Precerpt from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary: Rib Fractures (They Happen)

 

Grandma Ninja: 1 Flying Monkey Stunt: 0

Walking up the stairs, reading texts on my phone with my left hand, and pulling a heavy box with medical supplies with my right hand, I lost my balance when the big box ripped open, throwing me over the railing into the elephant ear plant below. Beside the plant was a metal garbage can. As luck would have it, I landed right on top of it. Crack...! Two ribs fractured.

So, the ER doctor told me it would take six weeks for my ribs to heal. Six. Weeks.

Grandma Ninja apparently heard “six days” and went with that instead.

My PCP confirmed it this week. Lungs clear. Movement normal. No restrictions. (Except “no more flying monkey stunts,” which seems fair.)

He asked how the plant I dove into was doing. I told him he should be asking how I am doing. He said I’m tough and would outlast it. I didn’t argue.

Was it the calcium? The Fosamax? The prayers? Maybe all of the above.

I suspect the real culprit is Grandma Ninja — the balance work, the breathing, the stubbornness, the refusal to sit still, and the belief that healing is something you participate in, not wait for.

Six weeks is the biology. Six days was the attitude.

And yes, I’m back to hauling the giant trash cans up the hill. Because Grandma Ninja bounces.

(I think the ER nurse could have predicted it. When I disrobed and clambered onto the gurney, she commented, "You are really agile; you must be in good shape." That's what ninja training is all about--and it paid off this time!)

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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