Strength Training Guide for Parkour Athletes: Improve Jumps, Power & Injury Resilience (Part 1/3)

Introduction

Welcome to Part 1 of this 3-part series on training for parkour athletes. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege to coach both world and national champions—men and women—in style and speed competitions. This series will walk through my process for helping my athletes achieve elite performance in both parkour and freerunning competitions, or just on the streets. I will touch on three different topics strength training, plyometric training, and conditioning training. We begin with the cornerstone of physical development: strength training for parkour athletes.

Just before we dive in, I’d like to stress that to get the most out of training, it should be consistently assessed & tailored based on the specific athlete’s strengths & weaknesses.

Why Strength Training Matters for Parkour

Strength training is not just about getting stronger, it’s the base for being powerful, efficient, bouncy & safe. Parkour athletes routinely absorb crazy forces upon landing, many times their bodyweight. Structured strength training can help you deal with these things better, avoiding breakdowns, injuries, and performance plateaus.

A solid strength training plan:

• Enhances force absorption during landings

• Increases explosive power production for jumps, leaps, climbs-ups, sprint speed and swings

• Builds body control and coordination

• Improves joint resilience and injury prevention

• Supports efficient energy transfer in complex skills

• Helps with endurance in races and runs

The key goal? Develop both absolute & relative strength, get significantly stronger without building too much mass.

Step 1: Build Absolute Strength
Absolute strength is the foundation upon which all other athletic qualities are built. The stronger an athlete is, the more potential they have for power, speed, and reactive control. Now it’s always tricky to give very specific numbers, but early on I will heavily bias all S&C-training towards strength development till the athlete roughly hits the following targets:

Target Strength-to-Bodyweight Ratios for Parkour Athletes:

• Back Squat: 1.5x bodyweight

• Deadlift: 2x bodyweight

• Bench Press: 1x bodyweight

• Strict press: 0.8x bodyweight

• Weighted pull-up: 0.5x bodyweight (in addition to body)

This does not mean that parkour athletes should try to become bodybuilders or powerlifters, but we see that in the initial phases, simply bringing absolute strength to these numbers will concurrently improve all aspects like power & reactive strength. This makes focusing on strength building initially simply the biggest-bang-for-your-bug training method. Having said that, training should always include, be it at different volumes, all types of speeds & contractions like, fast lifts, plyometrics etc.

This does not mean that these are the only exercises we do. To reach these benchmarks, training should incorporate:

• Bilateral and unilateral squats, in all planes of motion (e.g., back squats, Bulgarian split squats, side lunges)

• Hip hinges (deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts)

• Horizontal and vertical presses and pulls (bench press, pull-ups, overhead press)

• Core movements, both dynamic and static, including rotations

• Core stability movements targeting anti-rotation and anti-extension

One method I rely on heavily in this phase is triphasic training, a system that divides training up into blocks of eccentric, isometric, and concentric muscle actions to build complete athletic strength.

Step 2: Introduce Explosive & reactive Strength Development
Once athletes demonstrate solid strength-to-weight benchmarks, we often see that major improvements need more specificity. This means that we’ll start focusing more on explosive and reactive strength training. Here we really start targeting the athletes ability to jump, bounce rebound, twist and generate speed in all directions. Explosive work enhances power output while improving motor unit recruitment and joint stiffness.

Initial explosive exercises include:

• Low-impact plyometrics like pogo jumps

• High-impact plyometrics like depth-jumps, intense bounding

• Explosive weightlifting like power cleans & trap-bar jumps

• Medicine ball tosses (overhead and scoop throws)

• Box jumps (prioritizing clean takeoff mechanics)

More on the inclusion of plyometrics and explosive training in the next blog.

Upper Body and Core Training for Parkour
Obviously parkour demands total-body power which includes an athletic upper body. Freerunners rely on upper body strength for climbing, vaulting, swinging, and absorbing impact during dynamic transitions. This means training should include:

• Pull-ups and rope climbs for vertical pulling strength

• Rows and inverted pulls for horizontal strength

• Overhead pressing and handstand push-ups for vertical pushing strength

• And solid core training

In addition, core strength is non-negotiable. We don’t (just) train abs for aesthetics, we need them to work for us. This means training them like a real muscle that needs to produce force and therefore should be loaded. Now whether we load them initially with bodyweight or external weight is not relevant but we need to sufficiently stress them within the 5-10 rep range and make sure we load appropriately. Additionally, explosive & reactive movements with med balls etc. will be included too.

Strengthening the Foot-Ankle Complex

Lastly, one of the more underrated aspects of strength training for jumping athletes is: foot, ankle, and calf complex. Every jump, vault, and landing begins and ends at the feet. Weakness here invites injury.

To fortify the foundation, we include:

• Isometric calf holds (e.g., tiptoe holds)

• Tibialis anterior raises

• Pogo jumps to build elastic stiffness

• Balance drills to enhance proprioception and foot control

These exercises help athletes absorb landings more efficiently and rebound into their next movement with power and precision.

Example Weekly Strength Split for Parkour

The following example of a the parkour strength program can be downloaded for free here.

Day 1: Bilateral Emphasis

• Box Jumps

• Back Squat

• Chin-Ups

• Overhead Press

• Core

Day 2: Unilateral Emphasis

• Single-Leg Hops

• Bulgarian Split Squat

• Romanian Deadlifts or Kettlebell swings

• Dumbbell Rows

• Calf and Low Back Accessory Work

This simple split builds strength, balance, and resilience without overloading volume—critical for athletes who are also training parkour skills multiple days per week.

What’s Next: Plyometrics and Conditioning
In Part 2 of this series, we’ll dive deep into plyometric training for parkour athletes. You’ll learn how, to progress from foundational landing mechanics to high-level reactive drills that build springiness, speed, and coordination. And how to safely add them into a training week without overloading the jumping volume.

Part 3 will cover conditioning training for parkour, where we’ll explore how to develop both aerobic and anaerobic systems to meet the different demands of style vs. speed competitions.

Final Thoughts
Strength training for parkour is never just about lifting weights. The target is always to develop an athlete who can perform better and be more resilient and every element of the program should be actively contributing to that. Whether you compete at a high level or just want to stay injury-free while progressing your skills, a structured strength training approach will keep you performing better, longer, and more confidently.

Ready to take your parkour performance to the next level?

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why is strength training important for parkour athletes?
Strength training improves force absorption, explosive power, joint resilience, and overall body control. It reduces injury risk and provides the physical foundation needed for advanced parkour skills like vaults, flips, and rapid landings.

2. What are the key strength benchmarks parkour athletes should aim for?
To build sufficient absolute strength without unnecessary bulk, athletes should target the following strength-to-bodyweight ratios:

• Back Squat: 1.2x bodyweight

• Deadlift: 2x bodyweight

• Bench Press: 1x bodyweight

3. How should plyometric training be integrated into a parkour program?
Plyometric training should follow a structured progression: start with force absorption drills, then move into exercises that develop rate of force production, and finally add reactive, rebounding movements. Plyos should be performed 2–3 times per week, early in a training session when the nervous system is fresh.

4. What’s the difference between training for style and speed competitions?
Style competitions focus on short bursts of explosive, creative movements, requiring maximal power and control. Speed competitions demand sustained high-intensity effort and linear explosiveness. Conditioning and training volume are tailored accordingly, with speed athletes requiring more endurance and repeated sprint ability.