Parkour In Arizona Summer

How to get started in Parkour in Arizona.

I've lived in Arizona for over 20 years and more specifically in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. Training in the desert and urban areas has it's challenges and let me tell you it gets freaking hot here. I do not expect anyone to train outside in the triple digit weather, but I am not everyone, I'm a little weird and I have trained in the 118 degree temps out here several times. As a practitioner of Parkour you need to be smart about this if you really decide you want to brave the summer heat here. That's what I want to talk about in this article. Below is a video of me drenched in sweat during the summer heat to give you an idea of the mindset.

I think it is pretty obvious what to do during the colder...or I should say nice weather...in Arizona, but how do you get through the summer here if you absolutely love parkour and training outside?

Let's first get a couple of things understood.

When I was developing most of my initial Parkour discipline in Arizona there weren't any indoor parkour gyms, there were barely any trampoline parks and most gymnastics places only had open gyms on the weekends or later at night at some odd hours. This forced me to have to find solutions to training in the heat.

Here are a couple of tips that will aide you in this process should you find that you too are going to be an Urban Desert Warrior.

Clothes

Pants and Shirt

The clothes you wear are going to a matter. You want to limit your exposure to the direct sunlight and try to have good airflow in your your clothes. This means wearing baggy natural fiber sweats and a long sleeve natural fabric hoody or T Shirt with a good bucket hat on will be great for you. There are better fabrics now that are even cooler than natural fiber, but I would usually just get some baggy sweats and a long sleeve t-shirt from a Goodwill store and or if you have the means from a Small business like https://skochypstiks.com/ that specializes in Parkour Clothing .

The thing is that you want airflow between your skin and the protective layer of clothing. The baggy clothes help to push fresh air through and keep you somewhat cooler. It helps a lot.

Occasionally yes I would go out in nothing but very short shorts, but I would usually only do that for tumbling sessions on nice grass in the green belt and I would wear sunscreen. A word of caution with going barefoot in the grass in Arizona. Sometimes the grass looks soft but the earth under it can feel like cement, so make sure to test if the ground gives a little or not when you out pressure into your feet, trust me nothing stings more than if you go from something soft to something hard unknowingly. It can cause bad pressure bruises that can take weeks to heal...more on barefoot training later.

Gloves or no gloves

Should you wear gloves when training parkour during the summer in Arizona? I personally don't wear gloves, but I also refrain from holding onto scalding bars for too long. If you absolutely must climb bars for an extended period of time during the summer heat in direct sunlight then yes I would say wear some type of protective gloves to avoid melting your hands off. I could and will write a whole article on if you should wear gloves in Parkour all together. But for now considering this article is about summer training in Arizona, I think it is enough to say if you are going to hold on to bars that are in direct sunlight for a long time then I would consider being wearing a weightlifting glove of some type.

Shoes

In the hot summer thinner shoes can make your feet get very hot on concrete that is in direct sunlight. It is best to either move quickly on hot concrete or wear a slightly thicker shoe if you will be spending prolonged time there. I was able to get away with wearing fairly thin shoes like Feiyues or Vevo Barefoots though I did find that shoes would wear out quicker because the rubber would become softer and sometimes rip. Again I can write a whole article on shoes and Parkour and I will, but in regards to summer in thin shoes just keep moving and your feet will be okay, stay still and your feet will start to feel it.

Hydration

Water is no joke in the desert especially during the summer, but whats even more important than drinking just water is making sure to replenish your electrolytes. I am not personally a fan of expensive branded drinks, but I can say I am quite fond of EmergenC the powder that you pour into water that has minerals and vitamins in it. I have found that to be the easiest and most effective for a low budget...or you can go even cheaper and just put a little bit of Sea Salt in your water, which is what I tend to do for my drinking water and then during practice sessions when I am sweating more I will drink an EmergenC for more vitamins and higher salt intake. You can also make your own electrolyte mixture similar to the company LMNT that also has an effective, but expensive electrolyte packet.

Their mixture is

Sodium: 1000 mg Potassium: 200 mg Magnesium: 60 mg

I have had severe joint pain, headaches and temporary cognitive decline because I did not replenish my salts in my body quick enough so please sip away on those mixtures throughout your training if you are sweating a lot.

Shade, Parking Structures

Whenever possible train in the shade in Arizona Summer. It can drop as much as 10 degrees or more under the shade of a tree and 20 degrees or more in parking structures that are covered. Plus trees and parking structures always add intricate obstacles that can add to your adventure. Shade may limit your locations at times, but it can also force you to get more creative so that you reuse old spaces to their maximum potential. I have found some amazing spots because I found some deep or tall parking structures by forcing myself to explore for shaded areas. Exploration is a huge part of building the Parkour Vision. With the invention of parkour gyms a lot of new practitioners have not had the experience of exploring and on days when you are very tired from hard training sometimes a walk in a new area is all it takes to discover a Parkour Paradise in an unknown area. More on exploration principles later.

