My Parcourse A Community Based Society

I have been involved with exercising  for a while now. The main reason I started exercising was because I  joined the wrestling team in middle school.  I wrestled through high school and the coach required we do tons of calisthenics. In the off-season, I lifted weights   (power lifting) and I reached an all time goal of  260 pound bench press. That was a lot of weight since I weighed 140 pounds. However,  the challenge for me was how to be powerful and have muscular endurance at the same time.

I noticed when I lifted weights that I could lift a lot of weight but not have much endurance–I wanted a balance between strength and endurance. At the time, I didn’t know much about calisthenics. I thought lifting weights was a better way to get stronger.

However, during my wrestling season, I noticed I could do 50 push ups without stopping and my record for pull-ups was 32 (not chin ups). I only could achieve this when I was not lifting heavy weights. I found that lifting heavy weights  made me bulky and heavy but not necessarily  stronger per pound.

Calisthenics and Parcourse

Now I am 22 and have been teaching myself different techniques to be powerful and have endurance. Using calisthenics or your body weight I found out that you can maintain power and endurance if you do it the right way. Now benching a ton of weight does not appeal to me. I feel lifting weight, at least heavy weights, makes you slower and less nimble  and it is not natural to be big and huge. What’s the point of it  if you can lift a ton of weight but you can’t run very far or able to do many push ups (including one-handed push ups) because you are so bulky. To me why would the military use calisthenics if it didn’t work? I feel it’s the best possible way to be lean and strong and overall more athletic. You also do not have to deal with losing strength quickly. If you miss some days lifting weights, it sets you back, but with calisthenics that does not happen. You also don’t have to rely on a gym, since you can do it at your home or anywhere.

One of the best places to better your fitness and performance is a local parcourse. I learned to use the course equipment by reading the instructions on the sign. Over time, I varied the exercises and came up with new ones that where harder and different each time. Anyone can do these exercises even if you are not in the best shape.

If you belong to a gym you might want to think about lifting differently  because heavy weights put too much stress on your body. If I go to the gym now, I only lift lighter weights and do higher reps. For example, I would do  20 reps 3 sets for a total of 60 reps. I find the 60 reps is more difficult than 3 sets of 10 reps for a total of reps 30. I used to do 10 reps and then increase the weight, 7 reps and increase the weight, and then finally 5 reps with increased weight for a total of 22 reps. However, I find that a parcourse is more challenging than the gym.  I am more tired and sore because I am using different muscles then weight lifting and if I run in between the stations I am also working on my cardio fitness.

Diet

You also have to think about your diet and how your body reacts to what your eating and what time of the day your body is at its peak performance.  For me, it is around 8 to 10pm. However, everyone is different. I believe you do not need to drink protein shakes or take supplements to get stronger. My theory is that it is not natural to consume these all the time. You may find out when your older that is hard on your organs

After going through a  traumatic experience with a family member’s health, I learned that we are genetically disposed to heart disease and blocked arteries. My grandparents had heart disease from genetics but also from smoking and eating unhealthy foods. One of them was a doctor but unfortunately back then people did not understand the effects of a poor diet and smoking. My father, on other hand, recently went through a painful surgery, a quintuple bypass. He told me I never wanted to experience this kind of pain in my life.

He never smoked or drank.  The reason for his heart disease was genetics coupled with his diet. He exercised with weights but probably did not do enough cardio. He is a strong guy and at his age he can bench at least 340 pounds. He is over weight around 240 lb. but even so, I would say that he is in better shape than most men his age. However, he was not educated on how your diet is a big factor in staying healthy. When he was growing up, he was not taught about the importance of a healthy diet.  He is a baby boomer and every generation since then is learning something new about the human body and health. After hearing his surgeon tell me I have a high risk of heart disease, I am not going to ignore his advice. Also I have done research and heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. Many young children are eating unhealthy which is causing people to suffer heart attacks and strokes at a younger and younger age.

Why I Made this Site

I made this site to inform people about how to use a parcourse and help them in any way I can. I would also like to form groups of people who could meet up and work out in their local communities. Maybe you can take the initiative and form your own group in your community!