Balance is one of the most important factors when it comes to parkour. It is essential when you are doing parkour exercise. You will be focused on rail balance parkour exercises so that you can improve your balance. It is best to do all these parkour balance drills on a round rail to achieve the balance you want. However, round rails are the hardest and most common to balance on, make sure that you progress to this by starting on the ground, then ledges, flat planks, and square rails.
1. Create A Stong Foundation: Titanium Ankles
To get a good balance, you should have a strong foundation. When you have a great sense of inner balance but have a weak foundation it can result in failure in balance as well. It is best to work with two elements of my foundation in parkour, which are your feet and ankles.
Ankle Mobility. If you have superb ankle mobility, your ankle will be strong in a wide range of motion. When your ankle goes a bit further to achieve balance, you will be able to hold in a compromised position. Squatting is the easiest way to measure and improve your ankle mobility.
A trick that you can use here is to focus on your ankles to attach a band, or a rope to a piece of furniture and pull yourself forward to target your ankles. Make sure that your knee is to track over your toes at this point.
Lunge. Doing lunges will help you carefully and slowly lock down your body to lean forward into your ankle. You should monitor your knee that it is tracking right over the tops of your toes. You should be able to slowly make progress to how much your ankle moves.
As long as you practice this, you will be able to find the balance that you need for parkour training.
2. Proprioception: Awareness of Your Position and Movement of the Body
Proprioception is known as the perception of awareness of your position and movement of your body. For you to effectively balance, you must have a clear and strong idea of where your body sits in relation to the obstacles that surround you.
Training will not only help your balance greatly, but it will also boost your total confidence moving through the different environments. You can test this out yourself by closing your eyes and touching your finger to your nose. You achieved that because you just knew how.
An easy way to do this is to balance more but there are some movements that can do to practice the sixth sense. You can close your eyes in your home, and move around. You can walk around or crawl slowly to navigate your house and get the feel the sense to sharpen after a good chunk of time as you see the world in a new way.
When you have done this, close your eyes and stay still. Make sure that you feel your movement, feel the weight distributed throughout the body. Try balancing on one foot, squat, turn around, and just play in a place that’s confined. It will help your body use its sense of self over visual cues in how you face the world.
Now, you know the importance of balance, and some training helps you get a leg up when it comes to your parkour training. The balance should happen slowly, and with the right practices, you can ace it in no time.
When you are a noob at parkour, it is best to balance on a line that is placed on the ground. There is zero risk but all the aspects of balance can be done through this. Once you feel confident on the ground, you can move up towards a low curb or hub.
You can also try a slackline, which I will talk about more later in this article. If you are already great at balance, it is still great to practice balance drills on your own.
3. Practice Leg Stands and Toe and Fro: Great Help In Balancing
You would need to stand with your feet hip-width apart near a wall or a sturdy chair. Doing this will help you when you feel unsteady. Lift one foot from the ground by bending at the knee or holding it up for up to 30 seconds. Repeat this on your other foot.
If you can easily keep your balance for 30 seconds without any support, make things a little bit more challenging. You can close your eyes while lifting your foot. You can also stand erect and swing the raised foot slowly from the front to back.
With the toe and fro, you will also use a sturdy chair or wall for support. Next, you will need to rise up on your toes and rock back on your heels as they return to the ground. Do the toe-ups ten times at first and then work your way up to 30 toe-ups per day.
4. Reach For It: It Really Helps!
Here, you can place an object on the ground to your right side, then an elevated surface to your left. For the elevated surface, you use a chair or a table. Make sure that you stand your feet hip-width apart and keep both your feet in place. Be sure to bend at the waist while you reach diagonally with both your hands to pick up the object you have chosen.
Once you are able to pick it up, place it on the surface to the left. Repeat these steps about ten times and then stand with the surface to the right as well as the object on the ground to your left. Repeat these in sequence about ten more times on the opposite side.
You can do this before you go out and practice for parkour to achieve the balance that you want.
5. Squatting on the Ground and Rails
What you need to do first is to get into the squat position on the ground. When you don’t have the flexibility to do this, the seated forward bend and the downward-facing dog will help. These are yoga stretches that you can do if you are not able to squat on the ground.
Once you are able to squat on the ground, the next thing that you should do is try it on a rail.l Doing squats on the rail is a great way to build your body strength. Try to do at least ten squats on the ground before heading on the rail.
When you are on the rail, hold on to it, and once you have found your balance or confidence let go. You will find yourself standing on the rail and balancing yourself. Try gazing at a single point in front of you to help you with your focus. Make sure that you stand on the rail as long as you can.
If you fall, try it again until you get the hang of it. When you do this before your parkour training, it can help significantly in improving your balance.
