The Ninja Knowledge Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ratasha Iribarren (AKA "The Ice Ninja"
Hi! My name is Ratasha Iribarren and I am the host of "The Ninja Knowledge Podcast!" I began ninja training in July 2016, after a former co-worker asked me to join his "Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness" team. I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into! Despite never watching American Ninja Warrior up until that point, I quickly fell in love with the sport and began training religiously.
My innate curiosity and overly-analytical nature led me to create this podcast. Prior to ninja, I figure skated competitively for eight years, and four years professionally for the Florida Panthers Ice Skating team. I enjoy edutaining (educating and entertaining) others through teaching group fitness classes and personal training. I received a bachelor's degree in communications and master's degree in physical education from Florida International University.
Whether you're a ninja newbie, or a serious competitor with aspirations of competing on American Ninja Warrior, this podcast is for you! During each episode, I''ll provide you with the knowledge necessary to train smarter and go harder toward your ninja warrior goals. If a figure skater with no rock climbing, parkour, gymnastics, or pole vaulting background can do it, so can you!!
Do your elbows hurt? Shoulders? Ankles? On this episode of The Ninja Knowledge Podcast, we are talking all about "ninjuries" (ninja injuries) with Coach Casey from Atomic Training and Performance (ATP Obstacle Gym). In 2012 Casey had 5 major surgeries, and suffered knee injuries from overtraining.
Casey graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, and some of her certifications include NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator, NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist, Spartan Coaching: SpartanSGX Coach, and Breast Cancer Recovery. She is also an American Ninja Warrior Season 7 competitor, 2-time first place UNAA finisher, and has placed top 10 in the elite female finishes at Battle Frog, Spartan Race, and Savage Race. Here is what we covered in this episode:
SHOW NOTES:
5:48 How Casey got into fitness and ninja
7:05 Why Casey recommends doing local ninja comps before competing on ANW
8:18 The sport that we have in common other than ninja warrior
9 The surgeries Casey underwent that prevent her from holding her L's (but helped her develop a "baboon grip"
10 min Why Casey is known as the "Breast Cancer Avenger."
11:30 The childhood game that led to Casey's knee injury
12:45 How Casey came back from her injuries and how ego can prolong the recovery process
14 The biggest mistake athletes make when coming back from an injury
15:06 How to tell if you’re overtraining
16:30 Common "ninjuries"
17 How elbow tendinitis occurs
17:44 Nutrients that reduce inflammation and corrective exercises for elbow tendinitis
19:40 Casey’s favorite piece of exercise equipment for strong ankles and knees
20:56 How shoulder injuries occur and what movements we can do to prevent shoulder injuries
23 CAM? RICE? MEAT? What’s the best method of injury recovery?
25:05 Why inflammation can be a good thing and foods that can cause inflammation
26:56 How much rest we need at the beginning of the injury and how long we should wait to move the injured area
28:20 Casey’s opinion on E-Stem therapy for recovery
29:04 How long is too long when wearing a wrap/brace?
29:47 How Casey schedules recovery into her competition training schedule
31:20 Should you rest the entire week before a ninja competition?
32:10 How many days per week should you ninja train?
32:50 How to avoid overtraining when you practice obstacles 3 times per week
34:25 What a 1-hour recovery class at ATP looks like
36:35 Casey’s favorite recovery toy
36:50 Casey’s 3 favorite recovery moves
37:40 Her least favorite review tools/method
38:44 Casey’s favorite ANW obstacle
38:57 Casey’s least favorite obstacle
39:15 The obstacle that ended her ANW Season 7 run
40:05 3 words other people use to describe Casey
40:49 What she would do if she won the 1 million dollar grand prize on ANW
41:15 Casey’s definition of an American ninja warrior
CONNECT WITH COACH CASEY
http://www.atpobstaclegym.com/index.html IG: @atp_obstaclegym
CONNECT WITH ME:
IG: @the_ice_ninja
PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW ON ITUNES IF YOU LEARNED SOMETHING VALUABLE FROM THIS EPISODE!
OCR World Championships Master of the Rig Champion Jay Flores is back on the "So you want to be a Ninja" podcast! Jay is a Conquer the Gauntlet and Force 5 Pro Team Athlete, Global Stem Ambassador, ANW course tester, OCR coach, 2-time Ted Talk speaker, and placed at 15 OCRs around the globe in 2017.
