Request: a few tips for a total newbie for Ninja Warrior

xxxMADMAXxxx

My dream is to compete one day in Sasuke (Japanese Ninja Warrior)

I live in a place that has no access to climbing gyms or anything like that.
I have zero experience in parkour or anything remotely like Ninja Warrior (except for a Tough Mudder a few years back).

My current plan for right now is to work on loosing the weight, adding some weight training, and practice holding myself up on the monkey bars in the public park every weekday.
Yeah, I can't even do a proper pull up yet.

Do you have any tips for a total beginner with no experience to train towards Ninja Warrior?
Basic advice, common sense and/or professional insights are all welcome. Thanks.

MikePTY

I think you are on the right track to start. Losing the weight is the most important step. The lighter you are, the easier it is to do body weight exercises. Weights are good, but body weight exercises are important too. Even if you can't do a pull up, do push ups, abs, squats, lunges, etc. Make sure some high intensity training is in there as well. Once you build the basics, then you'll need to work on more things that are specific to the competition. But you have to walk before you can run so to speak.

lorrpb

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

mom23mangos

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Plyo and grip strength is going to really help you. As you lose weight, look into doing a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym. Once you have a good strength and agility base built up, a lot of people end up building training material in their own backyards.

I think NW is such a fun thing. Sam Sann has a training facility in my city, but it's too far away to consistently train there. My son and I went once to check it out and that little stinker made it up the warp wall the first time.

xxxMADMAXxxx

MikePTY wrote: »

I think you are on the right track to start. Losing the weight is the most important step. The lighter you are, the easier it is to do body weight exercises. Weights are good, but body weight exercises are important too. Even if you can't do a pull up, do push ups, abs, squats, lunges, etc. Make sure some high intensity training is in there as well. Once you build the basics, then you'll need to work on more things that are specific to the competition. But you have to walk before you can run so to speak.

Thanks so much!
That is great advice. I will start adding more push ups and start alternating my regular routine with some hi-intensity workouts. Thanks!

xxxMADMAXxxx

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Thanks for your reply! Do you think Insanity is a good place to start?
I have these already, and I can do them- not with perfect form yet, but it still feels great.

I find ANW really inspiring, but I have to admit, I LOVE watching Sasuke (the original ninja warrior in Japan). They make fun of the contestants and I like it that people don't take themselves too seriously. I aim to try out for that one since firstly, it is not as intimidating, next, they take anyone (regardless of age or nationality) as long as you are up to par with a certain fitness level, and finally, if I make a total fool of myself, it is less likely to be shown to people I actually know (besides my family, which would adore me no matter what I did).
Thanks again.

xxxMADMAXxxx

mom23mangos wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Plyo and grip strength is going to really help you. As you lose weight, look into doing a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym. Once you have a good strength and agility base built up, a lot of people end up building training material in their own backyards.

I think NW is such a fun thing. Sam Sann has a training facility in my city, but it's too far away to consistently train there. My son and I went once to check it out and that little stinker made it up the warp wall the first time.

Whaaaaat? Your son made the warp wall in one go? That is insane!
I live in a pretty secluded place, so I agree with you- eventually, I am going to have to get out the building equipment and get creative.

I am so glad that you mentioned You Are Your Own Gym too. I just saw that mentioned several times in another thread. I will definitely check that out.

Since joining myfitnesspal two weeks ago, I feel like I am finally finding something that is easy for me to do, and that I can stick with for the rest of my life- and I actually enjoy it.
Now that I have my food habits down, I want to actually take steps towards being physically capable and fit.
Thank you so much, everyone, for your input and advice.
I have a few tools I will start incorporating into my daily routine. Thanks, guys!

AnnPT77

xxxMADMAXxxx wrote: »

MikePTY wrote: »

I think you are on the right track to start. Losing the weight is the most important step. The lighter you are, the easier it is to do body weight exercises. Weights are good, but body weight exercises are important too. Even if you can't do a pull up, do push ups, abs, squats, lunges, etc. Make sure some high intensity training is in there as well. Once you build the basics, then you'll need to work on more things that are specific to the competition. But you have to walk before you can run so to speak.

Thanks so much!
That is great advice. I will start adding more push ups and start alternating my regular routine with some hi-intensity workouts. Thanks!

If you're new to being very active, start with building base cardiovascular fitness using mostly lower-intensity cardiovascular exercise, gradually increasing frequency/duration/pace, and add in true high intensity a little later (few months). Even elite athletes do true high intensity work a couple of times a week, at most, generally. Starting with high intensity multiple times a week as a beginner is a recipe for burnout, and can increase injury risk.

It's great to have high aspirations: I applaud that. It's also good to understand how to get on the on-ramp, and make steady progress, especially at first.

xxxMADMAXxxx

AnnPT77 wrote: »

xxxMADMAXxxx wrote: »

MikePTY wrote: »

I think you are on the right track to start. Losing the weight is the most important step. The lighter you are, the easier it is to do body weight exercises. Weights are good, but body weight exercises are important too. Even if you can't do a pull up, do push ups, abs, squats, lunges, etc. Make sure some high intensity training is in there as well. Once you build the basics, then you'll need to work on more things that are specific to the competition. But you have to walk before you can run so to speak.

Thanks so much!
That is great advice. I will start adding more push ups and start alternating my regular routine with some hi-intensity workouts. Thanks!

If you're new to being very active, start with building base cardiovascular fitness using mostly lower-intensity cardiovascular exercise, gradually increasing frequency/duration/pace, and add in true high intensity a little later (few months). Even elite athletes do true high intensity work a couple of times a week, at most, generally. Starting with high intensity multiple times a week as a beginner is a recipe for burnout, and can increase injury risk.

