Nina
- Jan 14, 2022
- 2 min read

Eight reasons to try parkour

Updated: Jan 24, 2022

Access Parkour, Scotland's largest parkour coaching and performance organisation, turns eight this week. To celebrate eight years of introducing people of all ages and from all walks of life to the joy of parkour, we collected eight reasons for you to make the leap into parkour in 2022.

A young woman with long dark hair tied back is standing casually in the fork of a tree with a big smile on her face. She's wearing bright patterned leggings and a hoodie. A couple walking a dog are visible in the background.

A parkour practitioner feeling awesome in a tree. Image © Access Parkour and Donald Dalziel media

1. Doing parkour feels awesome. Whether it's swinging through the air, jumping between things, nailing a difficult route, doing parkour feels good. You leave classes feeling like you’ve accomplished something amazing. Plus, all the rumours about endorphins, serotonin and dopamine generation being supported by physical activity are true!

A man wearing bright red joggies and a mint green t-shirt is hanging upside down, "koala style" from a high horizontal scaffolding pole indoors. Other students can be seen balance on other parts of the scaffolding structure in the background and discussing something.

A parkour student exploring upside down movement. Image © Access Parkour and Donald Dalziel media

2. Parkour builds confidence. Challenging yourself physically is a great way to build confidence. Knowing you can achieve things that once seemed impossible can help you realise your own potential, strength and skills in other areas of life. Obstacles that seem insurmountable sometimes just need to be broken down a little and tackled with patience, practice and support from the people around you. Speaking of which..

A group of people of different genders, ages and races in a circle outdoors. They are raising their hands and have their legs bent. Most people are wearing dark colours but some are wearing bright pink or red jogging bottoms, or bright multi-coloured trousers. The people closest to the camera have their back turned and are wearing t-shirts with the words "Access Parkour" printed on the back. The group is standing on a paved open space with a mix of old and contemporary architecture visible in the background.

A group warm-up for a parkour class. Image © Access Parkour and Donald Dalziel media

3. Parkour is about community. Although not a traditional team sport, parkour has always been as much about the people as it is about the activity itself. Access Parkour classes exemplify this. It’s about going out and moving with other people and enjoying yourself. No competition. No judgement. No pressure.

Four people of different genders are executing a step vault over a high wall simultaneously. A coach is stood on the ground below and in front of the students on the wall. The coach is wearing a purple t-shirt and dark trousers and is holding his hand up to his eyes to see better in the bright light. At the bottom of the grey concrete wall is bright green grass, and behind the students the Scottish Parliament building is visible against a blue sky with soft wispy clouds.

Learning parkour on the walls of the Scottish Parliament. Image © Access Parkour and Donald Dalziel media

4. The world is your playground. Walls become challenges; rails are for sliding on; pavements are for jumping to. The bric-a-brac of urban architecture and the chaos of nature is suddenly interesting, engaging and playful as you develop a newfound appreciation for the world around you. Creative opportunities are everywhere once you know how to spot them.

A close up on someone balancing on a low scaffolding rail. One foot is on the rail and the other is off and pointed to help balance. The person is wearing dark trouser and the background is blurry.

Balancing barefoot on a low rail. Image © Access Parkour and Donald Dalziel media

5. There’s no expensive gear. To do parkour, you need clothes you can move in and a cheap pair of trainers. That's it. Once it gets a wee bit warmer, you can even go barefoot! There’s no specialist equipment or long term contract at Access Parkour. You pay monthly or you pay per class and there’s no small print or extra hoops to jump through.

David - a parkour coach, is using his hands to explain a movement to Maebh, a parkour student. -David is wearing black trousers and trainers, and an oversized grey jumper with green and red patches over the shoulders. He has dark hair, dark stubble and is wearing glasses. Maebh has her light brown/red hair tied back in a ponytail and is wearing a navy Access Parkour t-shirt, brightly coloured yellow, blue, black and white, patterned leggings, and some bright blue trainers. Both people are stood within a frame made of grey scaffolding poles. In the background some crash mates and hula hoops are visible.

6. Parkour meets you where you are. Parkour is about challenging yourself. Because of that it’s incredibly easy to scale it up and down so that it meets the needs of every individual that walks into a class. Whether you are taking your first steps into exercise, or want to find a new challenge in your life, there’s an entry point in the world of parkour.

Two people using a large gnarled tree stump to do tricep dips in a park. The person on the left has brown hair tied back in a low bun. They're wearing a grey t-shirt and black shorts and trainers. The person on the right has short dark, short, very tight curly hair and a goatee beard. They're wearing a grey t-shirt, navy tracksuit bottoms and white trainers.

7. Parkour makes you fitter. We’ll never get tired of saying it. You don’t need to be fit to start parkour, but doing parkour will make you fitter. Parkour is a full body workout and you’ll leave tired and happy. Over time, you’ll notice feeling stronger, finding other activities easier and you won’t struggle with simple movements anymore.

Two people wearing matching purple hoodies are caught mid-step vault over a low wall. The person on the left of the image is a white man with short dark hair and a bear. The other person is a young person with short wavy brown hair. The wall is grey concrete and in the background of the image is bright green grass, a large pond and some trees along the horizon below a blue and white sky.

8. It’s easy to jump in. There are classes to get you back in the game after injury or inactivity. There are classes where you can discover basic movements. There are indoor and outdoor options and there are classes every day of the week. There are personal training programmes and private coaching sessions. Beginning parkour couldn’t be easier.

You can book your first class at the following link: https://www.accessparkour.com/classes

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Eight reasons to try parkour

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