Experiential Gift for Wannabe Ninja Warrior in Canada

December 11, 2019 11:46 AM

My 7-year-old niece is OBSESSED with strength/agility obstacle courses like those on American Ninja Warrior. She is constantly building physical challenges for herself at the playground, and running them repeatedly in order to improve her time. She is super strong and LOVES feeling strong. For Christmas, I’d like to gift her with something that lets her do more of that!

I considered getting her some sort of backyard slack line/obstacle course kit so she can set up her own courses at home, but there are no large or usefully spaced trees in her yard to make those setups work.

Also considered lessons/gift certificate for her local rock climbing gym, but am wary of gifts that make scheduling demands that might be burdensome to my sister and her husband (who already juggle full-time work and the insane extra-curricular schedules of three active children!)

Also considered gifting an entry to a kids version of a Spartan Race/Tough Mudder/etc., but have the same reservations re:scheduling, and am also not sure how great the kids version of these races are, nor do they seem to host them in my sister’s area (BC, Canada) very frequently....and waiting 6+ months to get to do your gift is a bit of a bummer for a 7-year-old’s Christmas morning.

There is a “ninja training gym” in a nearby town that caters to kids and seems perfect for this...which is presumably why my sister booked it for the niece’s birthday just a few months ago, so that is out.

Further complicating factor: I live thousands of miles away, so unfortunately can’t take her/accompany her on whatever the experience is.

So, what is a great experiential gift I can get for a kid obsessed with monkey bars and obstacle courses and agility challenges and other feats of freakish 7-year-old strength?!

posted by Dorinda to Grab Bag (30 answers total)

Would her own stopwatch be experiential enough? (Make sure that it has a breakaway lanyard so it doesn’t get snagged on obstacles.) Or maybe her own measuring tape to measure how far she can jump/run/climb?
posted by corey flood at 11:51 AM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

There is a “ninja training gym” in a nearby town that caters to kids and seems perfect for this...which is presumably why my sister booked it for the niece’s birthday just a few months ago, so that is out.

A gift certificate for the ninja training gym. I'd expect your niece would enjoy it even if it's not completely new to her.
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:53 AM on December 11, 2019 [13 favorites]

Maybe a GoPro or other recording device? She could use it to record/improve her performance on courses or wear it and make POV videos to inspire other girls/kids?
posted by stellaluna at 11:56 AM on December 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Some friends have a static trapeze hanging in their basement for pull-ups, knee hangs, etc. Does she have an indoor place to hang something like this, or a pull-up bar?
posted by xo at 12:01 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

A gift certificate for the ninja training gym. I'd expect your niece would enjoy it even if it's not completely new to her.

Yes, this. My kid goes weekly to a similar gym weekly, and it has really been a transformative experience. I know you're concerned about scheduling, but honestly it is such a great thing. See if they can fit in a 1x per week class, or just some passes for their "open gym" thing (which I'm sure they have.) Nothing beats the experience of practicing the obstacles and getting better at them.
posted by anastasiav at 12:02 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Would a backyard swingset be helpful and be acceptable to your sister and the rest of the family? Would they be able to properly set it up and an anchor it? These days they often come with things like hanging bars or rings, rather than just swings. They can get crazy expensive and elaborate, but even a simple A-frame swingset potentially provides a platform for setting up some of the obstacles you can't set up due to the lack of trees.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:26 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Why is the ninja training gym out? Could you give her a day at the gym with a friend on a day when you'll be visiting?

Also, I want to encourage you to run any of these presents past your sister first, especially if they take her time and/or yard.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:46 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

A pair of gymnastic rings can be hooked or slung to anything that can support her weight, and taken down just as easy. There are loads of videos on youtube that make them look fun.
posted by rollick at 12:51 PM on December 11, 2019

I was also thinking a pull up bar, maybe one of those you can install in doorways so she can do challenging things indoors as well?
posted by cgg at 12:53 PM on December 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

Instead of a pull-up bar, you might consider a fingerboard, with more exercises available. But ask if they are OK with it being installed.
posted by nickggully at 12:57 PM on December 11, 2019

How about some gym mats or a climbing crash pad? She can use it for all of the rolling, jumping or other activities she might be doing around the house and it'll reduce her likelihood of getting injured.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:01 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

I bought a simple pull-up bar for my AMW obsessed niece and she and her older siblings reportedly loved it. (Maybe that is just my sister being nice to me though).
posted by jazh at 1:02 PM on December 11, 2019

I know I've seen ads for parkour for kids in NYC -- you might search for something like that where they are.
posted by LizardBreath at 1:17 PM on December 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Circus arts classes? I know it's sort of the wrong tone, silly instead of warrior-ish, but anything with tumbling or acrobatics seems like it'd hit the skills she wants.
posted by LizardBreath at 1:37 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Sorry, should have been more clear: the ninja training gym is in a different town, about 1.5 hours away (so I suppose it's only "nearby" in a relative sense), so it is not suuuuper practical as a regular activity for her.

