American Ninja Warrior

American Ninja Warrior - a televised athletic competition - has taken over our household. We record each new, two-hour episode every Monday night during the summer months, and then the kids and I - and Tom, when he's home - catch up on all the action on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. (ANW doesn't start until Will and Hallie's bedtime, which is why we don't watch it live.)

Will decided back in June that his summer should revolve around mentally and physically preparing for this someday challenge, and to that end he turned every playground he visited - as well as a significant portion of our house - into a training facility. He climbed rock walls and rope ladders, swung across monkey bars and rings, attempted (and eventually succeeded at performing) countless pull-ups, balanced on both stationary and moving objects, and created all sorts of obstacle courses. The beautiful weather in Wisconsin this summer helped tremendously, as we spent considerably more time visiting the city's parks than we have in summers past.

Faux-rock climbing.

He made it to the top...

…and then nearly broke a bone jumping down.
The rock is larger than it appears in pictures. When I saw 
him fly off the top I assumed he'd been pushed because I 
knew he wasn't stupid enough to jump that far. I was wrong. 

Rock wall climbing.

Monkey bars.

Balance and core strength.
He'd spin the tire swing and then alternate taking
his hands off and staying on using only his legs with
taking his legs off and staying on using only his arms.

Warped wall training.
After climbing up the "front", swinging over the top, and 
jumping to the ground, he switched gears and climbed 
up the "back" as if the structure were a warped wall.

Shelf climbing.
I had to quickly step in and put the kibosh on this activity.

Forming a mental connection with the playground.

Training on the upward slanting monkey bars.

Training on an obstacle course he created in the playroom. 

(Will wanted me to note that if he hadn't been training 
with Hallie the course would have been more difficult.)

Training in our door frames.

I had to approve certain doorways for this training exercise because 
at one point I found him trying to climb up and around the tops of door 
frames to touch our highest ceilings. I'm really hoping to avoid the ER.

Yes, I'd say my little Ninja Warrior is ready to go!