Topic: 52 Year old parkour?

[~Tiger~]

Hey guys.

My dad said last night that "he should start doing parkour". So I'm wondering what you would recommend I teach him first?

Also what do you recommend he does to start conditioning for parkour? He can do about 30 pushups and 2 pullups.

He's 5' 11" and 170 lbs.

I just want to make this as safe as possible.

Thanks for any advice!

[Casquinha]

As with anybody, start with the basic landing.  Make sure it's a safe landing consistently.  Also the basic roll.  Then the easiest vaults over short obstacles.  In other words, consider him a beginner as no different than a beginner of any other age.  It's just that as one ages, the healing process is a little slower.  Parkour is based on how the human body is supposed to function.

Remember that Liam Neeson trained in Parkour for his role in the movie Taken.  So take it easy as you would with any beginner, but treat him as any beginner, regardless of age.

[~Tiger~]

Ok. Thanks.

Anything you would specifically advise to avoid all together?

[Casquinha]

Proceeding too quickly.  We all advance at different paces.  The more we age, the slower we progress.  This gets a lot of beginners into trouble, regardless of age.  And as we age, we progress slower.  Be patient.  At all costs, avoid pushing forward too quickly.  Although progression is slower the older someone is, there is no reason he can't progress and become quite good.

[~Tiger~]

Alright. Thanks for the tips.

[WoodlandGhillie]

I'd suggest having him get VFFs or go barefoot.

Like said above, take it slow! You and he have a LONG time left to live. Take it slow, progress how fast you want to progress.

[~Tiger~]

Thanks Evan. I appreciate the advice.

[Cole Moore]

Evan you and your VFF's. I swear you treat the use of them as if it's some kind of religion.

Back on topic-Ultimately stress safety and technique. At that age, joints are more vulnerable. Make sure you focus him on control and nothing that will harm his body. Efficiency of movement is not only fluidity of motion, but in doing so whilst preserving physical integrity. Not incapacitating your body.

[WoodlandGhillie]

Whoa man, I don't even have the shoes yet. I just know that barefoot practices can fix many problems of having shoes, and even strengthen legs/ankles for the beginner. I'd suggest it to anyone new to the art(s). VFFs give a small amount of helpful padding, while still giving the barefoot pros.

So, in short, I suggest VFFs because they would protect his joints while strengthening the muscles necessary for proper landing technique.

[Cole Moore]

I agree with that information. And don't worry, I was just messing with you.

[FrostySTL]

Tiger, a lot of it depends on his activity level. The fact that he can do some pushups and pullups is good, that means he's not in bad shape, but that's not the same as activity. If he plays any sports, like baseball/softball or soccer, he will be much more aclimated to movement and running.

But yes, as several people have said, the answer is basically the same for anyone starting out. Conditioning, rolls, low height safety and speed vaults. Working his way up in height as his leg strength and confidence improves. But go SLOWLY, especially at first, make sure he doesn't overdo anything. Recovery is much longer for someone that age. Even a mild sprain can put a damper on things for a while. Once he learns what his body can do, he will progress faster.

And most of all, have fun!

Tell him to log on to APK, sign up in the 30+ forums and ask us any questions he wants! We'll be happy to help.

[WoodlandGhillie]

I agree with that information. And don't worry, I was just messing with you.

Ah, sorry

[DaveS]

As people have mentioned, taking things slowly is of prime importance (for people of any age/gender/strength). For that reason I'd start with techniques far more basic than landings, rolls or speed vaults. Also, older people are far more likely to have bad habits when it comes to the every-day movements.

Start with walking. Get rid of the shoes and make sure he can walk naturally with relaxation, balance, awareness, and readiness to act.
Then move on to crawling with same qualities. Then move on to running. After running, changing direction. After that, stopping. After that, landing. Then climbing, then running jumps, then vaulting. All with those qualities before moving on to the next.
After the basic movements of walking and running have been sorted out you can start to use shoes (as the good habits should already be in place) but it's still not a bad idea to practise without them sometimes, just so you don't start to re-develop bad habits.

