KMB: Laché Movement Co.

“Parkour!” refers to a memorable scene from the American TV series “The Office” in which the character Michael Scott performs a clumsy roll over a couch and excitedly screams, “Parkour!”

Does anyone else have a secret passion for watching reruns of this comedy, or is it just me?

My husband and I giggled about this episode of “The Office” when I told him I would be heading to Laché Movement Co. to try out some parkour for this month’s Kick Mo’s Butt session, and I wondered if I would be able to run up walls after one session.
Arriving at Laché Movement was easy, as my GPS brought me directly to the facility and there is plenty of parking. The gym is open and spacious with numerous areas to learn multiple skills.

Coach Eric greeted us warmly and invited me to warm up. We did movements that would loosen up our joints effectively.

After a good warm-up, Eric started me with some easy movements that I could duplicate as his teaching skills were spot on. 

The following are all the skills we worked on and in this order:

• Step vaults
• Monkey ups
• Underbars
• Precision jumps
• Laches
• Parkour front rolls
• Jumping down into a parkour roll
• Running up the wall with a cat hang to a drop
• Running up the wall with a pivot and cat hang to a drop (on a steeper wall) 

After decently running through all these skills, Eric set a short course for me that I ran through five times. The course was as follows: Box steps to underbar, up and over vault boxes, “wall” to vault and ending with a lache.

My time at Laché reminded me of my American Ninja Warrior training from the past! I loved how I felt moving through the short course and would have enjoyed adding to it. 

Following the course, I had an urge to run up the warped wall. This wall has a top platform that is 17-feet high with two openings to run up to. One opening reaches 12 feet and the other reaches 14 feet. I easily made the 12-foot opening but was not accustomed to turning around and running back down the wall, so I only tried this a few times before moving on. The warped walls I am used to from the past usually have a top that I could climb up and use a fireman’s pole to slide down. But it was still fun to try again, anyways. 

Time moved too quickly for me and before we knew it, my session was almost up. Eric decided to allow me some airtime on the springy trampoline — yes, one of my favorite past times!

Immediately, I had to feel out the backflip opportunities, and Eric realized he could show me some different movements that allowed for more twisting and turning. We worked on deadfalls, under flips, flip and turns, and stepping off the wall into a deadfall. 

I could totally see myself becoming addicted to this training. It was an invigorating full-body session that left me feeling well-worked but not overly sore. 

Eric is a skilled coach who can instruct every step of the way and showcase the movements well, too. He was patient and encouraging and paid attention to making sure I rested throughout the session when needed. I tend to want to keep moving and forget that sometimes rest is always needed, especially when you are rolling, jumping and spinning! 

Be sure to check out the website for all the classes for both adults and kids. They have levels ranging from one to three and offer group or private lessons. This is a great place to bring your kids to learn body awareness and strength for all ages. And, of course, I encourage all adults to find their way over and give themselves a chance to PARKOUR! You can find more details online.

Thank you, Laché Movement Co. for the great Kick Mo’s Butt session, and maybe I’ll see you on a wall, out and about in Austin someday!

Stay Fit & Love Life, Monica
www.monicabrant.com