The Women of Parkour

The New York Times posted a great article and video on free running.

In the sport of parkour, people leap off railings, jump over walls, and generally use the urban environment as their playing field. Most practitioners are men, but now women are joining the ranks.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Men practicing “free running” are often stronger in the upper body than women. But the girls have some advantages too.

… Asked what weight training goes into preparing for the pulling and pushing of the sport, Sha Mialimm Ak, 18, said: “There really isn’t any. It’s about using your body weight. So you can do push-ups and pull-ups. But it’s not important to have muscular arms to do this. It’s better to have flexibility in the whole body.” …

Climbing Walls Because They’re There – NY Times