The video at the beginning of this article has an underground parking structure in it that I would use to escape the heat regularly.

Stretching

You warm up before you stretch to build new ranges of motion so that eventually you can access that new range when you are cold. So I have always taken advantage of the extreme summers in Arizona to help with my stretching. I remember the sound of the Cicadas in the summers that signaled the monsoon season and how those songs would help entrance me into a deep connection with my body while stretching or training in the summer heat. Again on days that I was to tired to get lots of power for big jumps I would practice flexibility and mobility. I recommend understanding Functional Range training or end range training and contract relax stretching. Below is a great video for starting points for most practitioners and a few names to look into for deeper dives. Thomas Kurz, Dr. Andreo Spina, Emmet Louis, Kit laughlin.

A side note. both of these videos are from an old channel called movement monastery I am no longer pursuing that. My wife and I opened AeroTerra Arts LLC which is a combied effort.

Grass

Surprisingly Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale all have a lot of grassy parks and golf course for all the retired people that move to Arizona. Some more taken care of then others, but simply the fact that the parks allowed for trees for shade and training in, less concrete and more grass to help cool the ground temperature, and well maintained public areas all add together for some great training locations in Arizona. I was very fortunate to be in the cheapest apartments at the heart of Scottsdale near a series of greenbelts for when I had some of my greatest growth as an athlete.

Arizona gets hot and that's an understatement. It is roasting out here especially in the city where the concrete traps the heat in, but if you follow some of the tips listed above I guarantee you will have a better experience with your practice.

Thank you and I look forward to the next one.

Francesco Caban

I’m Too ______to take an Aerial Class…

I’m Too ____ to take an aerial class.

A. Weak

B. Inflexible

C. Out-of-shape

silks hanging from a steel beam

What’s your excuse?

Excuses, insecurities, negative-self talk, call it what you will. I have heard many of the reasons above as to why people don’t take an aerial class. I remember just a few years ago (15 to be exact) when I took my first aerial class. I thought and communicated to day-job colleagues that I liked this but that I had no upper body strength (not true) and no grip strength (also not true) and that I couldn’t even do one pull up (true). Luckily, I had one particular colleague at my hospital job say “just get a pull up bar and when you see it in your house, try to do a pull-up. I bet you you’ll get one within a month”. Well, I did just what he told me and within a month I was able to do 2 full pull-ups.

Yay me!

You adapt

Here’s the nitty-gritty, absolute truth about the human body (I do have a bachelor’s in biology and have a career in pathology for a few years not to mention an undying curiosity about the human body and brain....so I have a little knowledge in this area), the human body is inherently lazy. It will not physically add strength to itself unless you push it to do so. Evolutionarily speaking there is no need for our bodies to acquire strength unless it needs to for survival and/or procreation. If you don’t remind your body what you want the new norm to be (e.g. 1 pull-up) with regular training your body will remain lazy.

I know you feel I’m off topic

ha-ha

not at all

See by just coming to an aerial class with no expectation but coming regularly you will obviously acquire adaptive strength (obviously means you would not just be sitting in the corner). In addition, because humans (most) are such social creatures, simply being in an environment with other people moving will make you want to move and try to mimic what everyone else is doing.

This is why people go to gyms: we are motivated by other motivated people.

In short, you will begin your aerial journey no matter what, just by taking a first step into a class.

Find your best starting point

Not flexible? This is relative to what people perceive as flexible. In addition, because aerial classes are so varied in apparatuses and techniques, you can find a style that fits your body.

Maybe you are fast.

Great! Then more dynamic movements like “beats” and swings are meant for your current body.

Maybe you are a flow-with-the-music type of body.

Well, then slower more intricate wraps on silks or pose-y movements on trapeze, lyra, or hammock are for you.

No matter what, if you come to a class, we can help you with exercises that you can do in our space or at home to help you improve your flexibility.

Out of Shape? Everyone is never “out-of-shape”. Maybe you don’t have the shape you think you should have now, but just incorporating new movement will either start you on your new journey to the shape you want and/or help you change your mind set into helping you appreciate the shape you have.

Aerial arts may already show you how amazing your body already is.

khrystia st lucia performing in red aerial silks on a beautiful blue sky. She’s wearing her own designed black and red costume