WHY?
Placing yourself in challenging environments promotes growth. Everything about outdoor winter training is harder and that challenge is what builds motivation and perseverance. By experiencing the cold we appreciate the warmer months (this also works for training in the hottest times in summer to appreciate the winter too!)Winter parkour training has great physical benefit too. We move to stay warm and if we stop the cold sets in. Simple. Winter training is far more cardio intensive than any other condition. Your body has to work harder to generate heat and to move in more restrictive clothing. Wisconsin winter does not allow you to stand around, and so we move for almost the entire class.
Moving in slippery conditions is the best way to understand your contacted angle of momentum. Hand and foot precision and placement has to be perfect in order to get traction. Are you using your toe-push during jumps improperly? Jump on some ice. Are you landing with too much forward momentum? Land in the snow. Are you gripping incorrectly during vaults? etc.
Lastly, it really is a lot of fun. Some of you might be thinking that my idea of fun is somewhat twisted, but seriously, training in the snow is fun. There’s something wonderful about how snow makes the world quieter, and how beautiful it is to see snowflakes slowly falling, and how accomplished you feel when you realize you’ve forgotten how cold it really is.
So let’s train together outside this winter. Let’s do something new and challenging. Let’s become more resilient.
Outdoor winter training is the best. When we only train indoors with consistent temperature, light, sound, surfaces, and conditions, we get bored from our lack of adaptation. At its core, parkour is fundamentally designed to help you adapt. The indoor space in Elkhorn is great, but it shouldn’t be the only place we train.