So about 6 months ago I posted a thread about smacking my shin over and over learning parkour, but everything mostly just turned into grip training. Well all that pain paid off and I was invited to the Dallas Regionals of American Ninja Warrior. They told me not to show my audition video online though till the episode comes out in June because they don't want any possible footage released before the show. I don't think anything would happen, but I'm not risking it.

Any advice on being the first Aggie to beat the qualifier?

very cool.

that's awesome!

Good luck.

I remember that thread.

Good luck!

Work your grip strength and upper body climbing endurance. Take your time. Most of the talented guys that fail do it by making a dumb mistake on something "easy/routine" or by running out of upper body strength.

Good Luck!

you need an American ninja warrior tag next to your Ag tag... were you the one that posted the video of your grip exercises in the attic etc?

Work out your forearms and lats a ton and don't do anything else. I'd do a mix of weightroom work and body weight exercises. For the body weight stuff, go find a bouldering gym and do a gazillion pullups while hanging from small rock handholds. Do them with your hands and arms at weird angles. Don't overtrain or hurt yourself by putting too much strain on your joints.

[This message has been edited by Deputy Travis Junior (edited 3/25/2014 1:15a).]

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were you the one that posted the video of your grip exercises in the attic etc?

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No that guy was last year, but his stuff was really good. Don't quite have that strength, but I'm a lot lighter.

At this point there isn't much more strengthening I can do that I didn't gain in the last year (it's in 6 days). Grip and Plyo was everything the last few months and my forearms are only an inch smaller than my biceps now.

I found a place in Houston that is a training center for this show and I've gone the last couple weeks to know the mechanics of each obstacle. They have a little over 20 people going to the show including several finalists from last year. Really 90% of it is just confidence and I think nervs are why most fall.

[This message has been edited by Slider676 (edited 3/25/2014 7:42a).]

ah.. i read that you had until june. good luck! me giving you unqualified advice on this sport is quite silly. but regardless, my advice is stay healthy and maybe eat super lean over the next 6 days.. and buy some super light racing flats? don't see how dropping a few ounces where ever possible would hurt.

i'd opt for shoes with more grip. Racing flats tend to have minimal rubber on the botton, and leave a lot of the foam exposed.

don't you dare contradict my unsubstantiated advice!

Already have really grippy Merrel's with a Vibram sole. I was told to avoid five fingers as the toe spread won't stick to the wall well on a spider climb.

Where do you find out about tryout locations and videos? I have wanted to do this, but I could not find anything from Google.

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Where do you find out about tryout locations and videos? I have wanted to do this, but I could not find anything from Google.

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http://anwtryouts.com/

I had planned to do this since February of 2013 and knew the application usually came out in January or February each year. I just started googling it every couple days till it updated for the next year. You won't know regional sites until after you have submitted your application. You have to answer a lot of personal questions about your past life (to see if you have some great story) and submit an audition video with certain specs.

Can you tell us a bit more about the audition video? What all did you have to do?

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Can you tell us a bit more about the audition video? What all did you have to do?

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This is what they have on the site and what I followed. They let me use any music I wanted as long as I didn't talk over it. I made sure of that plus all my clothes being logo free since common sense says they won't take someone with no usable footage for TV. Had to be 2-4 minutes.

1. State your Full Legal Name, age, where you’re originally from (and where you currently live if different) your occupation, married/single and if you have kids. If you have a nickname that’s relative to your physical ability, please share. Consider this a fun infomercial about yourself.

2. SHOW US YOUR MOVES!!! Show and tell us about your physical prowess, accomplishments and/or abilities. Be active! Don’t just talk about yourself, but show us who you are.

3. Show and tell us about your hobbies and what you do in your spare time: Have you traveled the world; do you scuba dive, hunt, geo cache, volunteer, go dog sledding, wind surf, snowboard, ride show horses? Please include additional videos and pictures from the past and present.

4. Introduce us to your inspiration, your biggest fan, closest family member, and/or your kids. Tell us why they’re important to you. Include them on camera or upload photos if you don’t have access to them.?(i.e. If they are deceased or out-of-state).

5. Show some hometown pride! Look into the camera and clearly state: “I AM FROM [NAME OF TOWN].” Tell us what you love about your town! Get creative! Show your athletic skills in front of your city’s most recognizable locations!



6. Do you train or workout in a unique, beautiful or surprising setting (i.e. snow, desert, barn, in the water, near a volcano, at work)? If so, show us.

7. State why you think you can be the next American Ninja Warrior. Creatively demonstrate your physical strengths and/or talents! Visually IMPRESS us!

