Posted on Leave a comment

AG Ninja Goes to Austin

AG Ninja had a blast installing a state of the art ninja facility at Austin Ninjas in Austin, Texas in January 2018. AG Ninja worked directly with Austin Ninja to custom design their available space. From there, AG Ninja provided our own manufactured equipment as well as installation. With multiple obstacles of varying difficulty, this Ninja facility is able to accommodate Ninja trainees of all ages. Notably, Austin Ninja is the training home of Ninja Warrior competitors Rick Hinnant and Damir Okanovic, and it has been an amazing project to watch unfold with real results seen live on ANW! Check out the images below to see the magic come to life in this premier ninja facility!

 

 

Below is a video of Brad Thornton (Chief Operations Officer/Designer/Co-Owner) demonstrating how to tackle the AG Ninja Salmon Ladder at the Austin Ninja facility.

 

Posted on Leave a comment

Ninja Training Finding It’s Way In to Fitness

Gym_Design_With_Ninja_Training

More and More, we are starting to see people in the fitness industry come to us with an interest in Obstacle Training. Why? Because Obstacle training is one of the most exciting and fun ways to get a full body workout. On top of that, it’s great for all ages.

It is so important to look forward to your daily training regiment. Dreading a workout is no fun. In short, Obstacle training is fun! Recently we have worked with several fitness facilities who were opening new locations and wanted to dedicate a substantial amount of space to Ninja. Some of the facilities are even going as far as creating several different Ninja areas, each catering to different age groups and skill levels. The video below shows a design we created for a customer that was looking to do that very thing.

Do you blame them? Seriously, would you rather do 10 pull-ups or rip through a set on the salmon ladder? Same muscles being worked but I can assure you one is a lot more fun than the other. We have over 60 other obstacles each which targets a certain muscle group or multiple groups depending on how they are used. You can check out the selection HERE!

 

Posted on Leave a comment

AG Ninja’s Newest Obstacles

Releasing new obstacles is always an exciting thing for me. Seeing them go from a 3D mockup to hanging from someone’s Katana Frame provides such a sweet satisfaction.

Here are the latest releases from AG Ninja:

The Revolver

Price: $1175

Difficulty: Advanced Ninja

Age Range: Teen – Adult

Material: Powder Coated Steel

Body Parts Worked: Biceps, triceps, back, shoulder, grip strength

ninja-Obstacle-the revolver

You’ve seen the rumbling dice and the rotating spindle. Now comes The Revolver. This unique obstacle combines a myriad of challenges that will test the will power of the best athletes. Similar to the rumbling dice, one must do a pull/push motion with both arms on the Revolver rungs to get the heavy piece moving. However, The rungs of this obstacle provide their own challenge as they increase in thickness. Yes, thicker definitely means more difficult!

If you already have rails for a Rumbling Dice, you have the option of purchasing the Revolver as a stand alone obstacle.

 

The Wishbone

Price: $315 ea.

Difficulty: Advanced Ninja

Age Range: Teen – Adult

Material: Powder Coated Steel, polyurethane grips

Body Parts Worked: Biceps, triceps, back, shoulder, grip strength

 

It’s hard enough when an obstacle rotates on you, but when it swings and rotates, you have a problem on your hands. The athlete will get to test grip strength, upper body strength, core and the lechè skills with this obstacle. The wishbone is made of a powder coated steel and will include cannon balls on the ends to assist with the grip.

 

The Tic Toc Bag

Price: $795

Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate

Age Range: 5 to Adult

Material: Vinyl padding, Powder Coated Steel, plastic base

Body Parts Worked: Biceps, Calfs, Quads

 

ag_ninja-tic_toc

The Tic Toc bag provides a great deal of fun and versatility. A common use is to release from another obstacle and bear hug the bag and fight to hold on as it sways back and forth. So, you will often see a trapeze placed before this obstacle to get some high flying excitement. The soft padding is quite forgiving with it’s 2ft diameter and vinyl covering. The plastic base provides some needed support for foot placement.  The obstacle is about 7.5ft tall and 3ft wide

 

The Cobra

Price: $775

Difficulty: Intermediate

Age Range: 8 to Adult

Material: Powder Coated Steel

Body Parts Worked: Biceps, back

The_Cobra_ninja_Obstacle

Like a slithering Cobra, this obstacle rolls up and down and finishes with a climb to the raised head. Participants simply walk their hands along the back of The Cobra and try their best to avoid the venom! This obstacle works upper body and grip strength and would be considered intermediate level. Included are the rolling poles, mounting sticks and hardware.

 

The Flying Monkey

Price: $675 ea.

Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced

Age Range: 12 to Adult

Material: Powder Coated Steel, Plastic Veneer

Body Parts Worked: Biceps, back, abs

Flying_Monkey_ninja_Obstacle

One of the newest obstacles added to the AG Ninja arsenal not only brings excitement in it’s functionality, but it’s also beautifully crafted with a lot of attention put in to the design.  Outside of creating obstacles that are safe and professionally engineered, we really want to focus on designing items that look great. The Flying Monkey does not disappoint!

One of the more popular obstacles from the TV show, the Flying squirrel allows the athletes to get HUGE air while swinging from one to the next. In a structured obstacle training environment, the flying squirrel can be used for a massive age range in that it’s great for training taps/correct swing and release techniques.

When used in a course running environment, this would be considered a high level obstacle for very experienced athletes

Brad Thornton

Posted on Leave a comment

Sport Obstacle Highlight – The Flying Squirrel

Flying_Squirrel_Obstacle_2

One of the newest obstacles added to the AG Ninja arsenal not only brings excitement in it’s functionality, but it’s also beautifully crafted with a lot of attention put in to the design.  Outside of creating obstacles that are safe and professionally engineered, we really want to focus on designing items that look great. Let’s face it, when your customers walk in to your facility, you want them to take one look at your equipment and think “whoa, that is really nice!” No doubt, this was achieved with the release of the Flying Squirrel.

If you haven’t seen the show, you may not be familiar with this Ninja Obstacle. The mechanism you see in the photo above works in conjunction with a second one to create a swinging obstacle that allows you to act like…well, just like it’s name.

 

Flying_Squirrel_Obstacle_2

 

Generally, a series of these are lined up so the athlete can fly from one set of bars to the next. Obviously, this sounds like a high level obstacle, and normally I would categorize it as such when used in a conventional manner. However, sometimes you have to think differently of the products we offer. It’s important to see how each of them can be used as a training tool and not necessarily a means to getting from one side of a frame to another.

In a structured obstacle training environment, the flying squirrel can be used for a massive age range. Now, if it is being placed on a course type environment where kids are simply trying to mow through a series of obstacles then it is limited to a more skilled level.

For example, before kids can learn how to release a bar and grab another, it is imperative they learn a proper swing/tap first. The flying squirrel apparatus is a fun way for kids to practice this swing and even swing and release and drop in to a pit or large resi. We even have options with this obstacle to allow the arms to operate independently of one another (more difficult) or connected to each other (easier).

I love this obstacle and know that it provides a variety of ways to teach body control, coordination, strength, confidence etc. The sensation of one day flying is appealing for kids and adults so I promise you can’t go wrong by including these in your curriculum.

 

If you have any questions or need details, feel free to to email me at Brad@american-gymnast.com