Retirement is not just about logging into your slow living era. Increasingly, individuals are trying to do more than just sit and are moving a little beyond walks and yoga. In Singapore, retirees are ready to climb over walls and maybe jump over park benches, too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called \u201cgeriatric parkour.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the uninitiated, parkour is essentially an urban sport where people vault over walls, leap across gaps, and move through their surroundings with speed and agility. Remember those slick action-movie scenes where someone jumps from over rooftop to make a quick escape – yes, it’s that. Only, in real life, it\u2019s far less dramatic and more controlled.<\/p>\n
Now imagine people in their 60s and 70s doing it. Ummm…what about brittle bones, bad knees, and the ever-present fear of a fall?<\/p>\n
That fear is exactly what this practice is trying to work around.<\/p>\n
Parkour, but make it geriatric<\/p>\n
The geriatric version of parkour is a slower, highly controlled version of the discipline that focusses less on daredevil stunts and more on building balance, coordination and confidence.<\/p>\n
Parkour is meant to be played in the open. It’s movement with a bit of creativity (Photo: Pexels)\n<\/p>\n
Parkour coach Tan Shie Boon has been coaching Singapore’s ageing population for nearly a decade. What\u2019s changed now is that there is a little more buzz, a little more awareness, and a little more activity around it. According to an AFP report, Boon\u2019s students share \u201cfeeling more alive\u201d and fitter than ever before.<\/p>\n
In a way, it goes beyond conventional thinking about ageing\u2014not by avoiding risk altogether, but by learning how to handle it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue geriatric parkour is far removed from the physical activity of leaping from building to building. Instead, it involves training the body to adapt to instability\u2014walking over obstacles, improving balance, falling safely, and getting back up. These are very practical skills that we often lack training in,\u201d says Dr Vaibhav Bagaria, director in orthopaedics and joint replacement, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital.<\/p>\n
Dr Arun Manjunatha Swamy, consultant orthopaedics and joint replacement surgeon at SPARSH Hospital, adds that when adapted safely under professional supervision, such movement-based training can be highly beneficial for older adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main idea should be training in functional movement inspired by parkour, not traditional parkour itself, making it accessible, gradual and medically guided.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts suggest that movement based fitness like parkour can help with fitness as we age. (Photo: Getty)\n<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the idea isn\u2019t entirely new to India. As Dr Bagaria points out, traditional practices like dand-baithak, mallakhamb, and akhada training have long emphasised functional strength, balance and recovery.<\/p>\n
And yet, with changing time and tide, not only did the practice fade, but so did the concept behind it. And parkour can be just a new addition in the mix.<\/p>\n
Why parkour works<\/p>\n
Fitness for seniors has long been associated with playing it safe, and this breaks that stereotypical notion. While the buzz hasn\u2019t reached Singapore levels yet, Indian seniors aren\u2019t entirely unfamiliar with the idea.<\/p>\n
Prabhu Mani, a Chennai-based parkour coach and founder of Parkour Circle, has noticed a shift in his two-decade-long career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of people above 50s-60s who\u2019ve been curious about parkour. They walk in when they see us training, talk to us, and want to try.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parkour helps build agility, body coordination and balance, which helps in preventing fall (Photo: Getty)\n<\/p>\n
Mani makes a case for geriatric parkour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe elderly who come for parkour are still in the early stages of exploring movement, the environment, and connecting the mind and body. The principles of parkour remain the same, but we customise the routine according to the group.\u201d It\u2019s not all as dramatic like the movies.<\/p>\n
Instead of making one big jump, doing small movements consistently may prevent weakening of muscles. But it has to be structured and progressive.<\/p>\n