Week 1 - Parkour

One hell of a work out and an awesome introduction to Parkour that has really made me want to take it up and check out some of their other classes.

So, week one of my new year resolution for 2013 to try something new or a bit different every week. I decided to start big with several new experiences all rolled into one.

Firstly getting up before 7am on a Sunday morning, which is most definitely a new experience for me. Secondly using the Hammersmith and City line for the first time despite having lived in London for 2 years. Finally, what you could call the main event and the reason I was up before 7 and travelling on the Hammersmith and City line was to get to Parkour Generations Winterval.

Winterval is an all day Parkour (a.k.a Art du Deplacement or freerunning) training session run by Parkour Generations. Held in L.E.A.P (London Experience of Art du Deplacement and Parkour) park - the world's first managed outdoor Parkour 'playground', located in the heart of the City of Westminster; it gives both complete beginners, such as myself, as well as 'grizzly veterans' a chance to train with some of the world's most experienced coaches.

The training was held entirely outdoors to encourage people to train in the colder winter months as well as in the nicer summer months and included:

• Strength and conditioning 
• Movement and creativity 
• Stretching and mobility 
• Tests of willpower and endurance 

It was described by one of the organisers in the morning as a 'full day intensive training session', and when they said intensive, they weren't kidding! What I thought was going to be a nice easy day of fun in a playground, turned out to be a tough 7+ hour hardcore workout that had my whole body hurting for 3 days after the event! 
However, this challenge coupled with passionate, friendly and motivating coaches and a really great bunch of people attending from all over Europe made the event really enjoyable. I only wish I had had more chance to take some photos or videos, so please check out the token photo of me and some of the training area we used.

I'd recommend checking out their website for more information on Parkour and some of the classes they run, it really is a great way to keep in shape, make some new friends and learn a cool skill: http://www.parkourgenerations.com/