Differences in Muscular Performance between Practitioners and Non Practitioners of Parkour

The aim of this study was to investigate the strength and power performance of Parkour practitioners and compare to those who do not. Eleven male Parkour practitioners and 12 male physical educators participated in this study and performed: pull-up test, handgrip strength dynamometer test (HSDT), plyometric push-up test, maximal horizontal jump, and maximal bipodal and unipodal countermovement jumps (CMJ). We calculated limb asymmetry for HSDT and CMJs and the bilateral deficit for CMJs. Significant differences were found between groups for the pull-up test (P=0.002), plyometric push-up test (P=0.039), bipodal CMJ (P<0.001), dominant unipodal CMJ (P=0.008), nondominant unipodal CMJ (P<0.001), maximal horizontal jump (P<0.001), and bilateral deficit (P<0.004). The Parkour group presented higher performance than the active group, except for HSDT.