Warrior Playground at Grit Fitness, 2415 Wedgewood Ave, Longmont, warriorplayground.com
Instructor: Sam Banola is a personal trainer with 20 years of experience. An avid fan of the "American Ninja Warrior" TV show, Banola was hooked the first time he tried it for himself.
When he moved his practice to Longmont and found a facility with a large outdoor area, he seized a prime opportunity to set up his own ninja warrior course.
"This has been a fountain of youth and I love it. It's fun to do but it's also a whole new way to challenge yourself," says Banola. The Warrior Playground offers a regional ninja competition on Saturday, May 20. There are cash prizes and winners qualify for the UNAA National Championships.
What is the workout? Nothing you've ever tried before. It can be equated to an advanced jungle gym, where the object is more than just having a fun time at the park. If you're not familiar with the TV show, imagine a massive obstacle course that includes running, jumping, swinging and climbing. Like any obstacle course, the goal is to reach the end successfully. In this class, the goal is to try it at least once.
The course is set up to mimic the obstacles on the TV show. There are four main stations that challenge your strength and agility in various ways. Each station has a laundry list of different activities, such as: a horizontal climbing wall where you go across instead of up, staggered monkey bars, and a hallway where you need to press your hands and feet into the wall to create enough tension to shimmy down the hallway without touching the ground.
This class is an introduction to the course. Banola took us through all of the obstacles, explaining how they work and had each person try them a couple of times. There were so many different exercises that we didn't make it to all the stations. It's just enough to get your feet wet and your arms tired. If this class leaves you wanting more you can stay afterward for an open gym session.
What's different? When I posed this question to Banola, I got a straightforward answer: It's more fun.
"Especially as you learn the techniques and you start becoming more able to do the obstacles then they get more addictive. As your strength and fitness improves you can do more challenging obstacles. You start opening more doors of opportunity of the things you can try," says Banola.
Everything about this class is different. One series has you running up a curved incline to grab onto a bar used to pull yourself up to a platform. Next, you swing from a rope and attempt to grapple onto a set of rings. Doing each one separately is physically demanding and then stringing them together is technically difficult. For people who are tired of the same old workout, especially climbers and parkour enthusiasts, this takes you to a whole new world full of challenges.
Cost: Single classes cost $20 and 10 packs run $175.
Level: "This is a beginner level class that we scale," according to Banola. "There are people who come in for the first time. We also have some people who were gymnasts for years and now they are looking for a new outlet."
For many of the exercises there are different levels that challenge students to aim higher. Some of the obstacles require a base level of fitness, especially upper body. While you work on your pull-ups, there are other exercises that test your agility and balance without requiring hulking forearms.
When: This intro class is held every Saturday from 3-4 p.m.
What to prepare: Wear normal workout clothes and sneakers. The course is outside, so sunglasses, a hat and sun block wouldn't go amiss. Be sure to bring some water — you'll need it.
Muscles worked: What muscles didn't I work would be a better question. The obstacles are so varied that I worked everything from my fingers to my toes. The outsides of my thighs and my arms were taxed the most.
What I loved: This was a real challenge. Numerous exercises were so hard I could only just attempt them once. As you keep working and get better, I can see where this would be very rewarding. You can really measure your progress in terms of a tangible increase in ability. You climb farther, jump higher, grit your teeth and push through to the end.
What I didn't like: It was pretty hard on the joints in some cases. Using my body as a human bridge was painful on my wrists, which I wasn't too jazzed about. However, one person's complaint is another person's obstacle to overcome.
How I felt after the class: Humbled, very humbled. It's much harder than it looks. You could leave feeling like a wimp or a warrior on your way to conquering the world one rope swing at a time.
