How To Train PARKOUR In Anchorage, Eagle River, and Wasilla, Alaska

It can be tough to find places to master parkour in Anchorage! Heck, it can be tough in Alaska, period (especially during the winter). But is it possible to train parkour in Anchorage, Wasilla, or Eagle River–and get REALLY GOOD, safely, while having FUN?

Transforming into a Parkour Samurai (even in the harshest of winters in Alaska) is not only possible…but Anchorage, Wasilla, and especially Eagle River is ACTUALLY A SECRET GOLDMINE for parkour and acrobatics training.

Though it does depend on 3 crucial elements:

  • The places you train, the overall cleanliness of the environment (who wants to get sick after training at a dirty gym?), and the equipment.
  • Your training methods, progressions, and safe system for advancement.
  • Your community of peers and Coaches you train with.

Our team at Pacific Rim Athletics has created this HANDY GUIDE for you to navigate the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of training parkour in Anchorage or greater Alaska.

Lee Weiland Parkour Gainer In Eagle River Anchorage Alaska
Lee Weiland doing a parkour gainer in Eagle River, Alaska right nearby Pacific Rim Athletics’ headquarters (about 10 min. out from Anchorage).

5 WAYS TO MASTER PARKOUR IN ANCHORAGE, AK

FIRST, “WHO” IN ANCHORAGE IS PARKOUR FOR?

Parkour is for EVERYONE. It is for all ages, genders, and levels.

HOW IT CAN HELP YOU…

  • Getting and staying SHREDDED
  • Building SUPERHERO STRENGTH
  • Attaining FANTASTIC FLEXIBILITY
  • REBUILDING joints, connective tissue, and muscle
  • OVERCOMING fear, ROADBLOCKS, and plateaus
  • Overall body awareness and mental DISCIPLINE for ANY OTHER DISCIPLINE

Because of the constant conditioning, strength training, and flexibility, you gain a lot of really amazing benefits.

Your jump height increases.

Your core strength becomes stronger than really any other sport or training process.

And your joints become vastly more conditioned because of the high impact nature of the training (you don’t start with high impact of course, but the conditioning gets you there in about 6-12 months).

Here’s Cole “Bullet” Snyder only 8 years old at the time absolutely crushing it.

And here’s Vennie, 50 years old Secretary Attorney General for the state of Alaska throwing “Every Flip In The Book.”

PARKOUR PLACES IN AND AROUND ANCHORAGE, WASILLA, AND EAGLE RIVER

You’ve seen all the videos and amazingness that is parkour, but you haven’t been able to skyrocket your progress.

So what went wrong?

If you want to be a Parkour Samurai, you need places to train.

Naturally, you’ll want a place that feels comfortable (there’s plenty that will already push you outside your comfort zone), has cool people around, and has suitable training aids to help with your progress.

In Anchorage and the surrounding 15-20 miles there’s a vast amount of elements that are great for the experienced Parkour Samurai, both architecturally and naturally.

PARKOUR ALASKA TERRAIN

The essential element to remember is to always check your surfaces and your equipment before performing a skill.

Out here, you’ve got a couple different types of terrain:

  • First, you’ve got the “Great Outdoors.” Big rocks, small rocks, mountains, cliffs. Watch out for rain, wet surfaces, and moss!
Coach Lee on Peak 3 in Anchorage, Alaska doing a handstand and some parkour up in the clouds.
  • Next, you’ve got man-made environments. Big buildings, small buildings, outdoor parks, bars, and skateboard parks that can be utilized when the weather conditions are good. Again, make sure to always check your surfaces as well as your shoes.
Some teenagers doing parkour nearby Anchorage, Alaska.
  • And finally, Pacific Rim Athletic’s training facility is home to parkour, freerunning, and power tumbling training where one can learn everything they need to take outdoors, to competitions, or to high level performances.
A student doing a back flip at Pacific Rim Athletics, in Eagle River, Alaska.