8. If you have access to a “course” or obstacles, please show yourself going through. ?If this is your 1st attempt at American Ninja Warrior please see video from American Ninja Warrior on G4’s website for what types of things will amaze us!

[This message has been edited by Slider676 (edited 3/25/2014 6:57p).]

[This message has been edited by Slider676 (edited 3/25/2014 10:08p).]

LAX and I have gone out to Power Park Fitness here in Bulverde a few times and the guys out there are great. They actually are going to a regional of some sort. Look for David and Vance Yarter. You'll notice Vance because he's the super giant jacked but really nice guy. David is a great guy too.

They have a mile course with a bunch of different obstacles out there on their land that we go to every now and then. Obviously you're better than me, but I noticed that anything that helps the grip helped me. I went for the first time and struggled mightily... but I've always been a lower body guy. However, I had just started a 12 week Olympic Lifting program and we went out there right after I completed it and it made a world of difference. I was a lot stronger in my grip and forearms and the impact on my shoulders wasn't near as bad.

So if you are light (I'm not, relative to height) and have a lot of upper body and grip strength, you can do well. That and power... especially going up the warped wall. Need lots of power to make that jump.

Good luck, that's fun stuff.

www.powerparkfitness.com

For anyone in the San Antonio area interested in checking this out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDBC-bP49Vc

This is my buddy's(c/o 2012) audition video. He got onto Ninja Warrior last fall. If you do make the show, he was telling me that they push you. If you fail an obstacle, like the slope wall and you have the opportunity to try to go again, you have about a 5 second time limit to re-attempt the obstacle. Forget about trying to even catch your breath for a second.

His background is being a gymnast at A&M and a world ranked arm wrestler for the United States. He is in law school now so I don't think he is going to attempt it again.

[This message has been edited by wangus12 (edited 3/26/2014 10:26a).]

^ I watched that one a year ago when I first started training. It's disappointing he didn't make it through Regionals because he had some incredible grip strength that would have been helpful in Vegas.

Can you give us any updates Slider?

Good luck if it's not too late.

Struggling to sleep in today but I'm about to head to Dallas in a couple hours. Watched Never Back Down 3 times to get jacked up.

my kids love the show and beat the hell out of the furniture whenever it's on...good luck.

Good luck slider!

That Matt dude's a BEAST!

I mean Michael. Michael's a BEAST!

Can't wait to see if you make it on the show. My daughter loves that show and wants to be on it one day. There is a place in Houston off of 1960 called Iron Sports that is a training place for it. The owner and a couple of members have been on the show. We went there last year for a birthday party and Sam (owner) saw my daughter climbing the rope and told her she could be on the show on one day. She climbs all the furniture in our house and is in gymnastics and has been climbing the rope with only upper body strength since she was 5.

Can't wait to watch the next season.

^ Sam's a really cool guy and I've also driven from College Station to Ironsports whenever I can. The amount of grip strength Sam has for his age is ridiculous. They've also got Drew Dreschel training youngsters in parkour now.

If you include myself and a few others who came in late Ironsports sent a little over 20 people to the show, which tells you how strong that gym is.

[This message has been edited by Slider676 (edited 4/6/2014 11:34a).]

Wow....20 athletes from IronSports. That is impressive. My daughter was 6 last year at that birthday party and she started climbing the rope without using her legs and Sam ( I didn't know who he was at the time)looked at me and said "mom, you need to record her. That is incredible" so I quickly turned on my phone and recorded. I'm just so used to watching her climb everything because I even found her on top of our refrigerator at age 3. I should probably get her over to Iron Sports more often as something fun outside of her gymnastics practice schedule.

Good Luck and can't wait to watch.


[This message has been edited by ag97dds (edited 4/6/2014 6:19p).]

My buddy's son went to FL last year in what I believe was the semi-finals or finals. not a big guy but his grip strength and endurance is crazy.


http://www.tubechop.com/watch/2502667

Good Luck

Good luck. I've been watching Ninja Warrior for years and for the most part enjoyed the ANW last year.

I hope you really got a chance to punch Akbar Gbaja-Biamila in the junk. That guy annoys the hell out of me and is a complete spare.

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not a big guy but his grip strength and endurance is crazy

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I've noticed this sport doesn't seem to really favor "big guys". The ones who go the furthest are the high power-to-weight ratio type and/or the rock climbing type, with great flexibility, agility, and grip strength.

I think the announcers are annoying on purpose.

I think even the parkour guys struggle. While they might be strong and have great body-control/awareness and core strength, they just don't have that power-to-weight edge and grip strength.