There is a problem that I have been seeing in my times on this board. The problem is that people do not know how to set goals. Steve goes over goal setting pretty well in his article,
How to Construct Your Own Workout Routine. In fact, you can find a direct link to the portion of this article on goal setting
here.
With that said, once people read this part of the article I typically see goals that are somewhat...lackluster. Most people want to stick to bodyweight exercises because it is cheaper and easier than lifting. This is entirely understandable. Let us be clear, though, doing 150 pushups in a row does not mean you are strong - it means you have good endurance doing pushups. It is much easier to be a beast in endurance when you are already very strong.
Strength will always limit you in all other domains - technique, endurance, skill, balance, flexibility (active and passive), agility, coordination, etc. You must be strong in order to excel at all of these other domains - this is a well known fact in the enhancement of performance.
We must keep this in mind as we set our goals. You will typically want to shoot for 15 reps in a row for what are considered "basic movements". On more "advanced movements" you will want to shoot for 5 reps or so to prove proficiency. This is because the basic movements program the initial motor pathways...or "grease the groove"...for further strength gains. Similarly, for something that is a "basic static hold" (or stationary position) you will typically shoot for a 15-20 second solid hold before progressing to the next position. As you progress to the "advanced static holds" you will typically shoot for 5-10 second holds before progressing.
Below are a list of goals that will help you progress towards building a beastly level of strength for Parkour. Most of these do not require weights. Some of them require a barbell, bumper plates and a squat rack. Next to each technique/movement are variations that can be used to decrease/increase the difficulty level as you work towards the main movement.
GymnasticsPushingPlanche: Frog,
Tuck,
Adv. Tuck,
Straddle, Half Lay,
LayPushups:
One-Armed Pushups, Planche Progression,
Pseudo-Planche Pushups, Fingertips
Dips: Weighted, Unweighted, Rings, Parallel Bars, Single Bar with forward facing decent, Single Bar with rear facing decent.
PullingFront Lever: Tuck, Adv. Tuck, Straddle, Half Lay, Lay
Pullups/Chinups: Front Lever Progression, L-sit, Strict, Kipping, Weighted, Unweighted, Partial Finger, single/double/triple finger, Archer, Clapping
One Armed Pullup/Chinup: Unweighted, Weighted, Kipping, Strict, One/Two/Three/Four/Full Hand Assisted
Back Lever: Tuck, Adv. Tuck, Straddle, Half Lay, Lay
Iron Cross: Assisted w/Spotter, Assisted with Cross Trainers, Assisted with Legs on Box, Inverted Dumbbell raises
HandstandsHandstands: Rings, Parallel Bars, Perpendicular Bars, Single Bar
Handstand Presses: Planche Progression, Straddle, Pike, Rings, Parallel Bars, Floor, Single Bar, Perpendicular Bars, Chair/Uneven, L-sit to Handstand
One Armed Handstand: Floor, Single Bar, One/Two/Three/Four/Full Hand Assisted
Handstand Pushups: Fingertips, Mini-Handstand Pushups (Mini-HSPU), Headstand Pushups (HeSPU), freestanding, jumping, clapping, rings, boxes, Parallel Bars
Combined Push/PullMuscle Ups: Narrow Grip Kipping, Wide Grip Kipping, Narrow Grip Strict, Wide Grip Strict, Weighted, Rings, Single Bar, Parallel Bars
CoreL-sit: Tucked, Lowered Legs, Regular, Advanced, Rings, PB, Floor, Fingertips
V-sit: Rings, Parallel Bars, Floor, Fingertips
Manna: Tucked, Partial, Middle Split Hold, High Manna
Straddle L-sit: Tucked, Partial, High, Rings, PB, Floor, Fingertips
Side Lever/Flagpoles: Tuck, Adv. Tuck, Straddle, Half Lay, Lay, Negatives, full pulls
LegsPistols: Weighted, Unweighted, arms to side, arms in front, standing single leg L position
Natural Leg Curls: Two Legs anchored, One leg Anchored, Negatives
Broad Jumps: One legged, two legged, pistol, single, multiples
Vertical Jumps: One legged, two legged, pistol, single, multiples
Box Jump: Standing, 1 step, 2 step, run up, depth jumps, Pistol
Sprints: 10m, 20m, 40m, 100m, 200m, 400m
Air SquatsLiftingStrengthSquat: High Bar, Low Bar, OH Squat, Front
DeadliftOverhead PressBench PressPowerClean: Full Squat, Power, Hang
Snatch: Full Squat, Power, Hang
Push Jerk: Split Catch, Power Catch
Push PressParkour SpecificClimbups: One-Ups, One Armed, Muscle-Up Style
BalanceRail Squats
Rail Walking
Chain Walking
Slackline WalkingFlexibilityPikeOpen PikeClosed PikeStraddleOpen Straddle SplitClosed Straddle SplitFront SplitsLeft Front SplitRight Front SplitThis should be enough to get the ball rolling for any new traceur looking to get started or even an experienced traceur looking for something new to master. I suggest picking 2 pulling exercises, 2 pushing exercises and 2 Posterior Chain/Legs exercises to start and work towards those -- along with flexibility and balance, of course!
Good luck. Feel free to add to this list below. Any suggestions that I feel fit in will be added promptly. Let me know if anything needs to be a bit more clear. I plan on posting pictures up for many of these soon, as well.
