your arms are supporting less weight. Now, pull your self up, and continue kicking as long as necessary. Once your waist is level with the top of the wall, lean forward. From here on it's good to do what is natural to you. I personally like to swing my legs up, and then lie on the top of the wall, and come down by rotating my body. Some exercises good for climb-ups are pull-ups, push-ups, and anything that works the arms.



Of course, the best thing to do is to just get out there and move. Run and try to do stuff. That's how I learned the climb-up, not from some YouTube video. So go out there, and MOVE!