Here are some things we talk about on this episode:
-How Jay got into ninja -His walk-on line experience -Why he keeps applying to ANW despite not getting a callback -Why he really wants to be on the show (other than the fact that it would be REALLY FUN! :)) -What it's like to be an ANW course tester (you'll hear my experience too ;)) -AND MORE!
TRY OUR BALANCE CHALLENGE AND POST YOUR ATTEMPTS!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRx_Lnhu7c/
CONNECT WITH JAY:
https://www.jayfloresinspires.com/ IG: @coachjayflores FB: @jayflores2032
CONNECT WITH ME:
IG: @the_ice_ninja
JAY'S SPONSORS AND DISCOUNT CODES:
https://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/
Juice Performer: CTGPRO15 15% off order of Juice Performer's cherry or beet juice from Amazon.com
Dryrobe.com: Custom CTG dryrobes
Marenasport.com: medical compression apparel, CTGPROTEAM20 for 20% off
WreckBag.com: CTGPROTEAM10 gets 10% off Wreck Bag
facebook.com/JrenFitness- personal trainer for those looking to get healthy all the way up to pro athletes
Oofos.com: Recovery sandals and shoes that reduce impact by 37%
Mudgear.com: CTGSTRONG for 10% off OCR socks and apparel
HarbingerFitness.com- all your fitness equipment needs including weighted vests
Complex.com: Electrical Muscle Stimulator to recover faster and train harder
Rocktape.com: kinesiology tape and mobility tools to keep you healthy
On this episode of "So you want to be a Ninja" we're speaking with the OCR World Championships Master of the Rig Champion (pretty cool that I can call this guy my friend), Jay Flores. Jay is a Conquer the Gauntlet and Force 5 Pro Team Athlete, Global Stem Ambassador, ANW course tester, OCR coach, 2-time Ted Talk speaker, and placed at 15 OCRs around the globe in 2017.
If you've ever struggled with the rig obstacle (I know I have/do), then this is the episode for you! Jay shares his top tips for conquering the rig, as well as:
-What he does as a global STEM ambassador -How his engineering degree helps with OCR and ninja courses -How to minimize overthinking on the rig and other obstacles -His 20-year goal (it's not ninja/ocr related) -His favorite quote -His first OCR experience (he had an extra obstacle to conquer) -His favorite/least favorite obstacle -His athletic background growing up -How he became a Conquer the Gauntlet Pro Team Member -How he went from spending HOURS on rigs at OCRs to becoming MASTER OF THE RIG at the 2017 World OCR Championships -What it was like competing against Jamie Rahn from ANW in the Master of the Rig competition -How to work on rigs without having access to a rig
CONNECT WITH JAY:
https://www.jayfloresinspires.com/ IG: @coachjayflores FB: @jayflores2032
JAY'S SPONSORS AND DISCOUNT CODES:
https://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/
Juice Performer: CTGPRO15 15% off order of Juice Performer's cherry or beet juice from Amazon.com
Dryrobe.com: Custom CTG dryrobes
Marenasport.com: medical compression apparel, CTGPROTEAM20 for 20% off
WreckBag.com: CTGPROTEAM10 gets 10% off Wreck Bag
facebook.com/JrenFitness- personal trainer for those looking to get healthy all the way up to pro athletes
Oofos.com: Recovery sandals and shoes that reduce impact by 37%
Mudgear.com: CTGSTRONG for 10% off OCR socks and apparel
HarbingerFitness.com- all your fitness equipment needs including weighted vests
Complex.com: Electrical Muscle Stimulator to recover faster and train harder
Rocktape.com: kinesiology tape and mobility tools to keep you healthy
CONNECT WITH ME:
IG: @the_ice_ninja
Do you want to BEAT THAT WALL? Then you need to listen to this episode! You'll learn about the technique, conditioning, equipment, and mindset needed to hit the buzzer on top of the 14 ft-plus warped wall!
SHOW NOTES
CONNECT ON IG: the_ice_ninja
NEW BALANCE ZANTE V2: https://www.joesnewbalanceoutlet.com/product/wlzant-fn/wlzantva
RESISTANCE BAND: https://www.thexbands.com/product/78-by-41-resistance-band-the-black-50-lbs/