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OGDEN — Karson Voiles, a three-time American Ninja Warrior competitor and national finalist, wanted to train for his appearances on the show – so he replicated a ninja course in his backyard.
“I built a big backyard course and I got a lot of airtime on ninja warrior and everyone for like 100-mile radius wanted to come and train in my backyard,” he said. “Ultimately it led me to me opening up this gym.”
He opened the Ninja Warehouse in Ogden, a specialized gym with course obstacles with names like the warped wall, devil steps and the double salmon ladder.
That’s where KSL TV anchors Deanie Wimmer and Mike Headrick tried out the TV sport and vied for the title of “Utah’s Ninja Newscaster.”
“When you put someone through a course like this you learn really quickly how aware they are of their body, how much coordination they have, kind of their natural raw athleticism can come out or not come out for that matter,” Voiles said.
Deanie Wimmer
“Hey, would you be game to go through Ninja Warrior training?”
That loaded question from our Special Projects team wasn’t really a question. Yes, I would do it. I work out every day and it sounds like fun. And yes, I would be the brunt of KSL’s segment.
I knew that going in.
But here’s what I didn’t expect. Ninja Warrior training requires a specific kind of fitness for which hardly anyone trains. Running, pedaling up mountains, none of that even matters. Can you swing your body weight hanging from one hand? That matters.
And all the 20-somethings at the cool Ninja Warehouse in Ogden could do that with ease. In fact, I watched gym owner Karson Voiles pull himself effortlessly into the rafters of the gym using ropes and bars. I realized at that moment, I hadn’t climbed a rope since my 5th grade Presidential Fitness test.
They make it look so easy. They make it look effortless and I'm learning there's an actual technique involved and there’s actually things that you can do to help but then at the end of the day it's a different kind of strong. I like to work out a lot and you think you’re in shape and it's humbling.
My second sign that Ninja training might not be as “great” as the special projects team promised, was when my hands started bleeding within the first 5 minutes. Voiles was kind enough to tape them up. He showed me how his hands had callouses on every single inside knuckle. So I learned, there’s tough and then there’s ninja tough. I’m going to become more of the latter, because I already see next season’s RE-MATCH!
Mike Headrick
I am the classic example of someone sitting on their couch, watching American Ninja Warrior and saying, “Pfff! I can do that!”
So, when I was asked to take on the challenge at Ninja Warehouse in Ogden, I was pretty excited to take a break from chasing down people who were stealing my bikes and packages and see if I could hang with the ninjas.
I’m a gym rat. So, I enjoy working out and hitting the weights.
This is what I discovered: It takes a lot more than working out and hitting the weights to make it through this course. A lot more!
Strength only gets you so far. A lot of the success comes from technique.
Once I walked into the facility, I wasn’t quite as confident as when I was sitting on my couch screaming at the contestants. It was humbling in many ways.
With that said, I was determined to succeed. And let’s just say I’m happy with the way things turned out!
