"We're training blind" - American Ninja Warrior star Daniel Gil reveals not seeing the obstacle course beforehand

With American Ninja Warrior releasing its 17th season on June 2, 2025, star Daniel Gil revealed some lesser-known facts about the show. The installment is set to take place in Las Vegas, including all the rounds.

Host Matt Iseman is also returning this time and mentioned that the show will bring back some of the classic challenges. Akbar Gbajabiamila, who will join as a co-host, said that the finale will be a feat to see because it will bring something new.

As for Daniel Gil, ahead of the American Ninja Warrior season 17 premiere, he sat down with Collider to talk about his experiences during filming and the challenges that were presented to the contestants.

He revealed that ninjas are not aware of what the obstacle course looks like, not until they are about to start filming for the same. This means the contestants have no chance of practicing it whatsoever or even forming a strategy to enhance their performance beforehand. He explained,

"We have no idea what the courses are going to look like until the night of competition. So all of our training, we know there's gonna be some kind of agility steps. We know there's gonna be a warped wall, we know there's gonna be a salmon ladder at some point in the competition, but all the other ones in between we're training blind."

He added,

"So we're just trying to work different muscle groups, different movements, different body positionings and techniques and obstacles. And then we show up and we just say, 'Okay, oh, that's our course!' We don't get to practice it. We get one demonstration and then we go to our waiting area until it's time to race."

Daniel Gil shares his feelings about the obstacle course on American Ninja Warrior

Daniel claims that the whole thing is "nerve-racking" and American Ninja Warrior truly tests the mental and physical bandwidth of a person. No matter how great of an athelete they are, the ninja has to asses the entire obstacle track on the spot and perform with it. Daniel says that this is the "most difficult part" about the show.

However, Gil has proven himself all these years as a Ninja himself. When asked about what goes through his mind as he sees the course for the first time, Daniel says that he tries to visualize himself going through it. This helps me analyse the jumps and swings, and strategies as he feels himself going through it all.

The last thing that he does is pray.

Daniel expressed,

"And then I pray. I've got a great prayer like, Lord, I've trained hard. I know what I'm capable of. I pray for the strength to either hit a buzzer and be a great representative, a great role model for all the viewers, or help me to be a great role model in case I fall, fail, make a mistake, or things don't go the way that I have trained for."

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American Ninja Warrior season 17 drops new episodes weekly on NBC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Mondays. Later, they will be available to stream online via Peacock.

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