American Ninja Warrior

Bigger Stronger Leaner Christian Thibaudeau Coaching
1

Coach -

I am starting to train for American ninja warrior. I feel like I am doing WAY too much strength work right now that interferes with my main goal. I’d like to maintain the numbers I’ve built up because I think it’ll serve me well.

5’7
176lbs
High Bar Back Squat - 425
Deadlift - 445
OH Press - 185
Bench Press - 255
Chin-Ups - 15
BB Row - 245

I will be doing obstacle training 4-5x a week. How would you suggest I setup some basic strength work so I can stay strong? I figured since you work with Crossfit athletes you have a better idea of how to keep the strength work while also working on my skills.

I was thinking of doing something like this. Most of my “assistance” would be body weight orientated, rope pulling, etc.

MONDAY
Back Squat - 5x4-8
Quads, Hamstrings, Abs, Lower Back - 50 reps each
Obstacle Training

TUESDAY
OH Press - 5x4-8
Upper Back, Lats, Shoulders, Triceps, Curls - 50 reps each
Obstacle Training

THURSDAY
Deadlift - 5x3-5
Quads, Hamstrings, Abs, Lower back - 50 reps each
Obstacle Training

SATURDAY
Bench Press - 5x4-8
Upper Back, Lats, Shoulders, Triceps, Curls - 50 reps each
Obstacle Training

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

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That’s epic, pls let us know if you end up doing it and when we might be able to watch you dominate the course on TV. Strong lifts man, I would want to maintain those numbers too.

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I’m not expert here, but from what I’ve seen, there’s a lot of pulling and hanging. Do you plan on programming grip work, static holds, pull-ups, climbing, etc? Or, does the obstacle course training and skill work cover that? Might be good to know more about what the skill work includes in general to understand how much excess recovery/capacity you can devote to your barbell lifts.

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Thanks man! I have a LONG way to go before even thinking about being on TV lol. But I found a gym near my place that specializes in this type of training, so I’ll see how far it can take me. But for sure, I’d like to maintain at least 80% of what I’ve worked hard to build.

The obstacle course/skill training covers all of the climbing, jumping, Hanging, etc type work. I can use straps for deadlifts/Rows exclusively to save my hands for the course and climbing training for sure.

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I would focus on 3 things:

  • Say strong on the big basic lifts
  • Do strongman stuff
  • Only do isolation/bodybuilding/hypertrophy work for lagging muscles. When you do compound movements, strongman stuff and ANW stuff chances are that most of your muscles will receive enough stimulus to at least maintain your strength. And you can’t afford to do work that will not fix something that doesn’t need fixing. If you have a significant weakness that limits your performance do some work for it. But if the big lifts and strongman stuff are enough to maintain/improve a muscle, don’t add direct work for it.
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Thanks Coach, appreciate the input! I’ll keep my training simple and to the point!

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I acutally know several ninja warrior competitors (japanese, real good). They don’t train legs at all. Lots of grip.

The bigger your legs the harder it will be…

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I agree, but would add that some lower body power is important. It pains me to watch people use two feet on the slanted platforms at the beginning.

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No expert here, but would drip the weights to 3x a week.

Most guys that do well on the course are rock climbers. Take up rock climbing.

tweet

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Those courses suit 70kg rock climbing guys not 110kg strongmen. Id do lots of dead bar hangs, rock climbing, pull ups, inverted rows, push ups. Train for endurance not strength.

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Jumping and running. Perhaps doing hurdles.

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Yeah but I think some legs is still a good plan. If you train for speed, or sets of 2 with either 5-7secs of descent or 5 secs pause (neural priming) or stay in the 1-3 rep range you’ll gain almost or no muscle mass. Then you can train plyometrics that won’t create muscle and might destroy some

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1-3 reps means more risk of injury. The Ninja courses are mostly about endurance not strength. Genetics plays a huge role. People who are very lean with long arms tend to do the best.

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