Angela Gargano has a lengthy career in fitness, going from college gymnast to Miss Fitness USA and most recently a standout athlete on “American Ninja Warrior.” Angela joins us in the BarBend studio to talk about her approach to training explosiveness, overcoming injury on national TV, and why she’s on a quest to get everyone better at pull-ups.
In this episode of the BarBend Podcast, David Thomas Tao talks to Angela Gargano about:
- Being a muscular child through gymnastics — and dealing with bullies (1:50)
- Angela’s athletic background (3:30)
- What people don’t tell you about being an athlete in college (4:15)
- The other side of “fitness” competition (5:05)
- Winning Miss Fitness USA (8:30)
- Getting cast on “American Ninja Warrior” (10:00)
- Coming back from injury on live national television (12:45)
- How Angela’s injury was incorporated into the American Ninja Warrior production (13:45)
- What does “ninja” training look like? (16:20)
- How can you train for surprise obstacles (18:00)
- Training explosiveness (19:30)
- Tips for people interested in trying “ninja” sport for the first time (20:49)
- What base level of strength do you need to have before giving ninja a try? (21:48)’
- People Angela admires in her sport (23:50)
- Angela’s quest to get more people their first pull-ups (26:40)
Relevant links and further reading:
