Finding activities for kids that encourage them to be active while having fun can be challenging. Today, we are examining the difference between a typical ninja course and the Junior Boots™ Obstacle Course Classes developed by Hot Ground Gym.
What Are Military-Inspried Obstacle Courses?
Founded in 2013, Hot Ground Gym is a kids’ fitness gym developed by military veterans and former first responders. Pulling their inspiration from the obstacle courses they experienced during their training, they created unique fitness challenges for kids to be active while having fun and encouraging character development. Children aged 5 to 14 have the opportunity to boost their confidence and build their leadership skills in a healthy environment.
Hot Ground Gym is available in two locations in the Greater Chicago area, in Libertyville and Arlington Heights, Illinois. They offer classes for both children and adults, camps, and team building activities.
Hot Ground Gym’s Obstacle Course Classes 3 Pronged Approach
Our Junior Boots obstacle course classes have three purposes: improving the children’s physical and mental health while also serving as an opportunity for character development for kids.
Physical Development
The Junior Boots™ obstacle course classes are fun fitness challenges for kids, but they are also opportunities for children to work on their agility, speed, and physical strength.
Unlike many other traditional sports, Junior Boots classes engage the entire body. Children need to jump, run, grab, and move differently depending on the obstacles they tackle. The rapid changes help them develop their coordination while stimulating both gross and fine motor skills.
Our obstacle courses change every week and are designed to stimulate all muscle groups and contribute to the good development of a healthy and harmonious body with stronger bones and muscles.
Mental Development
Our Junior Boots™ obstacle course classes can help children build their bodies but also their minds. The kids’ mental development is as important to us as physical skills. Each exercise is conceived to encourage them to flex their creative muscles and think outside of the box. When negotiating an obstacle course, the children are led to find solutions through creative thinking and observation.
Our summer camps are challenging enough to help them build resilience when confronted with situations that do not work out the first time while maintaining a positive environment. It is a skill that will carry them far in everyday life.
Character Development
Navigating relationships with their peers is an essential part of character development for kids. Our goal is to encourage children to take on leadership roles, make new friends, and appreciate the value of teamwork. Children can grow their leadership skills and social confidence during each of our team building “Missions”.
A Mission is team building exercises such as role-play rescue scenarios that encourages children to get involved with the group, engages them quickly, and promotes cooperation under simulated stress. It brings the “come one guys, we can do this” out of kids. As they progress in skill, the children are encouraged to become role models for younger and newer students. Eventually, many of them choose to become junior instructors – a unique opportunity to share their skills and assume the role of leader. When given a chance, many children get out of their shells and thrive in a supportive environment.
Categories of Junior Boots™ Obstacle Classes
The children are divided according to age groups from kindergarten to teenagers, and enjoy activities befitting their abilities and fitness level. Students evolve in ranks as they improve their fitness level, show leadership and sportsmanship, and tackle new challenges.
Our youth gyms include a wide range of activities designed to help children build physical, mental, and emotional strength. The obstacle courses and experience overall changes weekly so children can acquire new skills and stay engaged in a high-energy, structured, and positive environment. The activities may include the following:
- Rope courses
- Target practice using darts, balls, rings, and knives
- Role-play rescue “missions”
- “Adventure Courses”
- Basic construction skills themed class
- Obstacle-skill focus class, where supporting fitness aspects of obstacle climbing are concentrated on.
What Is a Children’s Ninja Warrior Course?
Ninja Warrior classes for kids have grown in popularity following the success of the TV show “American Ninja Warrior.” Competitors tackle impressive obstacle courses featuring balance challenges, upper body strength, and rope climbs.
Ninja kids work on honing their skills on similar, age-appropriate ninja obstacle courses. Ninja training classes for kids teach skills borrowed from other strength- and agility-based disciplines such as gymnastics, parkour, and martial arts. From tumble classes for toddlers to ninja teens training for the American Ninja Warrior junior tryouts, kids’ ninja classes aim to stay fun, high-energy, and challenging environments and are typically held in kids’ fitness gyms.
Categories of Ninja Obstacles
Kids ninja classes help children train on the skills they need to master tricky obstacle courses. Ninja kids learn with trained and positive instructors on exercises ranging from how to approach different ninja obstacles to aptitudes like agility, speed, balance, and upper-body strength. Finding a safe and clean ninja warrior gym for kids is essential to avoid injuries. When picking a kids’ fitness gym, make sure that the instructors stay on top of warm-up, stretching, and safety measures during each class.
Before they can tackle a full children's ninja warrior course and their imposing machinery, the students will need to drill individual fundamental skills, including jumping, climbing, swinging, traversing, balancing, and floor skills.
Jumping
Jumping high and long is an essential skill to tackle a children's ninja warrior course. Ninja kids practice using exercises such as:
- Box jumps
- Long jumps
- Platform jumps
- Jumps onto ropes and cargo nets
Traversing
Like swinging, traversing to the next ninja obstacle is integral to any course. Ninja kids in training use setups such as:
- Cargo nets
- Spotting blocks
- Rock wall
- Chimney ledges
Swinging
Ninja obstacles are often far apart, which is why swinging is part of each ninja kid’s training. Ninja Warrior gyms for kids usually have equipment such as:
- Rings
- Ropes
- Hanging ladders
- Hanging nunchucks
- Parallel barres
Climbing
Ninja Warrior gyms for kids typically include a wide range of climbing structures, including:
- Ropes
- Cargo nets
- Pegboards
- Rock walls
Balancing
Balancing is one of the trickiest elements of the kids’ ultimate fitness challenge. Wannabe ninja teens and kids perfect their skills using the following:
- Balance beams
- Slacklines
- Rolling barrels
Floor Skills
Ninja obstacles may get most of the attention, but floor skills make the difference in an obstacle course. Your child ninja warrior will need to perfect their aptitudes in:
- Running
- Crawling
- Vaulting
- Block pushing
- Tumbling
Conclusion
Both Junior Boots™ and ninja kids classes are a lot of fun for children and teenagers looking for an engaging, challenging, and high-energy physical ability. However, the Junior Boots™ classes offered by Hot Ground Gym are conceived as more than a physical challenge: they also engage your child’s mind and character, helping them build skills that will help them far beyond the gym. Contact us today to schedule a free trial class.
