If it’s true that a couple that trains together stays together, then a Shediac, N.B., couple known as “Ninja Warriors” sure have a solid grasp on their relationship.
Jules and Melissa Cormier are the powerhouse couple known on social media as “Maritime Ninja Warrior.” Inspired by ninja warrior TV programs, the couple has developed quite the following by posting videos of each other pushing themselves to their limits while swinging from the rafters in their garage.
“I like to swing and hope for the best,” said Melissa Cormier, who trains alongside her husband Jules Cormier.
“We don’t have any gyms close by so we can’t compete with other athletes,” Melissa said. “So we are always comparing to ourselves.”
“My wife suggested that I invest in building a gym in our garage so she has been parking her cars outdoors for all winter,” Jules Cormier said.
The powerhouse couple muscled their way to qualify for the ninja world cup this past weekend for the second time in two years. The pair each earned enough points at a competition in Granby, Quebec on Sunday to qualify then bother for the Ninja World Cup being help in Orlando, Florida in July.
“It feels great to do it together. I think that if only one of us would have qualified I am not so sure it would have been such a nice experience,” Jules Cormier said.
“The intensity of flying off and grabbing yourself and making sure you don’t fall I think is one of the greatest rushes for me,” Melissa said.
Clearly athletic and driven to compete, Jules said that training together can get a little intense. They both have had calluses on their hands and have a slew of hand scrapes, cuts and gashes.
“The skills that you need are grip strength and pull power and explosiveness,” said Jules, who is also a family physician in Moncton.
But it’s not just about feeding their competitive nature. Jules said the couple is also selling Maritime Ninja Warrior T-shirts and donating the proceeds to school breakfast programs “to make sure that kids have a chance to have a healthy breakfast before going to school.”
So far they’ve raised $10,000 for community charities, including help for children with autism. Cormier said they are now working with schools to introduce the sport, which is much more popular in other parts of Canada, to students in New Brunswick.
Cormier said they also hoping that a training centre will open in their home province one day, so they can park their cars back in their garage.
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