Want to put some excitement into your workout?

Of course you do!  Well if you’re ready to inject some adrenaline, as well as some other hormones, into your fitness routine I have found the absolute perfect sport:  Parkour or Free Running class offered at the Equinox Gym at Columbus Circle.

Parkour or Free Running is the act of moving from point “a” to point “b” using the obstacles in your path to increase your efficiency.  Go to the WFPF website and watch some mind-blowing videos of this amazing sport to get an idea of what these remarkable athletes are doing. 

 

The class at Equinox is geared for absolute beginners.  So they won’t be expecting you to scale a building like Spiderman or flip and twist like an Olympic athlete over an obstacle your first day in class.  In fact, they are highly safety conscious and they start by teaching only the most basic of these moves in small progressions. Once participants are comfortable with each step they can move on to a more difficult variation, always progressing at their own pace.

 

Now, not to bury the lead but, another extreme aspect to this extreme sport is that the athletes teaching it are EXTREMELY HOT!  And no, not like a little hot, or kinda cute, but WOW!  And there are a variety of them—so depending on personal preference…And OK, not only are they hot and great athletes, they are kind, patient and enthusiastic teachers. 

 

Equinox instructor, Lisa Wheeler, told me that each class will be taught both by an Equinox instructor trained in Parkour, my class was actually taught by Lisa and she gave us a completely kick-ass workout, as well as by one of the (did I mention hot?) Parkour athletes.

 

The athletes come from all over the world so they also have some absolutely adorable accents—not like they need them.  Plus they can do this:

 

 

Ben Jenkin, Hometown: Blackburn, England

Hot athletic instructors aside, the participants in the class I attended were all attractive too.  And the class adopted a very cool team spirit vibe, loudly cheering each other on as we took turns trying new skills.

 

Michael Turner,Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA

 

 

Classes start in October. Contact Equinox for a schedule.

 

Travis Wong, Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

And tune in to watch these guys as they show off their most astonishing moves on MTV’s ULTIMATE PARKOUR CHALLENGE, airing on MTV on October 22^nd at 11:00 PM.

 

Below, Ryan Doyle, Hometown: Liverpool, England