Style it Out: Gaining Parkour Confidence from your Closet

Did you know that there is a psychological switch when you put on the right clothes for your activity and it helps you to perform better? This phenomenon is known as “enclothed cognition” where what you wear and how you experience wearing your clothing has an impact on how you perform.

Clothes hold a symbolic meaning. For example, a lab coat has the meaning associated with medicine and wearing one may make others believe you are more trustworthy and knowledgeable, for example. Generally, If you look like you belong, you gain what is called 'assumed competence' from others. 

Looks are not just randomly chosen, and if you are part of a parkour community, you may notice similar brands and styles crop up within your own crew or when you meet new people who train parkour. This is because style is part of building an identity and contributes to a sense of belonging with others.

This does not mean you need to rush out and get all the brands everyone is wearing, but tweaking your appearance to align with who you look up to and share the space with will have an impact on how you see yourself as one of them.

Here’s the secret: the assumed competence from your own sense of style is transferred to your own belief system. If you show up looking put together, you will feel more confident in your abilities. When your outfit tells you “I belong here” or “I am here to train”;  you take up more space, move with more certainty, hesitate less and with increased focus. All these elements are essential for a good parkour training session. Confident movement helps you to send and unlock moves with less likelihood of injury, which is often caused by hesitation during a move. Confidence in yourself allows you to move more powerfully and cleanly.

Imagine the difference you could make to your progress and confidence just by changing up your style. Stuck for inspiration? Here are some parkour styling tips:

Extra Baggy - Baggy clothing rooted itself into the culture of parkour due to its start in the early 2000s and the crossover with skater aesthetic that was all over youtube and popular media at the time. Looks aside, baggy clothing is functional too as it allows for more room to move which marries with the flow style of parkour. The popular Skochy baggy pants dominated the parkour scene in the 2010s, but now baggy jeans have replaced them, especially since the early 00s fashion is now having a renaissance. Get them extra wide baggies stocked while you can!

Belt it Out - With baggy jeans comes the fear of losing them! Find yourself a decent belt that adjusts with you as your weight fluctuates. Training changes the body and it will alter over time. Embrace it. Keep the hems from hitting the floor so you don’t slip, or injuries may occur. Baggy is cool, tripping over them mid-flow? Not so much.

Loose and Light - Sizing up in a t-shirt will give you more room to breathe as you work up a sweat in the gym or outdoors. Lots of streetwear tees can be heavy, so consider how you feel in your clothes and avoid items that weigh you down too much. Substance over style does matter sometimes!

Headgear - Beanies provide warmth in the winter as well as being a centrepiece for your style. Get a good fit and experiment with alternative styles. Likewise, caps are functional as they can focus your field of vision and prevent sunlight catching you off guard as you move outside. And a cheeky brand rep may get you noticed!

Stick with the Socks - Another key item to express your personality, socks should feel comfortable in your shoe and add support to your ankles, so go for thick sport socks. There are endless designs stocked in skater shops, so find pairs you really love. It may be the mental key that changes your headspace into training mode. I often find lacing up my shoes and seeing my sock design puts me in the zone.

Grippy Shoes - Nothing gives you confidence in your footwork like good grip. Specialist brands such as Ollo have created dedicated parkour athlete shoes which put performance at the centre of their design. If you are on a budget or want to keep the street vibe, any skater shoe will suffice. But please, no crocs. Yeah, even in “sports mode”... 

Now you have the secret sauce to ooze with more confidence (and look good doing it), what are you waiting for? Pull your socks up and go send!

Demi

References

Adam, H and Galinsky, A.D (2012) ‘Enclothed cognition’. Bath University.