Monkeying Around: How to Design the Perfect Ninja Warrior Gym

Monkeying Around: How to Design the Perfect Ninja Warrior Gym

CrossFit Training has evolved throughout the years, and endurance training has become popular by fitness-seekers of all ages. With the 2009 introduction of the television show, American Ninja Warrior, an American sports entertainment competition that is a spin-off of the Japanese television series Sasuke, obstacle-course-training with the use of custom truss systems has now caught the world by storm and evolved exponentially.

These courses are designed to incorporate running, jumping, vaulting, climbing and balance to create a fun adventure while providing an amazing workout! What has now been coined “Ninja Training” is an all-encompassing workout both physically and mentally, as parkour moves require quick response, and intelligent thinking. These activities work your arms, back, quads and basically your whole body! If designed correctly, your Ninja course prepares your muscles to maneuver through every obstacle without error.

CREATE YOUR OWN TRUSS OBSTACLE COURSE

First thing’s first, determine your available space with a floor plan and detailed measurements (length, width, height) of that available space. From this, you can then determine what size course could fit in that space and decide if that would meet your project goals and fit your budget. Next pick the elements/obstacles that you would like to see in your course. There are lots of great resources online that will give you great ideas on some basic design elements and accessories for your structure.

The second stage is a rough design, where you would create a two dimensional computer layout of the course including your ideal obstacles. In the final phase, a 3D model of the course is created using CAD software, where you can review the design and make any finishing touches to create your dream obstacle course! For beginners, let’s take a step back and break down what elements make up a great design for your course.

Structural Components

The Frame: The core foundation of the course is a custom truss frame. These are designed and manufactured by licensed engineers, like Global Truss, to hold up to maximum structural safety. They are made from the same material and design as the course on the television show, and serve a variety of purposes aside from building epic gyms.

Obstacles: Explore a gallery of Ninja Warrior obstacles and decide what works best for you based on your fitness goals.

Versatility: In order to target a variety of skill levels and adapt obstacles to those of the Ninja Warrior competitions, elements should be designed to be easily adjustable. Couplers are used to connect obstacles to the truss frame such that they can be slid forward and backward on the track. In addition, traverse boxes contain removable plates to enable obstacles to be varied in difficulty.

Mats and Flooring: With any obstacle course it’s necessary to include safety padding. Landing mats can be velcroed together and all metal columns are protected with truss pads as seen in the course to the left. This again ensures the course is as safe as possible.

Looking for some inspiration? Check out the geniuses behind American Ninja Warrior, The ATS Team! They worked for the show through seasons 4 - 10 producing the hardest obstacle course in the world. Working alongside with the executives of ANW, ATS was responsible for conceptualizing the challenges, creating the course, and then running the course as it traveled around the country before eventually landing in Las Vegas for the finale.

Taking on these challenges, ATS and ANW have been able to see this show rise to national prominence with over 6 million weekly viewers and overcome the difficulties that are faced with creating a stunt obstacle course that is in the sweet spot of difficult yet achievable, safe yet adventurous, and grandiose yet mobile. Ready to build your own truss package? Visit our website to view our variety or selections, or give us a call so we can discuss your needs and help you design the perfect parkour gym!

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