CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) - One Cedar Rapids woman is set to compete on the sports entertainment show American Ninja Warrior later this month. She’s overcome some significant obstacles to get to where she’s at, but hopes to be a role model for others with her ‘don’t wish for it, work for it’ mindset.

Fitness has been a big part of Peyton Coffin’s life. It started with gymnastics at the age of five.

“I’ve just been really competitive and I really love challenging myself and kind of pushing myself to its limits,” Coffin said.

Today the 26-year-old works out three to four times a day, six times a week. Within the last year, she decided to give Ninja U a try.

“Ninja is very different because it take every part of your body to work,” she said. You’re swinging through obstacles, flying through obstacles and jumping on different balance courses.

Sports have always been a safe space for Coffin. She was adopted at a young age due to her biological mom being a drug and alcohol addict. Her mom via adoption Coffin calls her best friend.

“My mom is a big inspiration to me because she had a lot of health issues growing up. She still did her best to make sure we felt loved and we felt supported and cared about,” she explained.

Coffin was also diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and a severe stutter at the age of seven.

“Sports just gave me a place to where I could just be myself and not have to worry about what’s happening with my speech,” she said. “Make friends and enjoy what I love doing.”

Coffin’s mom died in 2017. Since then, she’s turned her pain into passion.

“That just inspired me to really go after my dreams because it helped me understand tomorrow is not promised,” Coffin said.

She’s now a personal trainer and will compete in front of a national audience on the show. Coffin hopes her story inspires others.

“Wanting to show people it doesn’t matter where you came from, it just matters where you’re going. You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it,” she described.

In addition, she hopes to makes her mom proud.

“I know she would say she’s very proud of me going after what I want and chasing what I want because she knows how hard I work. She knows I’ve put in a lot of work to be where I’m at today.

Coffin’s run on American Ninja Warrior is scheduled for Sept. 29.