Here’s Clayton, Level 10 Parkour Samurai from Pacific Rim Athletics doing some outdoor training. This is a wall inward front flip off of a rock in a nearby neighborhood. There are plenty of parks and natural environments to be able to do parkour, once you have built a strong foundation, strength, and skill.

Clayton does Parkour Wall Front Flip in Anchorage, Alaska
Clayton from Pacific Rim Athletics does a Parkour Wall Inward Front Flip off a rock near Anchorage, Alaska

Here’s Mags, another athlete from Pacific Rim Athletics, doing a back flip on top of Hard Rock Cafe in Anchorage!

Mags does back flip above Hard Rock Cafe in Anchorage, Alasak
Mags another student at Pacific Rim Athletics does back flip on top of Hard Rock Cafe in Anchorage, Alaska

And here’s Ben, another athlete from Pacific Rim Athletics, doing a front flip drop from out of the window of his home somewhere in Alaska.

Ben another athlete from Pacific Rim Athletics does a parkour front flip out of the window of his home in Alaska.

HOW TO MASTER PARKOUR

One of the most important things you need is a SYSTEM.

At Pacific Rim Athletics, a 10 Level System is used for advancement in all the 5 Styles.

Parkour Samurai is one of those Styles.

Here’s how the SYSTEM LOOKS:

You learn “Every Flip In The Book” on each one of the 5 Elements:

  • Floor: Tumbling & Tricking (front flips, back flips, twisting flips, double flips, etc.)
  • Wall: All flip variations done on the wall
  • Vault: Propelling your body over an obstacle (advanced levels adds twists and flips)
  • Drops: Jumps, twists, and flips from heights
  • Cat Hang: acrobatic skills done from a ledge

Front flipping is done by vertical ascension with hip rise over the head.

Back flipping is basically a strong reverse crunch done at the peak of the jump or rebound.

Twisting occurs via contraction through the core and obliques.

Double twisting and double flipping happens once you have the strength and the aerial awareness.

Joints and connective tissue are built over the span of 6 months to 2 years in order to be thick and tough enough for the high impact.

And the overall strength and flexibility is built through low impact work like Handstand Rockstar (handbalancing from all angles) and Ninja Strength (calisthenics on rings and high bar).

And THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED IS A COACH.

Here’s Coach Lee working with Braxton on double twisting back flips.

NOW, WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “MASTERY”?

Mastery means understanding all of the Levels and progressions of the System.

Mastery also means being able to perform all of those skills from Level 1 to Level 10.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it means being able to adapt training for yourself and teach someone else how to become Level 10.

And if you desire, it could include performing and competing!

Here’s some performers from Pacific Rim Athletics showcasing their skills LIVE at the annual Cirque Shows in Anchorage.

Vennie does a back flip off a big tractor tire in a parkour performance at University of Alaska Anchorage.
Performers do back flips at Alaska Pacific University as part of a show hosted by Pacific Rim Athletics.
A student does a front flip vault over a tractor tire at a parkour performance at University of Alaska Anchorage.

GO ON AN ADVENTURE!

Training doesn’t need to end at the gym or on the competition floor!

Sometimes to escape Alaska, it’s important to travel nationally and internationally.

Escaping from Alaska for a bit can help break up the winters as well as go somewhere new and exciting during the Summer Break.

And here’s several athletes from Pacific Rim travelling together and performing skills around the world.

Here’s Clayton on a Pacific Rim Athletics Retreat in Okinawa, Japan.

And this is Coach Lee at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

Coach Lee doing a parkour gainer at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

CONCLUSION

You’re at risk of missing out if you’re not training parkour in Alaska. It’s a GOLDMINE FOR PARKOUR AND ACROBATICS TRAINING.

No matter your age, level, or background, you can build superhero strength, fantastic flexibility, and “every flip in the book” when you have the right community, place to train, system, and coaching.

You can actually find some of the best parkour in the world in Anchorage, Wasilla, and especially Eagle River.

So, if you want to take your parkour training to a whole new level, choosing to work with a reputable team of experts is undoubtedly the best way to maximize your results.

See you soon!