Parkour is a life skill that helps you navigate through your physical environment with greater ability. The more easily you can overcome a barrier, drop from height, or confidently balance along a narrow ledge, the better your readiness to face the world.

And it’s not just for kids and teenagers. People old and young alike can benefit from parkour. Mastering how you interact with your daily environment is not an extreme sport. It’s common sense.

When you hear a reference to parkour, think of it as a training method that prepares you to overcome physical and mental obstacles. As a distinct discipline, it entails quadrupedal movement, landing, rolling, balancing, jumping, vaulting, wall running, brachiating, climbing, and more. While advanced practitioners work to refine their power and precision, newcomers focus on simpler things, like how to strengthen their bodies and fall safely.

The purpose of this blog isn’t to provide a tutorial on the entire spectrum of parkour movements. Instead, we’ll just give you a taste of a few fundamental skills and let you take it from there.

Remember that this is a simplified breakdown. Everyone comes to parkour with a unique athletic background. Some of you may be new to bodyweight fitness. Others may come from years of gymnastics or martial arts. If you’re of the latter group, the skills below might seem easier than getting up off the ground or out of bed.