Supplemental Training, Balance

     One of my caveats to a more natural training approach in my previous posts is not having enough time to go out and interact with the environment. Substituting "conditioning" can be a good approach but has to have a specific goal in mind. For this example, say I've been missing out on some climbing so I opt to do pull ups. Instead of busting out some random cookie cutter routine with a the goal of producing hypertrophy, strength, endurance, or preparedness for rock climbing, pretend that you're climbing a mountain.You're climbing a mountain and it's X many reps high, and maybe you need to pause to rest at certain point to get to the end of each pitch, or you can even use the doorway to rest your legs while you go for the next bout and just hang there. How long should you hang there? Depends on how long you want or need to be able to hang. For me I feel like there should be no upper limit because hanging should be one of those default rest positions. Once you have that base capability of hanging on forever, it is your tether to other more advanced movements instead of a weak link in the chain later on.
   I'd like to include all types of hanging/pulling into the hanging category because it fosters a more balanced use of one's musculature.  So "hanging" could mean holding at any point along the range of motion of a pull up, front levers, back levers, inverted hangs, one arm, one arm pull ups. Instead of taking a reps/sets scheme though, such training should have more of an exploratory nature. Can I pull at this angle with my legs straight or tucked? How long can I hang in this position vs that one? By exploring the options afforded to you on a bar or anywhere else, you can see where your limits are, create new movements, and most of all, gain familiarity with the obstacle and your body. This idea is not much different from the more methodical approaches but it's more subjective so I can't just put it down in a nice and easy format for everyone to follow. I think I can convey the thought process though.
   Another related concept to conditioning that substitutes more natural training is purposefully balancing out one's parkour training with movements that aren't as directly related to your normal sport specific training. Something like german hangs or back levers are totally weird movements/static positions that one might not really do normally but they balance out the other angles we normally train when doing just muscle ups or just pull ups. Training all the angles for muscular balance is just an extension of the idea to train both sides of your body doing parkour.
   My writing is a mess sometimes so bullet points might help:

• Train both sides
• Consider the muscles you're not using, and use them
• Make supplemental training as similar to the actual activity you train
• Use perceived level of effort to gauge volume