Join the Parkour Fun with Open-Gym Sessions

You’ve probably seen it on YouTube and you might’ve even seen it in your own city. Some call it Parkour and some call it free running, but it’s basically using the city grid as a playground to jump, flip and run through the city’s obstacles like a superhero.

It takes incredible physical ability and a level of fearlessness a majority of our population never reaches. But, if you wanted to give it a try anyway, there are plenty of Parkour gyms popping up that provide classes and open-gym sessions.

Tempest Freerunning Academy in Los Angeles offers open gym every night starting at 8 p.m. for a $15 fee. It has trampoline floors, foam pits to flip into, gymnast-style floors to practice ground flips and plenty of city-like obstacles (ledges and platforms) to run across. The people are friendly and mostly willing to teach beginners a new trick or two.

If you’d like to get more serious about learning techniques, the gym offers multiple classes depending on what style you’d like to focus on. Monthly memberships are available in three different locations in southern California.

Most urban cities have gyms with a similar structure, so find the one in your city to join in the fun!