If you’ve watched any sort of ninja warrior show on television, you’ve likely had the pleasure of watching athletes from all over the world engage in a new form of running that has taken the world by storm. They call it “freerunning” (sometimes spelled as two separate words: free running) and it involves a whole lot more than just putting one foot in front of the other.
Freerunning Defined
Freerunning is like a mixture between acrobatics, gymnastics and running. It involves the use of anything and everything that is in a runner’s environment to make the run more challenging. For instance, a free runner that has a tree in his or her path may choose to run up the tree as far as possible before grabbing a limb, spinning and doing a mid-air summersault, returning to the ground on their feet.
Or, if there is a wall in front of a freerunner, there would be no turning when he or she got to it to run in another direction. No, they would run up the wall as far as they could, possibly even scaling it.
So, freerunning is essentially running with a bunch of twists, turns, flips, climbing and more. It is quite entertaining to watch and very physically challenging if you’re looking to increase your fitness levels.
The Benefits of Freerunning
Not only does freerunning provide a great cardio workout just the same as ordinary running does, but it also is great for building muscle too. After all, you have to have quite a bit of strength in your arms and legs to maneuver the tricks. Freerunning also improves your agility and hand-eye coordination, just like any other sport that has quick changes of direction.
Try it and see what you think. Stick to small tricks first until you get the hang of it so as to avoid any injury. Then, let the world become your playground!