[Mark Toorock]

Does he have any injuries? Any conditions that may make him not suitable for certain movements?

I'd actually not recommend going barefoot for the beginning. This is a person who has likely been in shoes for 50 years - if any barefoot stuff is done, I'd limit it to 5-10 minutes a day on grass or carpet for at least 3 months. Is 3 months a long time? not compared to 50 years.

DaveS - the good habits should be in place, but even Justin who just went 28 days straight without shoes said that as soon as he put on shoes he caught himself heel-striking. So I feel that it is a long time and a lot of practice and focus to break the bad habits.

IMO I'd start him with some light conditioning - 2 pullups is good, maybe get him doing 3 sets of 5 jump pullups - see how he does with breathing and heartrate (and I don't mean with a monitor - I mean with common sense) after 3-5 minutes of moderate exercise.
From there I'd have him start on squats, and I'd measure strength and flexibility to see where his needs are.

After maybe 2 weeks of 3 X (5, 10, 25) squats, then basic running, cadence, start stop, and the progression DaveS mentioned - but with shoes.

From the start he can try safety vaults, and work on cadence by jogging and trying to hit targets and plan his footing.

Balancing on objects is also great, I really like balance boards as they work strength, mobility, and coordination all at the same time in a very safe way, and the skills that you develop transfer well.

After a few weeks of squatting, measure broad jump and vert, and see if he can touch his toes and see how far down he can squat without lifting his heels. Report back or feel free to email me

[FrostySTL]

even Justin who just went 28 days straight without shoes said that as soon as he put on shoes he caught himself heel-striking.

Balancing on objects is also great, I really like balance boards as they work strength, mobility, and coordination all at the same time in a very safe way, and the skills that you develop transfer well.

The shoes can also be to blame, they tend to "support" your ankle and make it less flexible. That sorta pushes your foot into a heel-strike. You have to really think about fore-striking to do it with standard running shoes on. VFF's don't have that restrictive ankle support.

DOH! I forgot all about balancing! And it's something I've been doing!

[DaveS]

Frosty, agreed. Try and discourage the use of expensive or overly supporting trainers. Round here, at least, it is possible to find relatively basic trainers quite cheaply.

Mark, I agree, creating good habits when barefoot doesn't necessarily break the bad habits you have when in shoes.

I think, for older people especially, spending time measuring everything is going to be less useful. Older people know what they want out of what they are doing and find it easier to think in terms of the long-term patterns (which are more useful targets). They don't need to see each inch of improvement like kids do, they can deal with the principles from the start. When you've got enough experience to have some perspective on life, all these minute increments in physical feats become irrelevant.
Similarly with conditioning, the emphasis for older people isn't going to be on physical performance but on changes in how they think and approach problems. For older people the mind has a lot more 'un-learning' and re-training to do.
Physical fitness is important, but for older people the balance is tipped more towards the mental skills. The advantage for older people is that you can start on this more important mental development from the start.

[Muhammad]

You should talk to Brian MacLeod. He's a 50 year old who came to American Rendezvous and totally kicked @$$!

[~Tiger~]

Thanks for all the posts guys. 

[wolf555]

They have little gel capsule things out now that help strengthen/repair your joints, you should consider telling him about them, and that age those joints can become a serious problem, the last thing he needs is to injure them while doing parkour, it's never to early to start taking care of your joints.

[FrostySTL]

They have little gel capsule things out now that help strengthen/repair your joints, you should consider telling him about them, and that age those joints can become a serious problem, the last thing he needs is to injure them while doing parkour, it's never to early to start taking care of your joints.

Those don't work for everyone, unfortunately, but they do for some. If he's not having any joint issues, I wouldn't recommend taking them "just in case". But if he has/starts to have issues, they might be of benefit. Since he will be starting slowly, there shouldn't be a risk of any serious damage anytime soon.