Takano Weightlifting is the premier training facility dedicated to the sport of weightlifting.  Inside a 5000+ sq ft. facility in Woodland Hills, we provide the highest quality and competition rated equipment along with the very best coaches in the sport.  We offer open gym access and class membership with coaching for Weightlifting and Strength & Conditioning for everyone. We also offer educational seminars for both athletes and coaches.  Whether you are a Weightlifter, an Athlete, or a CrossFitter looking to better your technique, Takano Weightlifting is the place to be!

UPDATE: Takano Weightlifting closed it’s doors at 6036 Variel Ave, Woodland Hills, 91367 January 31st, 2023. The gym has re-opened as of March 1st, 2023, and is now called Polaris Weightlifting. Located at 21010 Vanowen Street, Canoga Park, Ca, 91303.



The recent explosion of interest in the sport of weightlifting and the performance of the snatch and clean & jerk has created an unmet demand for more and better training and coaching.  As a longtime weightlifting and strength and conditioning coach, writer and lecturer Bob Takano and Takano Athletics have decided to provide this expertise by opening a unique training facility solely dedicated to the training of weightlifting and education of coaches.  The Takano Weightlifting gym will make available for the first time to the general public the training and coaching methods previously available only to a narrow segment of the athletic community.  

Bob Takano - Owner / Head Coach

Bob Takano is a highly respected weightlifting coach who was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to coaching. He has been the coach of four national champions, two national record holders, and 27 top ten nationally ranked lifters. Bob has been on the coaching staffs of 17 U.S. National teams to international competitions, five of those being World Championships and the Summer Olympics. His lifters have competed in seven Olympic Trials with one, Albert Hood, the third American to snatch double bodyweight, earning a berth on the 1984 team. 

Furthermore Bob has been a CSCS since 1986, having authored six articles for the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal, and served as a member of the editorial board of that journal from 1996 to 2000. He has also co-authored a chapter for the NASM’s Essentials of Sports Performance Training, and a chapter on the Training of Weightlifters for the IOC Sports Medicine Commission’s Encyclopedia of Strength and Power. 20 of the female volleyball players he’s coached have earned Division 1 scholarships. Bob is on the teaching staff for the USAW Weightlifting Coaching Education program and presents his own seminars as well. He was also part of the CrossFit Weightlifting Seminar staff.

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RAISING THE BAR IN WEIGHTLIFTING

 

 

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PROMOTIONS

Takano Weightlifting is now Polaris Weightlifting!

LA's one and only training center dedicated to Weightlifting

TRY A FREE

CLASS + 1ST

MONTH UNLIMITED ACCESS!

Sign up right after your 1st class and your 1st month is UNLIMITED ACCESS regardless of which membership package you chose!  All our memberships are on a month to month term so you can cancel at anytime with no commitment or hassle! To redeem promotions you must purchase membership in person.

Fill out the form to request your 1st class.  Adv. reservations only. Including for OPEN GYM HOURS. No walk-ins allowed. 

Takano Weightlifting offers the best coaching of weightlifting along with Coach education and Internship opportunities under USAW Hall of Fame Coach - Bob Takano.  if you are serious about learning from the best to become the best,  look no further.

TAKANO WEIGHTLIFTING INTERNSHIP PROSPECTUS

The Takano Weightlifting Internship is the answer to an ever growing demand for coaching education beyond the traditional weekend seminar or course.  It has been designed to provide the intern with the experiences and tools to begin a career as a weightlifting coach through a process that is unavailable anywhere else in the U.S.A. 

Selected interns will have the opportunity to teach and coach weightlifting under the direct supervision of USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame coach Bob Takano. 

These activities will take place in the Takano Weightlifting HQ, a facility dedicated to competitive weightlifting, strength and conditioning and coaching education.  While other facilities might offer the same equipment, or similar coaching opportunities, it is the wealth of coaching experience that Bob brings to the experience that sets it apart from other coaching education experiences.

Interns will be expected to spend eight or more hours per week (up to a total of 100 hours overall) teaching classes of beginning and intermediate athletes and coaching weightlifters toward an end goal of coaching them in competition. 

As a final requirement interns must pass an examination on program planning in order to receive a certificate of completion. 

Read more about the Internship HERE.

"The Takano Athletics Coaching Education Internship is one of the most concise and comprehensive internships offered. Whether you are an aspiring Weightlifting coach or a seasoned coach, if you are serious about your development, this Internship is second to none. The Takano Athletics Internship not only gave me the knowledge and confidence to open the first Weightlifting gym in my area, but also develop my athletes to successful careers in Weightlifting. I owe a huge THANK YOU to Coach Bob Takano for putting together such a phenomenal Internship which set me up for success." - Clancy Benton / CTBAthletics

 

SELECTION PROCESS

There are 5 steps to the application and selection process.

  1. Download /Email completed application to rob@takanoathletics.com (download application below)

  2. Oral interview (in person, phone, or skype).

  3. Background, goals and character references check.

  4. Internship fee payment. (Info/Link to pay fee below)

  5. Notice of acceptance + Schedule / Confirmation of the start date.

All of these factors will be taken into consideration before an intern is selected.  There will be a limited number of internships available at any given time.

