Drew Drechsel and Alex Weber debut new obstacle, the Swinging Pegboard, from the LA Finals

It’s a great day because Crashing the Course has returned! The digital series hosted by Alex Weber took a few weeks off during the American Ninja Warrior Cleveland and Denver Qualifiers and we were sadly devoid of behind-the-scenes obstacle info.

But the show has returned with a look at a new obstacle for the Los Angeles City Finals, the Swinging Pegboard.

Once Ninjas get up the Warped Wall and advance to the back half of the course, they’ll transfer to the Swinging Pegboard directly from the Salmon Ladder.

The obstacle will require Ninjas to traverse two swinging pegboards. They’ll also need to bring at least one peg with them from the first board to the second.

Alex brought in Ninja Warrior Drew Drechsel to talk technique and get the POM Wonderful Tip of the Week.

Drew pointed out that, even though it’s not apparent at first glance, core strength is a big factor on the Swinging Pegboard. That’s how the athlete will maintain both control and momentum as they move forward without wasting too much energy.

Drew demonstrated his strategy. He stayed calm, pocketed a peg to take with him, and looked almost relaxed as he beat the obstacle.

Then Alex gave it a try. We’re going to venture a guess that he tried this out more than once, since he looked pretty sopping wet in the clip!

Find out if Alex’s multiple attempts paid off in the above episode of Crashing the Course! The Los Angeles City Finals episode of American Ninja Warrior will debut on July 24 at 8/7c.