Ninja Warrior is a sport that relies on body-weight strength which means that anyone can participate. Moms, Dads, and kids can all enjoy training for Ninja Warrior in a family-friendly atmosphere.
Unlike most sports which divide women and men into separate leagues or have them competing on different apparatus, Ninja Warrior levels the playing field. In training and in competition, Ninja welcomes both genders on the exact same course.
The Spirit of Ninja Warrior
The spirit of Ninja Warrior is one of inclusivity and support. It’s all about athletes versus obstacles. Unlike other sports where teams and athletes may cheer against each other, Ninja is known for its sense of community and support among athletes.
The Benefits of Ninja Warrior
We’ve already written about the numerous mental and physical health benefits of exercise for kids. In Ninja, the same general physical and mental health benefits are true, but there’s more specialized benefits that apply as well. We’ve listed 7 of the top benefits of Ninja Warrior below.
1) Ninja Warrior Improves Functional Strength
This is a sport that values functional strength. The object of the Ninja Warrior is to navigate difficult obstacles and reach the finish line. As a result, imbalanced muscle development may hinder the performance of an athlete. For example, speed skaters, cyclists, hockey players, and figure skaters all naturally develop larger leg muscles by training for their sport. Although this development helps in their sport of choice, their superior leg muscles could be considered a disadvantage in Ninja Warrior.
That’s because different obstacles require different strengths. Obstacles like the Quad Steps will primarily depend on leg strength whereas obstacles like the Salmon Ladder will rely on upper body strength. In order for a Ninja to succeed they must develop well balanced functional strength.
Well developed functional strength prepares a Ninja for any obstacle that lies ahead. Best of all, this functional strength development will transfer over to almost every other athletic pursuit. This opens up a world of fun for Ninja athletes outside of the Ninja or gymnastics gym.
2) Ninja’s require flexibility to navigate tricky obstacles
Flexibility is a key tool in a Ninja Warrior’s toolbelt. When a Ninja Warrior is too stiff, the next rope or hand-hold may always feel out of reach. However, when a Ninja is flexible, they can trust their body to stretch, reach and climb over any tricky obstacles.
How many times have you seen a Ninja catch themselves in an awkward position? Flexible Ninja Warriors have a better chance at holding on and regaining their balance if they start falling off an obstacle. This can translate into better results in competition and also decrease an athlete’s chances of injury.
Outside of Ninja Warrior training and competition, flexibility can help athletes maintain good posture and complete everyday tasks with more ease and comfort.
3) Balance is crucial to Ninja Warrior training
Ninja Warrior obstacles require that athletes are able to balance themselves in a multitude of different scenarios. This can include walking along narrow beams, quickly hopping from platform to platform, regaining footing after leaping, scaling a rope ladder and much more. All of these different scenarios require that an athlete is able to quickly gain (or regain!) their balance. As a result, Ninja Warrior training can be a fantastic way to improve your balance.
This improved balance is one of the biggest benefits of Ninja Warrior because of it’s big impact on injury prevention. Better balance is linked to a 45% decrease in injury thanks to joint stabilization. This means better balance can keep athletes healthier while they’re away from the gym too.
4) Fine tune your agility
Agility requires strength, speed, coordination and practice. Knowing how to navigate a difficult Ninja course is one thing but understanding how to quickly react or recalculate your movement is another. In a Ninja Warrior program, athletes are constantly challenged with obstacles that force them to recalibrate and try again. Over time this practice can help athletes hone their ability to move through Ninja courses in an efficient and agile way.
While a high degree of agility isn’t required to live a healthy life, it does afford athletes the opportunity to pickup new sports and recreation with ease. This ease-of-play can help athletes enjoy more sports, and stay active later in their lives which is a major benefit to long-term health.
5) Increased focus & precision
In athletics there’s always been a concept of being ‘in the zone.’ In recent years this concept has been studied and named the ‘flow state.’ Whatever you’d like to call it, Ninja Warriors have to find their way to a flow state, or ‘zone’ because this sport requires such a high level of precision.
Three-time Olympic medalist Danell Leyva had the perfect run to highlight this need for precision. As you can see below, the accomplished gymnast glided through a difficult Ninja course with ease until he reached the last two obstacles. Clearly, Leyva underestimated the diving boards. His step on the first diving board is okay but the step he takes on the second diving board is way off the mark. Instead of stepping on the center of the board, his step is too short, and he gets thrown off balance.
What results is likely the best save in Ninja Warrior history. Danell Leyva bear hugs the last diving board on his way down and then uses his superior upper body strength and Olympic gymnastics skills to pull himself up. It’s a jaw dropping display of athleticism. Unfortunately, when it came to the very last obstacle, Leyva masters the Twist & Fly but fails to grab the rope ladder.
The Importance of focus and precision in Ninja Warrior
Did Danell Leyva have the physical capability to complete the leap and grab a hold of the rope ladder? Absolutely! Leyva just won two Olympic silver medals on high bar and parallel bars in Rio. But in this case, he just didn’t have the precision and focus to grab the rope in that moment. That’s why the development of focus and precision are so important in Ninja Warrior!
As athletes train in Ninja Warrior, they practice their ability to be precise with their movements. This practice can easily carry over into other sports and everyday movements. In older athletes, training precision can help prevent injury on stairs, slippery sidewalks and other common hazards which is a huge benefit.
6) One of the best benefits of Ninja Warrior is core strength
Core strength is the real secret to success in every sport. Every movement your body makes requires your core muscles to balance and transfer power. It’s crucial to every sport, and Ninja Warrior is no different.
Without core strength an athlete’s body will struggle to maintain proper posture. As a result, athletes will perform with less control and “cheat” on movements, putting themselves off-balance and at a higher risk of injury.
By emphasizing balance building, quick explosive movements, and difficult holds or climbs, Ninja Warrior helps athletes develop core strength in a fun way. This core strength development helps Ninjas leap between obstacles, scale walls, balance on unruly obstacles and much more.
As Harvard Medical School writes, the real-world benefits of good core strength are far reaching, and help in every aspect of life. This includes work tasks, household chores, recreation, and more.
7) A Caring Community and the Culture of Ninja Warrior
As we mentioned, one of the great benefits of Ninja Warrior is that it’s a challenge between athletes and obstacles. This means athletes often cheer and rally around each other, hopping for competitors to do their best. The result is a friendly and supportive community where everyone feels welcome.
When athletes enter a community like this they’re encouraged to try their best. Overtime this practice of reaching for excellence can lead to big improvements in performance. As a result, athletes will experience increases in physical fitness which has a cascade of benefits for an athlete’s physical and mental health! In this way, the carrying and supportive community can help create stronger, happier athletes.
Ninja Warrior is for Everyone
As host Matt Iseman has said, everyone watching Ninja Warrior at home secretly thinks they could compete if they trained hard enough. It’s a sport that doesn’t seem so far out of reach. Moms, Dads, even some senior’s can, and do, compete in it. Ultimately, Ninja Warrior provides accessible fitness and fun for any athlete who enters a Ninja or gymnastics gym.
As providers of gymnastics software, we’re big fans of Ninja’s welcoming atmosphere, it’s benefits for athletes and it’s integration into gymnastics club offerings. Find out how you can simplify Ninja and gymnastics registration and save hundreds of hours each year by automating club management tasks for your gym. Contact us today.
