An American. A ninja. A warrior. All three of these traits are needed to compete in one of the National Broadcasting Company’s most physically challenging shows, American Ninja Warrior. Andrew Lowes (30) and Michael Silenzi (27) embody these qualities.

Both currently living in Antioch, Ill., Lowes and Silenzi go from a small town to a big stage to compete for a grand prize of $500,000 on the hit TV show. While on the show, participants must make it through tough and abnormal obstacles never seen before. The fastest times make it to the next round until they get to the Finals Course, where the only way to win the grand prize is to finish with the fastest time.

Lowes and Silenzi competed in the past three seasons and plan to continue competing in season seven, which will take place in 2015.

Silenzi said, “I plan on competing until I physically can’t.”

During season six of ANW, Lowes cleared the St. Louis qualifying course which led him to the Finals Course, where he made it all the way to the seventh obstacle: the Rumbling Dice. Silenzi reached qualifiers in St. Louis in season six but fell to the fifth obstacle: the Double Tilt Ladder. Both surpassed thousands of people attempting to qualify.

Both Lowes’ and Silenzi’s jobs give them advantages when training.

“We have access to mini tramps, balance obstacles, we can set up a slack-line inside the gym and can pretty much build anything we want to cater to our specific needs,” said Lowes.

Silenzi said, “Being a physical therapist [at Colletti Physical Therapy], I know a lot about how the body works and I’m really intuned with my own body so when I’m training it definitely gives me an advantage.”

Lowes and Silenzi rock climb and do gymnastics in their free time to help them train.

“We train together quite a bit. He’ll come to my gym to train or we’ll go climbing. We usually climb together once a week on Sundays,” said Lowes.

Many students at Antioch Community High School watch ANW regularly.

Senior Carly McCameron said, “It’s interesting and cool to see the crazy things people can do.”

ACHS hopes to one day have Lowes and Silenzi come to the school and talk about their experiences on the show.

Sophomore Ashley Reiser said, “It’d be pretty cool  [to train with an American Ninja Warrior] because they’re famous.”

It takes a large amount of dedication, strength and perseverance in order to compete on the show, let alone actually being the American Ninja Warrior. Lowes and Silenzi know this better than anyone. They are both fierce competitors representing Antioch and should not be overlooked in this upcoming season of American Ninja Warrior.