Ninja Warrior Season 27 Stage 1 Course Breakdown

This marks the start of the 3rd week of my Ninja Warrior training and I feel stronger and am noticing some really exciting strength increases.

For example. late last week I dead lifted 335 pounds with the trap bar, which is the most I've ever lifted. My grip felt strong and secure, I tried to go for a little more weight and the bar wouldn't even budge.

This week I can feel my open hand pinch or finger grip as its commonly called, was much stronger.

I'm going to start re-breaking down the course again to make sure I really have all the training components needed to dominate this course.

Season 27, Stage 1 - Urushihara Yuuji - he is one of only 3 people to ever complete Ninja Warrior and he's done it TWICE. He's extremely thin..... there is that high strength to low body mass ratio at work, lets break down the that stage:

1. Slanted Steps + grab & swing across rope: Lateral leg strength and explosive leaps. + vertical pull strength and crushing grip closed hand strength.
2. Four point rolling log: Crushing grip close hand strength (again), vertical push strength and double leg knee dominate strength.
3. Run and jump off spring with swinging pull up bar: Anything that improves vertical leap would be helpful, similar to a basketball players program. Crushing grip close hand strength (makes 3) plus vertical pull strength.
4. Run and jump off spring with spider-man walk: vertical leap plus shoulder adduction.
5. Slanted run up half pipe leap and grab rope: Lateral leg strength again, explosive leap, crushing grip closed hand strength.
6. Run and jump up half pipe and pull yourself up: Big vertical leap, vertical pull.
7. Run across suspended boulders: Balance and speed.
8. Swing across rope and climb up roped latter: crushing grip close hand strength. A little bit of vertical pull and leg work.

Do this, all under 115 seconds! Fantastic lets try summarizing this.

Strength Summary for stage 1:

• Crushing Grip, Closed Hand is critical. Any kind of heavy lifting with your hands closed like farmers walks, deadlifts, as well as any drills that you can do where the grip is a rope.
• Vertical Pull, the muscles in this motion include your back and shoulders, pull ups and pull downs galore.
• Improving vertical leap, think about training this component like a basket ball player. That includes a strength base of squats and vertical leaps. As well as SAQ (speed agility quickness) drills focused on being coordinated with a running jump. An power snatch with an olympic bar would also be king of the hill in helping improving that vertical leap.
• Lateral Leg strength, Lateral Lunges, lateral SAQ drills, pretty straight forward, I think the drills will really help with the ankle strengthening, think anything that an ice skater or hockey player would do to improve their skating speed.
• the odd balls:
• Shoulder work is going to come when doing opposition exercise to the vertical pull in any well balanced workout program.
• Balance, there are a few ways to train balance, going bear foot with training will help, single leg work will help and balance boards or BOSUs will help.

And there you have it, stage 1. And this is the type of work I do to put together a fitness program! I look at ever aspect of the sport or whatever my client does in life to put something fantastic together. I'm going to go through these and make sure they all align up with the program I'm currently on. I'll break down stage 2, 3 and 4 this week.