And yes! I will absolutely run by anything that involves time commitments or structural changes to the house/yard by the parents!

Thanks, all. Eager to hear more ideas!
posted by Dorinda at 1:38 PM on December 11, 2019

I don't know that it quite hits the "ninja warrior" target, but I remember a little exercise apparatus that was challenging and fun to challenge others with. It was really just a short metal axle with a single wheel centered and a handgrip on either side. Might have been called "Ab Wheel" or something like that.
posted by coppertop at 1:47 PM on December 11, 2019

Paralettes and an online paralette training program, handstand training program etc. Check out Gold Medal Bodies Fitness (GMB Fitness).
posted by zdravo at 2:31 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Is there any place nearby that does a "canopy tour"? Those usually have combinations of ziplines and treetop obstacle courses.
posted by space snail at 4:01 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Does any local gym have a climbing wall?

Hand weights? Mini trampoline?

I love that you are fostering this in her. STRENGTH!
posted by agregoli at 4:19 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Maybe somthing like an agility ladder, jump ropes, or other small/easily-shipped items that she can use as part of a home made course.
posted by acidnova at 4:27 PM on December 11, 2019

We have a ninja line and we set it up between 2 large and conveniently spaced trees in our backyard but the whole thing is portable enough that you could take it to a park and set it up there. It also wouldn't be that hard to rig up some mounting points in a room to install it there either.

If you want to do more strength and less ninja you could get her a TRX set (or one of the more affordable knock-off versions).

If your niece or her parents are handy you could buy her climbing holds and they could make a bouldering wall. I made one for my daughter's birthday a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't too hard or time consuming.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:40 PM on December 11, 2019

There’s a lot of balancing in Ninja Warrior, as I recall - how about a balance board?
posted by lakeroon at 4:43 PM on December 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have a kid like that! We got a yoga hammock when he was in 2nd grade. He's in 8th grade now and it still gets constant use. It needs to get installed with a heavy duty screw into a beam in the ceiling so clear it with the parents first. But it is absolutely magical. Highly recommend.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:36 PM on December 11, 2019

Oh, slack lines that you can string up between two trees are popular in our neighborhood too. Even just a rope hanging from a tree will get serious use.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:38 PM on December 11, 2019

Apologies- you said experiential. We've also quite enjoyed ropes courses like this. I'll stop now.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:44 PM on December 11, 2019

I almost bought this indoor gym set for my tiny ninja but our door frames are too wide for it. The neat thing about it is that it can be assembled and pulled down relatively easily without needing a whole bunch of drilling, and there's a range of different pieces on it. I would definitely add a padded fold up gym mat with it though for the kid to fall on.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:38 PM on December 11, 2019

Slack lines absolutely don’t need trees. Google “slackline stand” or “portable slackline” for examples and price points (I’m on mobile).

Bonus for that style: they’re usually a lot closer to the ground than tree-based systems.
posted by itesser at 7:46 PM on December 11, 2019

Do you have a local flip flip gymnastics place? Sometimes they too have ninja training classes, even though it’s a standard Olympic gymnastics setup.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:08 PM on December 11, 2019

The climbing gym sounds perfect. Why not check with your sister about it? Unlike, say, soccer, (which seems to have 25-minute practices for my son's age anyway), climbing lends itself to spending a few hours somewhere. So you might be able to find an option for, say, a daylong intensive that would not mean committing her to 3x / week hassle. Then you could also get her a book about climbing knots and a short length of rope to practice on, something like that.
posted by slidell at 8:31 PM on December 11, 2019

Not a ninja warrior event, but I received stilts when I was about that age. My parents had them made by a local carpenter. I loved them so much and would use them on obstacle courses that I made myself.
posted by oryelle at 8:11 AM on December 12, 2019