Monday, November 04, 2013

Parcourse-Linear playground


11/3/13

Today training:

Ruck in park with 30lb. Xvest for 1.5 hours. lots of body wt. exercise in park.

Bands, GHD situps, jump rope and stretching warm-up. (afternoon)

Kettlebell  heavy cleans with 2 bells.

BB power cleans 30 min of singles. 70% wt.

Log cleans and holds

Kettlebell one arm press. Sets of 2 reps and holds.

Heavy bag punching and kicking for 10 min.


Parcourse-Linear playground

 


          In about 1968 a Swiss gentleman developed a system of outdoor exercise involving running on a trail with “exercise stations” to perform body wt. exercise, distributed  at various distanced as you ran. It did not become popular here in the US until the 1980’s, at the height of the running boom, when runners wanted to add some exercise to complement their running. Today there are still many of the 4000 plus or so Parcourses or fitness trails still remaining, but for the most part they are not that well used.

          Many times you will see a parcourse in disrepair or vandalized from lack of use or support from the public. There is one course near me that is just about completely destroyed by a disrespectable public and can no longer be used. The older parcourses where mostly constructed with wooden timbers and pipe(Lincoln-log esque) so the weather and ease of destruction takes its toll. Basically I like the wooden structures as it blends with the environment but they don’t seem sustainable.

      
    In my area there are two parcourses within 3 miles from my house and two more in driving distance. A new metal construction course was installed in park one mile from my house, so I have access in running distance. Sadly, It’s not used that often,especially when the weather turns hot or cold.  

          There are companies now that make a complete parcourse arrangement made of metal that even a mutant cannot destroy and can be installed by the parks dept. in a short time. The new models have more detailed exercise explanation of how to perform at each station.

          That brings me to why they are not that popular and you hardly see anyone using them. I believe there is a misconception that the body wt. exercise is not that efficient as weights or machines you see in gyms. Think about this; the Navy trains SEAL’s on just that kind of program and they are the fittest on the planet!! Then there is exercise knowledge of body weight movement that the general public is not that well educated in. So when a new person started on a parcourse, they are not sure that they are performing the exercises correctly ( most lightly they are not) or how much they should do.

          The act of running and using body weight exercise has a great PHA or peripheral heart action, which streams the blood flow to all the extremities as opposed to running that targets the lower body for the most part. By adding exercise with the running or walking on a trail you get better GPP for the total exercise time.

          You don’t need a lot of equipment, but a pair of gloves with some grip ability is advised, as you will be handling metal handles or bars. Summer sun beating down on the pull-up bars will fry your hands or in winter, ice or cold metal will take off some skin. As for body wear, you may not want to wear your best training outfit as you will get rust or dirt from the stations being outdoors. Unlike gym equipment, there is no waiting for your turn but I there is someone on the course, for the most part they like the company and even help or show off a little if they are experienced.

You can’t go wrong if you add some Parcourse stations when you run or ruck.

          However, if you don’t have a Parcourse, a playground arrangement that can be utilized for most of the exercises and then some. Play ground apparatus in most parks are hardly used except for an occasional young family, mainly in the summer mornings. Don’t push the kids off the play ground just so you can do your shit. I use the play ground near me when ruck training between miles of rucking.

Ken

The mission is sacred.

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