It is funny how things evolve. In my late teens and 20s, I wanted to become a beast with muscle upon muscle. I took all sorts of supplements and spent hours in the gym. However, once my 30s hit me and children appeared…life changed. I was no longer able to spend hours in the gym and all that hard work went to the wayside.

At first it was tough to accept, but then I turned my frown upside down. I decided to do things that are functional and practical. I spend a lot of my time now doing exercises that build muscle I can use and take little time. This article is a great example.

I was trying to think of a sport that used leg muscles efficiently and I landed on Parkour. This is the art of movement that encourages people to get from point A to point B by running up walls, leaping from rooftops, and other Spider Man actions. Although, I am not trying to get you to leap off of buildings, I do want you to do some of their leg exercises that help them to do this. I will cover three of these now:

The first exercise is the space walk. Here you do a much exaggerated run motion. With each stride you need to jump off of your base foot and reach as far as you can with your opposite foot. This foot now becomes the base foot and repeat the motion for about 50-100 yards. Then lightly jog back to the start and do this three more times.

The next exercise uses a hand push off and a wall. I use a wall that is belly button high and push with my hands as I jump with both feet and land on the wall. Gently jump back down and do this 10-15 times.

The last exercise is a step up with a jump. Find a large box or wall that is about knee high. Step up with your right foot and launch yourself straight up and land on the wall with both feet. Step down with your right foot and launch yourself with your left. This is one rep. Do this 10-15 more times.

These exercises are very taxing on your knees, so avoid them if you have knee issues. Other than that, enjoy these tough exercises and your new practical leg strength.