Precerpt from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary: From Raw Strength to Strategic Strength
Today, I turned 76. This, then, is the birthday edition of my diary, a birthday wherein I have now reached the line that puts me closer to 80 than to 70.
There comes a moment — somewhere between 70 and 80 — when your body taps you on the shoulder and says, “We need to renegotiate the terms of this partnership.”
Not because it’s failing.
Not because you’re fragile.
But because you’ve spent decades doing things most people never attempt:
- lifting seven children, two gifted and two with multiple birth defects
- lifting adults
- lifting wheelchairs
- lifting lives
- lifting entire households
- lifting through crises
- lifting because no one else could, was willing, or was around
For years, raw strength carried me.
I could muscle through anything — caregiving, stairs, emergencies, logistics, life.
My body was the one thing I could always count on.
But lately, I’ve noticed something new.
Not weakness — I’m still strong.
Not fear — I’m still steady.
But a shift. A recalibration. A quiet message from the machinery:
“You can still do everything.
But you can’t do it the same way.”
This is the moment when a grandma ninja stops relying on brute force and starts relying on strategy.
Strength becomes less about muscle and more about mechanics.
Less about speed and more about leverage.
Less about “I’ll just lift it” and more about “How do I make this sustainable for the next decade?”
It’s not deterioration.
It’s evolution.
It’s the wisdom to redesign the environment instead of wrestling with it.
It’s the clarity to choose tools — a second wheelchair (one for upstairs and one for downstairs) for a disabled child, a hoyer lift for an adult who tumbles out of bed, a new routine — not because you’re giving up, but because you’re planning ahead.
It’s the discipline to protect the body that has protected everyone else for so long.
And it’s the quiet pride of realizing:
I’m not losing strength.
I’m upgrading it.
I’m shifting from raw power to strategic power —
the kind that lasts.
So here I am, closer to 80 than 70, still a ninja, just a different kind.
A smarter one.
A more efficient one.
A more sustainable one.
A ninja who knows that longevity is its own form of mastery.
And yes, I can still haul 70-pound extra large garbage cans down my 60-foot nearly vertical hill --because I still can and must. And yes, I still do a 3-minute workout every morning with weights and planks and Russian twists and more -- because I still can and should. And yes, I still serve as a human swing set for the little grandkids -- because I still can and they want me to.
For now.
Grandma’s Ninja Training Diary is the inspiring true story of a septuagenarian grandmother who dared to dream big—by training for American Ninja Warrior. Teaming up with her coach and trainer, she embarks on a three-year journey to build strength, resilience, flexibility, balance, and endurance—starting from scratch.
Told in a dynamic mix of diary entries, coaching insights, and behind-the-scenes reflections, this book chronicles the ups and downs of late-in-life athletic training. From gym workouts to rock climbing, yoga to injury recovery, sleep to mindset—every aspect of the transformation is explored with honesty and humor.
Grandma shares what she’s learning; her coach explains why she’s right—or wrong. Together, they offer a realistic, encouraging look at what it takes to pursue an extraordinary goal at any age.
Part training manual, part motivational memoir, Grandma’s Ninja Training Diary is packed with practical tips for readers over 50 who want to improve their fitness, health, and confidence. You’ll also get insider insights into the world of American Ninja Warrior, strategies for balancing real life with ambitious goals, and hard-won wisdom about success, failure, and the joy of simply showing up.
To read more precerpts from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary, click HERE.
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