Redefining Vitality After 60 with OG Parkour
Now over 60, I can still leap over park benches (most of the time), vault low walls, and sprint through forests with the focused grace of a house cat evading a bath. But this isn’t the parkour you’ve seen in action films—it’s OG Parkour: a philosophy of lifelong movement, forged in the fires of injury, loss, and systemic healthcare failures. It’s about proving that "old" is a label we can outmaneuver.
The Journey Back to Airborne:
My relationship with movement began at 12, sprinting through New Jersey suburbs delivering newspapers—jumping fences, dodging dogs, and trusting my body implicitly. Decades later, after a detour into naval service, corporate life, and familial devotion, I rediscovered this primal agility in my 50s. The catalyst? A broken shoulder, failed medical interventions, and a pandemic home gym. As I rebuilt myself, a James Bond film gave me the word for what I’d always practiced: parkour. But the version I’ve honed isn’t for stunt performers—it’s for anyone refusing to let age dictate their physical narrative.
What Makes OG Parkour Different?
Modern parkour glorifies flips and drops. OG Parkour prioritizes something radical: sustained vitality. It’s about cultivating the strength, coordination, and instincts to leave the ground routinely—whether hopping onto a curb or vaulting a fallen log. This demands meticulous cycles of:
- Strength: Building "airborne muscles" (explosive power) alongside "grounded muscles" (stability).
- Adaptation: Rewiring neural pathways through balance drills and low-impact plyometrics.
- Function: Translating gains into real-world agility—step-ups become precision jumps, rolls become graceful falls.
- Expression: Moving through the world with meditative presence—a "dance" across Baltimore forests or Saudi deserts.
This SAFE Cycle isn’t linear. It’s a spiral of progress, flavored with setbacks and recoveries, demanding patience and self-awareness.
Confronting the Systems That Fail Us:
Our healthcare machinery profits from chronic treatment, not prevention. I learned this through personal loss—a mother taken by a hospital-acquired infection, a brother lost to diabetes—and my own shoulder ordeal. Yet OG Parkour isn’t a rejection of medicine. It’s a call for partnership. Use the system to mend fractures, but remember: your body does the healing. Align with providers who prioritize lasting health over perpetual billing cycles.
The Deeper Shift:
OG Parkour is a rebellion against digital detachment and passive aging. It roots us in local ecosystems—physical and social. We train not for Instagram, but to honor responsibilities: to loved ones, communities, and natural spaces. Flexibility isn’t just physical; it’s the mental agility to set sustainable goals, listen to our body’s "hold" signals, and retreat without shame.
Your Invitation:
This practice transforms "aging" into "living with intention." It proves that 60 is just a number—not a sentence to stiffness. You won’t find me on a retirement community shuffleboard court. You’ll find me leaping, rolling, and rediscovering the indigenous mover within, one mindful hop at a time.
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- original cover art by Warren Jones