It's great to have high aspirations: I applaud that. It's also good to understand how to get on the on-ramp, and make steady progress, especially at first.

Thanks for the advice - I appreciate the caution.
I think that I can safely start up adding the hi-intensity workouts, only because I regularly do cardio in the mornings. I tend to do things until I get bored, so I end up rotating Zumba, Insanity and Turbofire (another Beachbody program that ranges from 15 minutes to 45, depending on the intensity level) according to how my body feels. I love finding Zumba fan videos because it is something new to learn and challenges my mind as well as my body. However, it is definitely time to move on.

I think my body is well-accustomed to in-home cardio workouts, but I have little to no experience in doing basic weightlifting or anything remotely pakour-related. So, I will definitely be super-careful, and build it up slow when it comes to that stuff, as well as the jogging.

Again, if you ever have any advice, please share.
I will be sure to space out my workouts so that I am not doing more than high intensity more than a couple times of week, and build up slow. Thanks again.

lorrpb

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/american-ninja-warrior-workout-routine
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a20888399/american-ninja-warrior-training/
https://people.com/bodies/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff-workout-challenge/

HoneyBadger302

There are a number of fitness plans out there with some great calisthenics programs that would transition very well and work the same type of things you would need for NW. Many of them require minimal equipment, utilizing what you can find in every day life.

I follow a couple guys on Instagram who regularly post min workouts or movements to include in a workout, lots of full body/complex moves that are mostly body weight or something you can accomplish with a small selection of dumbells at home.

xxxMADMAXxxx

lorrpb wrote: »

https://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/american-ninja-warrior-workout-routine
https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a20888399/american-ninja-warrior-training/
https://people.com/bodies/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff-workout-challenge/

Thank you so very much!
I will start using the first two you shared (from muscleandfitness and Mens's Health) starting tomorrow!
Modified, of course. I tried out the monkey bars today and yeah, no more than 5 seconds of holding a pull of my knees towards my chest at a time. Same goes for the pullups- I will do them at a slant with my feet on the ground.
If I can do a real pull-up or chin lift, hold a plank with perfect form for a minute and lift my feet to chin level while hanging on the bars by April, that would definitely be progress.

I started jogging today too- it is still muddy and icy in places, so that kept things fun and interesting. (Skating on ice, mud jogging and dodging side roads riddled with pot holes). Thank you again too, everyone, for the words of caution as well. I made sure to take it slow.

As for Jessie Graff, man she is so inspiring.
I will let that one rest until I have mastered these first two workouts.

This is all super-inspiring, guys.
Thanks so much!

xxxMADMAXxxx

HoneyBadger155 wrote: »

There are a number of fitness plans out there with some great calisthenics programs that would transition very well and work the same type of things you would need for NW. Many of them require minimal equipment, utilizing what you can find in every day life.

I follow a couple guys on Instagram who regularly post min workouts or movements to include in a workout, lots of full body/complex moves that are mostly body weight or something you can accomplish with a small selection of dumbells at home.

Thanks for the info, HoneyBadger155!
Is there a particular program you prefer?

xxxMADMAXxxx

mom23mangos wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Plyo and grip strength is going to really help you. As you lose weight, look into doing a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym. Once you have a good strength and agility base built up, a lot of people end up building training material in their own backyards.

I think NW is such a fun thing. Sam Sann has a training facility in my city, but it's too far away to consistently train there. My son and I went once to check it out and that little stinker made it up the warp wall the first time.

I began day one (30min) of You are Your Own Gym this morning. Man, I am so glad I did beginner- I was weaker than I thought!
How do you log in your calories when you do YAYOG?

AnnPT77

xxxMADMAXxxx wrote: »

mom23mangos wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Plyo and grip strength is going to really help you. As you lose weight, look into doing a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym. Once you have a good strength and agility base built up, a lot of people end up building training material in their own backyards.

I think NW is such a fun thing. Sam Sann has a training facility in my city, but it's too far away to consistently train there. My son and I went once to check it out and that little stinker made it up the warp wall the first time.

I began day one (30min) of You are Your Own Gym this morning. Man, I am so glad I did beginner- I was weaker than I thought!
How do you log in your calories when you do YAYOG?

"Strength training" (under cardiovascular exercise in the MFP database) is probably still an OK bet. Definitely don't rely on a heart rate monitor to estimate calories for something like this.

xxxMADMAXxxx

AnnPT77 wrote: »

xxxMADMAXxxx wrote: »

mom23mangos wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

I think you have a good plan to lose weight and building a good fitness base. Not just monkey bars and pull ups, but overall cardio and strength including core and balance and plyo.
After you get s good base which could take a year or more depending your starting point, you can look into more ninja specific routines.
ANW is such a fun show to watch!

Plyo and grip strength is going to really help you. As you lose weight, look into doing a bodyweight program like You Are Your Own Gym. Once you have a good strength and agility base built up, a lot of people end up building training material in their own backyards.

I think NW is such a fun thing. Sam Sann has a training facility in my city, but it's too far away to consistently train there. My son and I went once to check it out and that little stinker made it up the warp wall the first time.

I began day one (30min) of You are Your Own Gym this morning. Man, I am so glad I did beginner- I was weaker than I thought!
How do you log in your calories when you do YAYOG?

"Strength training" (under cardiovascular exercise in the MFP database) is probably still an OK bet. Definitely don't rely on a heart rate monitor to estimate calories for something like this.

Thanks so much!
Got it.