Do you remember running and playing as a child?
When was the last time training felt like this for you?
For those of us who love strength training, this is actually what exercise feels like. We love going to the gym, crunching numbers and focusing on technique. It can be absolutely captivating and entertaining.
But for many people I work with, exercise feels more like a chore than a hobby. More of an obligation than something they look forward to.
Here’s a way to change that.
An alternative to traditional training
Years ago, I ran a group class called “Ninja Academy” at my local gym.
Twice a week a group of adults would show up and we would run around like ten year olds for an hour. We played catch. We crawled on the floor. We had lightsaber fights with foam swords. We played Zombie Dodgeball (which is amazing).
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We didn’t focus on reps, heart rate, calories or weights. And yet people were really out of breath, laughing too hard to talk, and asking, “Can we do this again?”
This experience changed my perspective on fitness.
Sure, exercise, strength training, and 5K races are great.
But the fitness industry tends to focus on things we can count and track. This of course led to the idea that real Exercise looks a certain way. And by extension, anything that can’t be easily tracked becomes less valuable.
This is backwards.
When you play, you move because you want To. You push yourself without thinking about it. You come back the next day not because you’re disciplined, but because it was really fun and you want more.
Playing doesn’t have to replace traditional training. It simply gives you more options.
And the benefits go beyond just sweating. Play creates community, keeps your brain young, introduces your body to movements never experienced in a gym, and encourages lifelong movement across all ages and generations.
Here’s what Christy – mother of two teenage girls – said after her first Ninja Academy session:
“I took my twins to a class at my gym last night. Probably the only reason they agreed was because of the name ‘Ninja Academy.’ Yes, it’s exercise, but essentially it’s a structured adult break. We did silly things like jump over a ‘stream’ (made of jump ropes), did tripods or handstands depending on skill level, played follow the leader (outside in the dark!) and just had fun.
The girls and I had a lot of fun doing this together. They were still talking about it this morning. I’m on cloud 9 because it was just one of those “moments” that can be hard to find. We just have to PLAY for a change. No homework, no chores, no stupid assignment, just play. I don’t do this with my children often enough anymore. I’ll try to fix this.”
Would you like to try it? First, a few principles:
- Everything is optional. Not feeling comfortable playing a game or activity? Try something different!
- Do your best no matter what happens. You won’t be good at these moves and games right away. It’s easy to get frustrated, especially when things are new. We used this mantra in Ninja Academy to focus on doing our best rather than Be the best.
- Have fun, but don’t let your head explode. If you no longer have any match practice, it can easily happen that you go too fast and too hard. If you try to jump too far and make a spill, you’ll be a little too aggressive in a game of tag. Relax.
- The 70/30 rule. If you are playing with someone else, adjust the rules so that no one person wins more than 70% of the time. Stronger player? Let them use their off hand. Bigger player? Have them balance on one foot. Keep it competitive for everyone.
Some games to get you started
🎯 Faucets: Try keeping a foam ball or balloon in the air. Kick, punch, chop, whatever it takes. Bluey fans will recognize this as Keepy Uppy. Works alone on a wall or with a whole group. This was our warm-up game in every Ninja Academy session. 😊
⚔️ Samurai Warrior: A person stands in front of a group and swipes their arm either high or low: high swipe = duck, low swipe = hop over. Note: They don’t literally jump over her arm. Just respond to their hints. If you get “hit,” take a step back, do two squats, and get back up. Just keep playing.
🏹 Zen Archer: Try to keep your feet on the ground as your partner slowly moves a hand or stick toward you in slow motion. Get out of the way at the last possible second with as little movement as necessary. More difficult than it sounds.
🪄 Stick drop: Stand a broom upright, drop it, and your partner (or yourself!) tries to catch it before it hits the floor. Start close. Move further away when you feel better.
💥 Crack About Dodgeball: Free dodgeball. The best way to play is with these Rhino Skin foam dodgeballs (one of my favorite tools for making play easier without getting a painful hit in the face). If you get hit, sit down. If a ball rolls towards you, you can still throw it. If the person who hit you gets hit, you’re back at it! No one is ever really outside, which is endless fun.
🫳 Reaction drop: Hold two balls at shoulder height and drop one randomly. Your partner tries to catch it before it hits the ground. Deceptively hard. Instantly addictive.
🥅 Goalkeeper: Roll or throw a ball so that it is just out of your partner’s reach. They try to stop it. The goal is to find that edge so that they are successful about 50% of the time. It’s also a game for practicing your aim and if you can get it to the perfect spot!
👑 King of Protocol: Hold a partner’s hand and try to get the other person to make a move. That’s it. You can adapt this by standing on a crack in the sidewalk, on a small curb, or even on a real log in the forest!
🔥 Floor is lava: All-time classic. You know the drill 😉.
🧱 Jenga balance: Stack two Jenga blocks on top of each other and try to hold the bottom one without letting the top one fall. Once you get the hang of it, try adding some slow motion motion. Great focus game, surprisingly challenging.
👻 Mario + Ghosts: A person walks across the room. When they turn around, everyone freezes. The goal is to sneak up on them and tap them on the back. (I also called it “The Weeping Angels” for all my Doctor Who fans out there.) We even did a version of this at Camp Nerd Fitness, where our entire group was made up of ghosts and we picked an unsuspecting trainer to be Mario. 😂 We got some WILD looks when the trainers saw a horde of people moving towards them and then everyone immediately froze.
I hope this has inspired you to try a new game or exercise – either for yourself or with a friend or family member.
And most of all, I hope it has given you permission to think again about what your training “needs” to look like.
I’d love to hear from you – what physical games do you enjoy playing? I’m always collecting new ideas!
– Matt
PS: Do you want to make fitness a sustainable part of your routine? This is exactly what our trainers help with. It’s like having your personal fitness Yoda in your pocket, except instead of Yoda you just have a real nerd human watching your back. Otherwise it’s basically the same 😜
