Precerpt from Grandma's Ninja Training Diary: The Hop, the Wiggle, and the Wisdom
When people talk about strength training, they usually talk about the weight.
But sometimes the real story is the setup — the part before the exercise even begins.
On the old solid‑state lat machine, I could simply sit down, reach up, grab the handles, and pull. Everything was stable. My feet were planted, my pelvis was level, my shoulders were square. The bar didn’t swing, the cable didn’t shift, and my nervous system could commit fully to the work. That’s how I got up to 130 pounds. It wasn’t magic. It was clean biomechanics.
Then, I changed gyms -- and the machine at my new gym had only the flippy‑bar machine.
Suddenly, the exercise began before the exercise. To reach the bar, I had to stand on the seat. Place my hands equidistant. Hop down. Spread my legs. Land on the floor. And hope the landing was even.
If it wasn’t — if one foot hit a fraction of a second before the other — the bar wiggled, the cable shifted, my shoulders rotated, and my back had to stabilize everything before I even sat down. By the time I was in position, I had already done a coordination drill, a balance test, and a shoulder‑stability exercise.
That is not the moment to pull 130 pounds.
So, I didn’t. I dropped the weight on purpose — not because I lost strength, but because the machine changed the skill. Heavy load plus unstable setup is how people strain shoulders, irritate ribs, or tweak necks. I’m a Grandma Ninja, not a Grandma Fool.
The repairman at the old gym who once looked over and said, “Wow, you’re strong,” wasn’t wrong. Nor was the diplomat in Indonesia who introduced me to the gym in here building, where I easily operated the lat machine on the setting it was on: 45 kilo (99 pounds), causing her to comment, "You're too strong." I am strong. But strength isn’t just about how much you can pull. It’s about knowing when not to.
Sometimes, the smartest thing you can lift is your own good judgment.
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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