Specialization in Sport: Ninja Warrior

  Last article I briefly mentioned sport specialization in relation to Ninja Warrior as a sport. In this article I will dive more into that topic specifically; discussing some of the positives and negatives that could potentially come along with it. 

In short, Sport Specialization refers to the process of an athlete eliminating all sources of athletics and exercise that don’t directly translate to their primary sport. It is extremely common among athletes at the higher levels of competition, and increasingly so in younger athletes as time progresses. The impacts of specialization diminish with age as the body naturally slows down its growth. Essentially, specialization will have more of an impact on a younger athlete than an older one, in both positive and negative regards.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the sport specific training hours an adolescent take on is no more than their age. (ie. a 15 year old should only train for up to 15 hours per week).

A prime example of Sport Specialization in real world athletics is Gymnastics. Not only is it a highly technical sport that requires mastery of complex skills and control of the physical body, but the age of peak competition is on the lower end of the spectrum. With that low age of competition comes a shorter timeline in which athletes are able to train. Naturally the first logical thought is, start focusing earlier and train more to maximize the short window of time. This is exactly what is done in the sport of gymnastics currently.

First let’s take a look at the positives that come along with this. The younger you are the better your brain soaks up information, and your body grows to adapt whatever common movements it is experiencing. The earlier you start training, in this case gymnastics, the better a foundation will be built for training to come. But it’s just that. While gymnastics is a very physical sport, and athletes reach untold levels of athleticism, their movements and body control is specific to gymnastics, and not necessarily to physical health and longevity as a whole.

This isn’t meant to insult gymnastics or any sport really, of any it is one that has a fairly high transferability of skills. This is meant to simply put the notion out there, that specialization of training leads to specialization of skills.

So how does this play into Ninja Warrior as a sport?

I chose gymnastics in part because there are many borrowed movements in Ninja Warrior, lots of functional and quick movements, and the occasional high-impact flying moves. Secondly, as the sport of Ninja Warrior grows, the age at which athletes begin training gets younger and younger. It is a prime opportunity for specialization to occur in many young athletes.

Now here is the big question: Is specialization bad in Ninja Warrior? Yes and no.

True specialization (elimination of all other sources of exercise or athletics), would not be good, especially at younger ages. This would mean doing nothing other than movements specifically chosen to train and prime the body for Ninja Warrior obstacles.

Looking back to the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we can get a rough idea of the amount of training time per week that a child at a given age should participate in. That ratio is referring to sport specific training and won’t factor in general physical activity or limited non-sport exercise, which is good. While true specialization won’t be beneficial, understanding what it would look like is very important; it will allow us to see where our specific sport is lacking in terms of physical health and longevity.

That about wraps up the introduction of sport specialization in Ninja Warrior. The next section will be a much more practical overview of Ninja Warrior from a movement analysis standpoint. I will focus in no the main body parts and movements that Ninja Warrior does and does not focus on. Hopefully that will lay out a good framework for training additional to Ninja Warrior for coaches and athletes to follow.

R. Andrew Paxton,  B.S., M.S. Kinesiology

Head Coach & Trainer, Coeur Ninja

e: robertpaxton11@gmail.com

p: (615) 424-3239