Local doctor to compete on tonight’s ‘American Ninja Warrior’

Does Dr. Rich Shoemaker have what it takes to become a warrior outside of the hospital? Tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC, you can watch Shoemaker, Emergency Medicine physician at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, compete on the popular show "American Ninja Warrior."

"American Ninja Warrior" is an action-packed show that follows competitors as they try to complete a series of challenging obstacle courses. Those who successfully finish the course move on to the national finals for a chance to win the grand prize of $1 million.

Shoemaker, 39, was often encouraged by friends and family to apply for the show. Then last year, he got the ball rolling.

"I don't watch a lot of TV, so up until a year ago I had never seen the show. Then one day I was with a patient and I saw he couldn't keep his eyes off the TV," Shoemaker recalled. "He was watching 'American Ninja Warrior 'and when I saw it, I thought, I can do that."

He sent in an application with a 3-minute submission video over the winter. In April, he got the call to come down to Universal Studios Orlando Resort the following month for a chance to beat the course.

Shoemaker is an avid rock-climbing enthusiast. To train for the show, he spent roughly three days a week at the climbing gym for 2-3 hours (or sometimes even 4) increasing his upper body strength.

The show's course takes roughly four minutes to complete, but to train, Shoemaker often engaged in tabata-style workouts for two hours or longer.

In the final months leading up to the taping, he doubled his efforts and joined iCore, a local obstacle gym in West Chester, Pa.

"iCore had a ton of obstacles that you see in the show so I started training there. At first, after I would do eight or nine in a row, I would find myself getting out of breath but then a friend suggested that I train with a snorkel in my mouth to focus on my breathing and practice hitting the lactic acid threshold quickly."

Competitors must complete challenges like the Warped Wall and Salmon Ladder that test their balance, agility and endurance. For Shoemaker, the "Log Roll" was the hardest obstacle. Participants wrap their arms and legs around a log that slips downhill, spinning rapidly, until it reaches the bottom.

"By the time you get halfway down, you're so dizzy that you don't know if it stopped or not," said Shoemaker. "Some contestants have said they thought it was over and let go too soon."

After getting off the log, show runners then usher unsteady participants to balance obstacles. "Stringing those together was the toughest part," Shoemaker recalled.

The father of four hopes his time on the show will be an inspiration to career dads.

"I run into more and more guys in their 20s who don't want to settle down because they think a family and career will limit their ability to do enjoy life. I want to show them that I can still do cool things like 'American Ninja Warrior' as a dad and full-time doctor."

"It was such a unique competitive atmosphere," Shoemaker recalled. "It's not us against one and other' its' us against the course. By the time you leave you feel like your brothers with some of these guys."

Tune in to NBC 10 tonight at 8 p.m. to see if Dr. Shoemaker has what it takes to advance to the next round.

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