'American Ninja Warrior' star Jessie Graff reveals she 'hasn't been on an actual obstacle in four months'
"Once I’m in competition, I’m more likely to forget all weaknesses and go all out, as if I’m invincible," says Jessie Graff who underwent stem cell treatment a few months before she began training for 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 12. For regular people, it would have been a sedentary life for the rest of the year but 'superwoman' Jessie refuses to give up once the injuries have healed. Jessie was motivated to push herself but the physical impact was "dramatic," she tells MEA Worldwide in a chat. "Instead of continuing to train strength and technique with my base fitness level, I spent two months losing most of my strength in March and April, and had to build back up from ground zero."
This 'Wonder Woman' stuntwoman returned with renewed and healthy joints but her muscles didn't go back to being as strong. The endurance levels had taken a fall as well. "I pushed it as hard as I could, and made so much progress, but between recovery and quarantine, I have not been on an actual obstacle or even swung on a bar in four months." Elaborating on her prep work for 'ANW,' Jessie said she was only able to do controlled strength training and the show will be her first test after injury and subsequent treatment. "I’m pretty nervous, but excited for a chance to prove that I can overcome everything and bounce back."
As she says, injuries, once they have healed, cannot back her down, which explains her rigorous workout regime that involves HRV and intense strength training. "I did all of my training at home or outdoors in quarantine. I did about an hour of HRV training every day, alternating energy systems, and 1-2 hours of injury prevention/rehab, and 2-4 hours of strength training," Jessie elaborates and adds: "I like pushing my limits, so I follow a three-day cycle of push day, pull day, leg day. So after an intense pull day, all of those pull muscles have a full 48 hours to recover (during push day and leg day) to recover."
Watch Jessie Graff unleash her magic on 'ANW' every Monday on NBC at 8/7c. For more information, check your local listings.
