American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Endurance

I had a shoulder injury last Thursday, so during the recovery it was a good time to start the Maffetone Method. Summed up, it basically gets you to stop using the anaerobic fibres in your body so you can train your aerobic fibres instead... basically transforming me from a sprinter to a marathoner. I know American Ninja Warrior is about short bursts of action, but I think the really great guys have a crap ton of endurance in their tank. A lot of guys go out because they get so tired, they then don't tackle obstacles properly and fall. I'm trying to prevent that from happening to me... like everything else on this journey, I have to go back a heap of steps to start from the start in something brand new to me. It's been challenging the last few days, especially the no carbs or sugars for 2 weeks thing... but I think it'll be worth it.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Calisthenics

I'm basically working my way through the book Convict Conditioning. It's really, really good. It's been frustrating basically starting over with almost literal baby steps... but I always go too far too fast and end up injuring myself... so I'm trying to do the exercises exactly as the book dictates.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Rock Climbing

The gym that I joined is also an indoor rock climbing centre, which is very lucky that it's so close. I did the beginner rock climbing course which was great and I learnt a ton. The only friends I have in Portland are the two girls I did that beginner course with. So, I basically go twice a week to do some bouldering by myself and then do a rock climbing session with the girls once a week. It's weird how different in skill level we are. The girls have great balance and leg strength, so they can do climbs I can't, whereas I'm a bit more upper body so I can get through spots they don't even want to attempt. It's great. At the moment I can do V0 & V1 climbs. I haven't finished any V2 bouldering climbs yet. In rock climbing I'm kinda sticking to the 5.8 & 5.9. Haven't completed a 5.10a yet.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Parkour

At the moment, I'm doing one beginner class of Parkour a week, and I'm usually sore for at least 2 days afterwards. It's really fun though and I'm really not that bad at it. I've got a good leap and I'm strong, I can usually muscle my way through things (not ideal) if my technique isn't great. Some of the other dudes in the beginner class are just amazing, it's very inspiring. I actually can't wait until I'm conditioned enough to go more than once a week.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training

One of the reasons I love Ninja Warrior is that no one type of athlete, body type, age or discipline is perfect for it. The rock climbing guys are usually great at Stage 3, but there is a heap of balance obstacles to trip them up before before then. I have no real background, I did competitive dancing in my early 30s, then played a heap of indoor soccer, and gym it up a lot, but I've overhauled everything to train for Ninja Warrior. Basically, my thinking is that the four areas I'm training are: Parkour, Rock Climbing, Calisthenics and Endurance. I am brand new to all of these things, but it's fun.

American Ninja Warrior - Strategy

I know it seems obvious, but slow progression is going to be key. Currently, I can't do a single thing that I'll need to bring to American Ninja Warrior, so it's all about progression. Start off small, master that, build on it, advance. Rinse and repeat. It's extremely tedious, but starting small helps condition my old bod, which'll open a whole heap of doors for me. I'll actually be going backwards for quite a while, doing exercises I can totally easily do... all in order to build up the tendons and supporting muscles. Usually I jump into everything as hard as I can, and usually end up injured along the way... slow and steady and driving myself crazy... that's my approach.