My training

[claymore]

I plan to enter the course either the 2015 or 2016 season. Depending how ready I feel. Just here for some helpful criticism on my workout. I plan to build a few of the obstacles but I need tips on my preparation.
Age 21
Height 6'0
Weight 180

I eat right and cut out all junk. I don't even do cheat days.
I was going to hit the hits but figured getting too big and heavy wasnt a good idea. Therefore I'll be doing bodyweight training.
3 times a week bodyweight exercise
2-4 times a week I'll do obstacles.
4 times a week cardio about 20 minutes.
The remaining days I'll play basketball or some other active activity.

Workout
Pushups 5 sets of 30
Dips 5 sets of 30
Russian twist 5 sets of 30
Pull ups/chin ups (debating starting rep set)
Phantom chair 5 sets 1 minute hold
Plank 5 sets 1 minute hold
Flutter kicks 5 sets of 30
Diamond push up 5 sets of 30
Mountain climber 5 sets of 30
Calf raises (weighted) 5 sets of 30
Lunges 5 sets of 30

This will increase once it starts getting too easy. Also I'll be watching my weight because like I said I don't want to be too big and heavy. I'm open for suggestions and fixes.

[Ben Baker]

Sounds about like my weekly training. The only thing you need to watch out for is not getting enough rest between workout days. I don't know if you have a real physical occupation or not, but if you do it can really take a toll. I have to carry around a chainsaw all day at work and by the time I get home the cliffhanger and pull up training seems tough. Even 3 workout days a week is getting tough for me so I don't know if I should cut back or not. Just remember that your muscles grow over night and on rest days, not while working out. Rest is the key man. But your workout seems good as long as you can see improvement.

[dudesky1000]

There is a lot of volume, but as long as you drink a lot of water, eat even increments of protein throughout the day and get adequate sleep, your body should be able to adjust to this. As hcboy said, be mindful of how much rest your body really needs to not just recover, but build. Like any sport, doing high-volume workouts day after day might seem fine for a couple of weeks, and you can feel great for a while, but unless you have conditioned and built yourself up to the workout appropriately, you'll enter a phase of burnout and it'll hit you 'out of nowhere', and... it's not really fun!

Hint: The sleep is especially important.

[Oti]

I will disagree with the others and say that workout doesn't seem very good. There's no real plan or progression, just a lot of stuff. Doing all those exercises for all those reps won't really do anything for you in the end, either. You'll just get good at doing them, which doesn't help in any athletic endeavor. Your motivation and dedication seem good, but contrary to popular ANW belief, you can't just do a bunch of stuff and expect to improve. You need to plan.

You should lift and get strong. This will make you better at everything automatically. You can control your weight by keeping your diet under control, just like competitive athletes do when they need to stay within certain weight classes. If you absolutely want to include some body weight stuff, it could be used for assistance work at the end of workout. Your plan to play some basketball regularly is good.

[Kninja]

Weight lifting is fine if you know what you are doing. I don't recommend lifting super heavy, but heavy enough to get stronger faster. If you are training for ninja warrior specifically then doing sprints makes more sense then jogging for 20 minutes.

I don't think that general exercises are going to do nearly as much good as being very focused on specific muscle groups. I have had several extreme cross fit guys come out to my course and they can't to anything but the quintuple steps after 20 tries haha! My point is being in good shape is one thing, but it has to be focused or it does you no good.

I rock climb 4 days a week (along with climbing specific training) and I obstacle train on the same 4 days (this includes sprints). 2 workouts a day, every other day. Rest is very important.

I have seen huge improvement doing this. The amount of advice you will get on this topic is endless and in all separate directions. I am simply telling you what has absolutely worked for me.

[Oti]

That's because people who actually do Crossfit are mediocre at everything. "General" stuff like squats, deadlifts, cleans, etc. will help. It doesn't improve your skill, but there's more to a sport than skill. Strength is the foundation.

I agree with you that different people will say different things. It's because everything works. Some things just work better than others.