My one goal for 2019...

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… is to submit an application video for American Ninja Warrior Season 12 (2020).

My goal isn't to make it onto the show, or to win a competition or anything, because those are things that I can't control. I can control my efforts to submit a video though... and of course, knowing myself, I'll want to make it the best video I can.

2018... great but also disappointing year for being an Aussie Ninja

11 months ago was probably the strongest I've ever been. Felt great in the lead up to this competition.

On the day, I was able to do obstacles I have never been able to do since... and my training up to that point was serious... and consistent.

9 months ago... creating this video broke me a little, I kept messing up my lines, and it honestly took me days to recover and then 7 months ago this video broke me the whole rest of the way... which was ironic since it was a video to help people slowly build up to pull ups.

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Obviously, there were stressors and contributors along the way, but if I remember correctly, I've been decently injured the last 7 months.

Don't hate the player, hate the game that injures the player

Injuries are a part of any athletic endeavour... and to be honest, injuries have been a big part of my life, pretty much forever. I've had severe RSI in my hands since I was 15, so I've been doing things that cause my pain on the daily.

My current injury is called Climber's Elbow. I think... I've had a few medical specialists look at it, and none of them diagnosed it as such...

Basically, there are two spots on my elbow.

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The Medial Epicondylitis is the bonest part of the elbow on the inside of your elbow. This area hurts when I do a chin up, or brush my teeth, close a window or grab something awkwardly.

The second spot is about 5cms up towards the wrist from that boney spot, and that bit hurts with bigger movements (hanging, swinging) or when I try and do corrective exercises for the medial epicondylitis.

The physio I was working with believes the cause of pain is extreme minute swelling in the tendons that connect the below to the wrist. His advice is to rest, stretch the wrist 5 times a day and to apply wet heat (shower, jacuzzi, bead heat packs) to the area twice a day.

It took months and months just to get to that point of advice... there was a number of things to rule out first... and had to get x-rays, MRIs and see a heap of dudes.

This is why I haven't trained any upper body anything for 7 months.

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None of this for 7 months (or ever if I'm being honest)

So..... do that then!

Well, that's the thing... I have been doing that... for months, and the improvement has been minimal. Brushing my teeth, for example, only hurts sometimes instead of every time..

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I saw some other medical professionals a few weeks ago, and they said for this type of injury, rest isn't going to work... you've basically got to rewire the nerves, and to train the tendons and muscles gently to resolve this sort of injury. This is in line with my experience with overuse injuries. I once took 5 months off to recover from plantar fasciitis (heal pain) and used a trillion expensive heals, etc and after all those months off, the pain came back immediately.

What's the plan man?

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I'm going to train... every day, to develop the strength, skills and techniques to submit the best application video that I can. The video might be terrible, that's fine, the goal will still be accomplished.

My elbow may get fixed... it may not... but I can't let it hold me back anymore. I haven't been depressed at all... but I just don't enjoy my life if I'm not training for something big and exciting.

Obviously I won't be able to train my upper body for strength or techniques until my elbow is resolved, but I can train everything else so I'm ready to go once I can start to train it... and I can train my left arm which was always significantly weaker anyway.... I might even become more balanced.

Obstacle courses are amazing for 2 reasons:

1.) You have no idea what you'll have to face
2.) You have to train everything for reasons of Point 1.

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Training "everything" is obviously impossible...
Instead I'll break my training into 8 quantifiable sections.

• [x] Endurance
• [x] Speed
• [x] Core Strength
• [ ] Grip Strength
• [x] Jumping
• [x] Balance
• [x] Flexibility
• [x] Diet

Endurance and Speed are important for obstacle course competitions... in this competition 8 months ago... I was strong enough to tackle all the obstacles, and had most of the techniques under control (warped wall needed work)... but I didn't have the endurance nor the speed... and I came forth in my division. A non-podium finish meant I missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals by 20 seconds. I remember being 2/3rds through, and really just wanting to lie down.

I feel like core strength can be justified in this gif:

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I'll be attempting Level 3 on this program. I won't lie... I'm a bit scared.

All the grip strength in the world won't help you on the Salmon Ladder if you don't have the core strength (or the endurance) to throw yourself up those rungs.

I've included Jumping, even if it's oddly phrased, because again, you can have all the grip strength in the world...

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... but if you can't get to the obstacle, you're still in the water.
I'll be training both my lateral jump (jumping out) and my vertical jump (jumping up). Apart from my natural fear of the warped wall, I've never had a problem jumping... but the further I can jump, the less danger I'll be in...

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My balance and flexibility are terrible... and are essential for the course.

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On Australian Ninja Warrior Season 1... I made it to the semi-finals, and went out on just the third obstacle (a balance obstacle)... even though I was super confident about at least the next two obstacles. It was disappointing.

Diet, I think, speaks for itself, mouthy jerk.

I'm not going to train all 8 sections every single day... my legs will fall off.
I will intend to either be training or recovering from each section each day, and will have a monthly test to see where I'm up to.

This will help me track my progress, and see which areas I might need to adjust my training. I don't expect to have all the very best ideas at the very start of the process.

I think a weekly test is too regular, and I wouldn't expect much progress week to week. The monthly tests should feel special and something I'll put maximum effort in to.

1st of Jan 2019 will be my first monthly baseline test... so, ah, I better come up with something.

From tomorrow I'll have 365 days to press that Submit button on the American Ninja Warrior application website... and I look forward to using the blockchain to keep myself accountable and track my progress... and to help others interested in training for Ninja Warrior or any other obstacle course adventures... there's not a lot of non-confusing information out there.

Thanks for reading!

Images amazingly created by Steemians Skyleap and Ryivhnn