Fitness is all the rage these days. Everywhere you turn, there’s another new workout or health craze that seems to be the next big thing, whether it’s Insanity or avocado ice cream.
Right in the middle of that mix is ninja training. We’re not exactly talking about the kind of stuff that takes place in remote corners of the world in dungeons and secret lairs – we’re talking about the modern obstacle course-style physical training that works all parts of your body.
The craze has spread like wildfire thanks mostly to the success of American Ninja Warrior, a show in which contestants try to complete a super-intense obstacle course. There have been other similar shows on ESPN and obstacle course events like Tough Mudder have popped up all over the country, too.
But did you know that there’s a place right here in Concord that you can train to be one of these ninjas, and from a young age?
At Flipz Gymnastics on Chenell Drive, kids ages 4 to 13 can get the full ninja experience through the gym’s USA Ninja Challenge program.
The program is the only fully insurable ninja program in the country, said founder Dale Grant, who co-owns Flipz with Robyn Grant. “We’re definitely the front-runners right now,” he said, adding that USA Ninja Challenge is now in gyms all over the U.S.
The ninja challenge aims to get kids using all of their muscles to develop as many physical skills as possible. It’s also really fun to navigate an obstacle course, so there’s that added bonus, too.
Ninjas-in-training progress through a tiered ranking system, kind of like martial arts only with colored T-shirts instead of belts. There are six levels, and there are eight categories of physical activities in each level. You perform the same basic types of activities in each level, but the level of difficulty increases exponentially with each one.
We can’t give away the exact breakdown of obstacles – those are big trade secrets – but we can give you the general idea. Ninjas must complete tasks in the following categories: floor obstacles, climbing, swinging, traversing, balance, jumping, gymnastics and conditioning. As you can imagine, there are tons of challenges that can be spun off of those disciplines.
Ninja classes meet for an hour once or twice a week, depending on which option you choose. Membership at Flipz is month-to-month, so you can join whenever you want and not have to worry about any yearlong commitments or anything like that.
Prices vary depending on how many classes you want to attend, so check out flipzgymnastics.com for a full schedule and price list or call 224-3223.
You can also go to usaninjachallenge.com to learn more about the ninja program and where else you can find it (like Hooksett, for example).
