Elise Poulton, 16, competed on the popular show after it opened its auditions to 16-and-17-year-olds for the first time.

It was a spontaneous decision to audition, Elise said, after her circus coach nudged her to apply.

Elise is a circus teacher herself at Circus Monoxide in Fairy Meadow, and luckily had access to train her upper body strength on aerial apparatuses ahead of tackling the course.

Read more: Sea of lanterns spread joy through Port Kembla

But with only a week to prepare, Elise said her physical training regime was nothing compared to preparing herself mentally.

"My circus coach was a course tester for the show, and she told me about the auditions a week before filming started," the St Mary's Star of the Sea student said.

"I didn't have much time to prepare, but I did the audition, which in itself was good preparation for the show. I just did lots of push ups and exercises whenever I could, even in between classes at school.

"But the hardest part was controlling my mental state and not getting too anxious or too excited. It was so difficult to be in that environment and remain calm, but I think I handled it pretty well."

Read more: Friday marks a new dawn as Killalea enters National Parks

Elise fell victim to the obstacle course's shrinking steps on Tuesday night's episode, but is keen to apply again next year after having such a positive experience.

"It was a five-obstacle course," Elise said. "When the demonstrators went through it, they made it look so easy. When it was my turn I thought, 'maybe not!'

"But there are so many 16-and-17-year-olds showing they're capable of doing the course. It was obviously challenging, but I'm really happy I did it."

With a passion for proving fitness can be fun, it makes sense that Elise was drawn to giving the dynamic course a crack.

"I'm training and teaching at Circus Monoxide every day and I just love being in this environment, because everything's fun," Elise said.

"Fitness isn't just boring push ups. That's how I got inspired to improve my health, and through that I always try to help my friends feel good about themselves with fitness."

Read more: Union calls for action after bus fatality on Crown Street

As well as having 16-and-17-year-olds tackle the course for the first time, other changes for season six of Australian Ninja Warrior include new hosts - tennis superstar Jim Courier and presenter Leila McKinnon - and head-to-head runs with ninjas taking on identical courses at the same time.

The show airs on channel Nine from Monday to Wednesday at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 7pm.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.