Precerpt from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary: When a Simple Exercise Becomes a Revelation



My tenant has sciatica at 38. Early, but not unusual anymore. I suggested that she try glute bridges. She did not know what they were.

So, I showed her — casually dropped to the kitchen floor and demonstrated:

  • 10 standard

  • 10 single‑leg lift right

  • 10 single‑leg lift left

Easy. Routine. Something I don’t think twice about.

She seemed nonplussed, stunned, and turned to my son's caregiver who was in the room with us. "How does she do that?" she asked.

The caregiver shrugged, “I don’t know. I cannot.”

And that’s when it hit me: They were telling the truth.

I did a little research and learned that most adults today cannot do a single‑leg lift glute bridge. What?? They’ve lost the functional strength to move their own bodies!

I had assumed these two ladies were unusually out of shape. But no. They are normal. It’s the baseline that has shifted, ostensibly because young folks lead more sedentary lives than did my generation. But not able to slip to the floor and do a single-leg-lift glute bridge, not even one repetition? Whoa!

These are, of course, run-of-the-mill young folks. They are not the young folks I see at the gym. Those are different -- and I would really like to chase these two to the gym. All I can do is offer access to my home gym (they do not take me up on it) and get them into my community gym as guests (they do not take me up on it). Mind-boggling for a grandma ninja!


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.

While COVID and two disabled adult children moving home permanently put a kibosh on those American Ninja Warrior plans, she continued to train -- a little more modestly but regularly -- and maintain the ninja strength and flexibility she had developed prior to these changes in life circumstances.

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 insights into 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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