Jackie Chan. Bruce Lee. Hattori Hanzo. Nunchucks. Japan. When you think of a Ninja Warrior, Australia is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, the land of rugby league and surfing has finally crowned its first-ever Ninja Warrior from the most unlikely of sources — a golf geek called Charlie Robbins.
The underdog redhead, barely out of his teens and weighing just 68kg, last night won Channel Nine’s Australian Ninja Warrior competition, taking home $100,000 and proving to be the surprise package of Ninja Warrior season three.
As News.com.au reports, “While other competitors were introduced with awe-inspiring footage showing their tireless hours spent training, Robbins’ intro instead showed him golfing with a group of elderly friends, including his 71-year-old grandfather Taffy.”
But don’t be fooled: the 20-year-old has been doing gymnastics since he was four, and started training on “ninja-specific obstacles” about two-and-a-half years ago.
Despite playing it down for the show (and thus flying under the radar, avoiding the pressure that was felt by the more shredded competitors), Robbins is a keen athlete with a sporting regimen that any aspiring Ninja (or gym junkie looking to vary their dumbell-heavy workout) would do well to emulate.
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As he told News.com.au, his success proves having “an Instagram influencer’s rippling physique” doesn’t automatically translate to athletic success.
“I think being fairly lightweight is an advantage — and having a gymnastics background helps heaps. I don’t think putting on as much muscle as you can is necessarily going to help you.”
While we don’t all have access to a Ninja Warrior course to train on, many of Robbins’ workouts can actually be completed in the gym or at the park. So — if you only work out to look good (no judgement: we’ve been there) — stop reading now.
But, if you would like to incorporate a little functional fitness into your routine (and continue doing adventurous activities well into old age), these exercises will get you on your way.
Flag Poles Without A Pole
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Who needs professional gymnastics equipment when you’ve got a chin-up bar and a 20kg plate?
Speedy Salmons
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You might need to do a bit of DIY to set this up in your back yard (or head down your local rock climbing centre) but when you do your shoulders and upper back will thank you.
Advanced Monkey Bar Training
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While your basic Anytime Fitness probably doesn’t have this kind of bodyweight workout area, many gyms these days do. Alternatively head down to your kid’s playground, or the bodyweight workout stations at Bondi beach.
Gymnastics Rings
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You don’t need a foam pit — you just need an open-minded PT and the ability to momentarily take over the Olympic Ring workout station of your local gym.
Backflips
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Once you’ve trained yourself up you will be able to epitomise what it means to be a modern Australian Ninja with a backflip into your local watering hole or patch of ocean.