This study aimed to describe frequent parkour practitioners’ training habits, training motives and goals, and perceived performance factors of practitioners from different countries and continents. An ad hoc questionnaire (PARK-Q) was developed in four languages by the research group and validated by active experts with 12-18 years of experience practising and coaching parkour. The PARK-Q is a multidimensional questionnaire that explores demographics, habits, goals, motivation and perceived performance factors from the practitioner’s perspective. The PARK-Q presented overall great internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=.902) and was answered by one hundred and forty-one parkour practitioners (n=141, 26.2±5.0 years old) from 15 countries and four continents. Parkour could still be considered a masculine action sport with a low level of federated participation, mostly practised outdoors, with friends, in an unstructured way, and learnt freely: with friends, autodidact, etc. Parkour practitioners’ motivation mainly comes from within and could be considered Intrinsic Motivation. To parkour practitioners, Precision, Environmental adaptability, and Movement techniques may be considered the most important performance factors, whereas Flip repertoire, Suffering capacity, and Keeping yourself distracted are the least important. Thus, new measuring instruments or assessments that align better with the discipline should be explored, considering the performance factors perceived by international parkour practitioners.

The objectives of this study were to compare the effects of two in-season velocity loss training methods (VBT) on performance outcomes and to evaluate the effects of velocity-based training compared to traditional resistance training (TRT) on performance outcomes in young elite soccer players. VBT utilized the same relative load but varied in the extent of velocity loss during the set: 15% (VL15%) and 30% (VL30%). Thirty-four players were recruited and randomly distributed into three groups: the VL15% group (n = 12; age = 18.50 ± 0.67 years; stature = 183.41 ± 4.25 cm; body mass = 75.08 ± 5.57 kg), the VL30% group (n = 11; age = 17.91 ± 0.60 years; stature = 181.21 ± 6.56 cm, body mass = 73.58 ± 6.22 kg), and the traditional strength training group TRT (n = 11; age = 18.14 ± 0.74 years; stature = 182.17 ± 5.52 cm; body mass = 74.86 ± 6.68 kg). Alongside regular soccer sessions and matches, the groups underwent a four-week (2 sesions per week) resistance training intervention with back squats involved. Changes in leg strength (SQ1RM), 20 m sprint time (SPR 20 m), countermovement jump height (CMJ), reactive strength index (RSI), and change of direction (COD) from before and after were evaluated using a 3 × 2 ANOVA. While no significant interaction was found for SQ1RM and SPR20, all of the groups showed significant pre to post improvements. Significant interactions were observed for CMJ (F = 38.24, p = 0.000), RSI (F = 8.33; p = 0.001), and change of direction agility test (COD) (F = 3.64; p = 0.038), with a post hoc analysis showing differences between the VL15 (6.0%) and TRT (1.7%) groups (p = 0.034); VL15 (12.2%) and VL30 (3.2%) groups (p = 0.004); VL15 and TRT (0.4%) (p = 0.018); VL15 (2.4%) and VL30 (1.5%) (p = 0.049); and between the VL15 and TRT (0.4%) groups (p = 0.015). Four weeks of VL15% training during the season induced similar strength increases to VL30% and TRT, superior improvements in RSI and COD compared to VL30%, and superior improvements in CMJ, RSI, and COD tests compared to TRT. Thus, incorporating the VL15% training method may be recommended to improve power-related performance metrics in elite young soccer players.

Parkour involves overcoming environmental obstacles through running, jumping, climbing, and vaulting, placing high physical demands on practitioners. Although the discipline accommodates diverse body types, anthropometric traits, body composition, and somatotype may influence performance. Previous research has mainly reported basic indicators such as height, body mass, and BMI, leaving gaps in morphological profiling and its relationship with fitness outcomes. This study aimed to characterize the anthropometric profile, body composition, and somatotype of male parkour practitioners and to analyse their associations with standardized physical fitness tests. Twenty-four Spanish male traceurs (23.7 ± 5.6 years; 11.3 ± 4.0 years of experience) were assessed. A predominance of mesomorphy was observed, particularly in more experienced athletes. Significant correlations were found between lower fat mass and superior jump performance (SLJ, CMJ+, 3HPJ; ρ = –0.56 to –0.72, p = .004–.03), between greater leg length and faster sprint times (40 m; ρ = –0.61, p = .02), and between limb girths and improved change-of-direction ability (T-Test; ρ = –0.53 to –0.67, p = .01–.04). These findings underscore the relevance of muscularity and limb proportions for explosive and efficient performance, providing novel reference data for athletes, coaches, and researchers in parkour.