Precerpt from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary: The Balance We Keep

 



I stand to get dressed every morning. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s graceful. But because it keeps me alive in my own body. My left leg is fused to my hip. It doesn’t cooperate. So, the rest of me rises to the challenge.

Standing to dress is my daily balance drill. Hopping up and down over curbs is my power training. Moving without holding onto anything is my quiet rebellion against decline.

My late husband Carl used to sit to dress. He’d look for the cutout instead of the curb. That was his way — careful, steady, gentle. But it always worried me. I could see him aging faster than I was ready for. His habits were both a cause and a result of that slow “decay,” the kind you notice only when you love someone enough to watch closely.

I tried to nudge him toward my ninja ways. He thought I was the crazy ninja lady. He wasn’t wrong. But he also wasn’t going to change.

And then he died — sooner than I was ready for. I still think the way he moved through the world and the way he left it were connected.

So, I stand. I balance. I hop. I train.

Because what you practice, you keep. What you avoid, you lose. And Grandma Ninjas don’t wait for life to get easier. We get stronger.


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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