Going ninja is more than hanging out...it makes fitness fun

By John Howell
Posted 2/23/17

By JOHN HOWELL Take a popular television show, add an abundance of energy and mix in the opportunity of moving on to the regionals and even the nationals and you have the essence of the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association qualifiers held Saturday at

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Going ninja is more than hanging out...it makes fitness fun

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Take a popular television show, add an abundance of energy and mix in the opportunity of moving on to the regionals and even the nationals and you have the essence of the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association qualifiers held Saturday at Laid-back Fitness.

It was even more than that, as 67 ninjas aged 9 to their 60s from across New England vied to complete the course at the gym tucked behind MacDonald’s in the Greenwood section of the city. The qualifier for the regional competition to be held June 4 in Fall River started with the 10- to 13-year-old division. But some of the 30 youngest competitors, like Jamie Tarantino of Attleboro, were under age. They were still allowed to compete since they will have celebrated their 10th birthday by July when the nationals are held in Texas.

Ryan McGowan, who owns Laid-back Fitness and has hosted the competition for past years, marvels at what kids can do.

“Kids are the model of natural movement,” he said Saturday as the young ninjas swung from monkey bars, did flips (that aren’t part of the obstacle course), shimmied up ropes and balanced-walked across steel pipes. It was a 20-minute prelude to the competition when each of the kids was allotted two and a half minutes to complete as many of 10 obstacles as they could. They received one point for each obstacle successfully completed.

During the warm-up kids raced from one station to the next, testing their abilities. Some found challenges they had never encountered such as while hanging from a metal bar gaining enough momentum to lift the bar up a couple of pegs. Obstacles included NBC’s Ninja Warrior's famous salmon ladder, in addition to Laid-back Fitness' own rail balance, peg medley, "hurricane,” traverse, weighted sled push-pull and warped wall.

The course was scaled for adult competitors who were disqualified once they failed to complete an obstacle. As it turned out, the adult competition with 24 competitors moved quickly as a majority failed to complete the second obstacle involving a spin with a change in direction.

“It threw a lot of people out,” said McGowan.

Curtis Fry from Vermont, one of the oldest competitors, goes by the name “Grampa Grip.”

“He can hang on forever,” said McGowan with admiration.

McGowan credits American Ninja Warrior with creating much of the interest in the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association, but he sees the benefits as reaching beyond the glory of winning a competition and even the ultimate $10,000 prize in the nationals.

Learning and practicing skills, he said, “translate into daily life.” He said people become more aware of what their bodies can do and hence are better prepared for life situations. The obstacles serve as goals.

Most convincing, he added, “gym is boring for a lot of people and this does not get stale.”

The top placing five competitors in each division are Kids Division, ages 10 through 12: Evan McNeil, Lane Carte, Xander Maurikis, Carson Dean and Judah Johnson

Teen Division, ages 14 through 17: Ryan Auger, Luke Dillow, Matthew Freitas, Nolan Lajoie and Andrew Salisbury.

Adults, ages 18: David Cavanaugh, Eli Chevalier, Christian DeRubeis, Jordan Thurston and Ernest Phillips.

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