6. Walk on the Rails: Great Way to Improve Balance
The next thing that you should do is to walk on the rail. You need to walk forward, then turn around, and walk back while maintaining your balance. It will help you start something easier on the rail. It is also the most basic level you can start with.
You can start by following a line on the ground, then use a wide plank, and then as you progress, let trim down the plank into a thinner version for practice. The key to balance while walking on the rails is to correct your posture.
While you are walking, make sure that you keep your chest up, your knees bent a little, and your butt should be over your heels. Always take each step toes first and make sure that you do this carefully.
When you are walking on the rails, you have to go slow and use ‘airplane arms’ until you are confident. ‘Airplane arms’ is when you have your arms wide open on the sides so that you can keep your balance. If you lose your balance, don’t panic and take the time to regain your balance when needed.
Here, it is best to use a money traverse or catwalk on the rail, where both methods can give you more control and a lower profile.
7. Catwalk: Practice First, Before Going on the Rails
A form of quadrupedal movement is known as catwalking and it is the act of moving on all-fours just like a cat. Other types of quadrupedal movement would include side sapiens and ground kongs. They have a specific use and also make a great conditioning exercise as well as help with your balance.
Aside from helping you with your balance before you can walk on rails, it can also help you get through or under any small areas. It will give you more balance and control in different obstacles as well as lowers your profile. Doing a catwalk technique is perfect for escaping and evasion.
All you have to do is start by getting down on your hands (flat palms) and feet. Then, place your right hand in front of your left hand, and your left foot should be in front of your right foot. Your hands and feet should form a line while you move forward. Make sure that you maintain this line as close as possible.
At first, it would help you to follow an actual line on the ground. Once you are on a ledge or rail, you will have little option. To move forward, first, move your rear hand to the front, and then your rear foot to the front. Then, repeat this process and make sure that you start with small steps.
Transfer your weight between your arms and legs, front and back, left and right. To keep your stability, keep the three points of contact on the surface all the time. When you have gained the coordination of movement, concentrate on perfecting your posture.
Be as level as you can from your hips to your head and keep your back horizontal to the ground as well as your head forward. Now, don’t stretch yourself out, bring your knees too close to your body, or stick your butt out.
If you need a rest, make sure to crouch and don’t put your knees on the ground. Progress further and work with different muscles by catwalking in different ways. You can go backward, up and downstairs, getting low, on rails, etc.
8. Rail Balance Routine: Get Used To It
When you have successfully done all of the things above, you can put them on a short rail balance routine. Hop on the rail and get balanced in a squat position. Doing a few squats, standing, walking forward, walking backward, and doing a catwalk on the rail would be a great routine to have before your parkour training.
Make sure that you increase the difficulty with inclined rails as you progress.
9. Slacklining: Become the Beast of Balancing
If you want to become the beast of balancing, you can move from the rail to slacklining. It is technically doing your rail balancing routine on a slackline. It is just like walking on a tightrope, and most people use a piece of webbing tied between two anchor points.
Now, for you to achieve slacklining properly, you have to make sure that you choose the best line for your needs. There are different lines that you try on the market, and selecting the right one will be a piece of cake. Also, before you start walking, it is important that you set the line up correctly. Here, you will come across the main rigging methods.
In setting up, you have to find two strong and healthy trees. It should be greater than 12 inches in diameter and about 10 to 15 feet apart and make sure that you start with a shorter line since it is more stable as well as easier to walk on.
There shouldn’t be any dangerous items in your surroundings or on the ground such as sharp rocks, especially when you are walking barefoot. Finding a lawn, sand, or a similar soft ground would be the perfect place to do slacklining. If it is not possible, then you can cover the harsh ground with an old mattress or something similar to it.
Set the line low on the ground, about knee height, and make sure it is very tight. Hard lines are better for beginners since they are easier to walk on than loose slacklines. Don’t forget the tree protection, and take the line down every after a session. Don’t leave it up for more than a few hours.
Leaving it for a lesser time will protect the trees’ vascular system of the tree under the bark but will also preserve the slackline’s condition.
Learning a couple of skills is always difficult at first, but as time goes on and with practice, it gets easier. It can be very frustrating but when you get used to slacklining, it will be a piece of cake. Slacklining is better to start barefoot since you will get better contact with the line and learn faster.
As you learn more skills and try to do a couple of tricks, you may want to wear shoes to protect your feet whenever you are landing. When you do use shoes, make sure that the laces are tight so your feet won’t wobble in them. Check your sole for any stuck sharp rock pieces that can damage the line.
Conclusion
Once you have followed these tips, you can get the balance that you need for parkour training. Make it a habit to do these exercises to make sure that you have the balance skill that you need to pull off different techniques and tricks for parkour. If you want to know how to increase your stamina for parkour, here is an article that I have written for you.