CLICK BOX BELOW FOR APPLICATION DOWNLOAD

EMAIL COMPLETED APPLICATION TO rob@takanoathletics.com

 

 

INTERNSHIP FEE

$399.00. You must make payment to confirm and secure your spot/start date. To pay on-line now - https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=163914&stype=43&prodid=10120

 

 

 

SCHEDULE

NON-MEMBERS MUST MAKE AN ADVANCE RESERVATION FOR DROP-IN OR A FIRST TIME CLASS.  NO WALK-IN ALLOWED. ***See above Promotion to reserve a first free class***

For Club and in Person Training, Takano Weightlifting is now, Polaris Weightlifting, go to www.polarisweightlifting.com for more info on class hours and sign up.

 

LATEST BLOGS

CONTACT

EMAIL

membership@takanoathletics.com

or toby.takanoweightlifting@gmail.com

ADDRESS

GYM MOVED! Takano is Now

Polaris Weightlifting

21010 Vanowen Street 

Canoga Park, Ca, 91303

Please note our entrance is on the side of the building facing the parking lot.


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May 2024 NEWSLETTER

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Prologue For those who may be newcomers to this newsletter, I appreciate your readership.  All of the writings in the first person represent my thoughts on these topics and I hope you find them helpful.  Thank you.

-Bob Takano

COACHING TIP

I’ve been watching the IWF Junior World Championships and noticed that even at that level, the coaches make the same error with respect to the two minute clock as coaches at the local level.  For those of you who are not familiar with the rule, any lifter who has just completed an attempt and there are no other lifters taking an attempt before the first lifter’s next attempt, the first lifter is given a two minute clock instead of a one minute clock.  

I’m not entirely sure but the two minute clock (it used to be 3 minutes) was developed to allow the heaviest lifter to recover from a missed clean & jerk before attempting another.  It does not necessarily apply to a small athlete recovering from a missed snatch.  

Yet I repeatedly saw it happen in the lighter weight classes.  A small lifter misses a snatch and need to repeat.  The two minute clock starts and the coach stands idly by waiting for the clock to run down while the lifter gets anxious and may actually be finding herself leaving from the zone of arousal.  She has been recovered from the previous attempt quickly and now finds herself waiting for the signal to go from her coach.

If I have a lifter in this situation I check his/her pulse to make sure its down to 120 BPM or less, and then I tell them to proceed when they feel ready.  This may be at 45 seconds or 1 minute or 1:15, whatever time it takes for the athlete to feel ready to approach the lift.  

Don’t let your athlete over wait.  


2022 Master’s Nationals

REFLECTIONS ON MASTERS NATIONALS

The 2022 Masters Nationals has come and gone.  812 athletes mounted the platform and got their numbers put in the books.  44% were males and 56% were females.  This looks like the sport is becoming ever more popular among the women.  One of the more gratifying statistics as compiled by Paul LaDuke is that the average Snatch/Clean & Jerk ratio is 78.2%.  To me, as a coach, this indicates that the majority of athletes were in the proper bodyweight classes, that their training was well balanced and that the programming was well done.  

I had the great pleasure of coaching my athlete, Dr. Laurie Nelson, to three national records.  This is the second national championship for this pre-med advisor from Pepperdine University who snatched 30 and jerked 42 in the 64 kg class of the 75 year old age division.  I think that Laurie and some of the other athletes are establishing marks that were previously not envisioned and should bear some focus and study by the gerontological scholars. 


We’ve had a solid run on 8 years at our current location, looking forwards to our next chapter at a new facility in the coming months!

IWF Elections

  Not unexpectedly the IWF has turned down the USAW offer of hosting the Electoral Congress that is scheduled for June.  The IWF has been dragging its feet on the elections and this congress represents the third postponement.  They have settled on Albania as the meeting site and already they have missed one of their own deadlines failing to adequately vet the candidates by the April 30 deadline.  All of this will not sit well with the IOC which is poised to dismiss weightlifting from the Olympic Games as soon as 2028. 

Phil Andrews Departure

  USAW CEO Phil Andrews has decided to step down in order to pursue other career opportunities.  Phil has done a masterful job of putting the organization on a much sounder business footing, led the anti-doping movement for the organization and put in place an exemplary office staff that oversees the course of the organization.  While admitting that there is still much work to be done, Phil has left USAW with a very firm foundation for future growth and development.  The Board of Directors is already involved in a search for his successor.  Best wishes to Phil as he moves forward.

Takano Weightlifting is on the move

Due to a change in the ownership of the building and a subsequent demolition, Takano Weightlifting will be moving to new quarters as yet to be determined.  We plan to be settled in a new facility around August 1st-September 1st. We plan to keep the next facility to within 10-15 minutes or less of our current loaction.


Upcoming Events

  Two Takano Weightlifting Athletes will be competing at the U25 Nationals in Las Vegas during the week leading up to July 1st.  Jerry Esparza and Gina Kim will be lifting to establish new personal records on the competition platform at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The rest of the team will be competing at the So Cal Summer Classic in Newport Beach on the July 16, 17 weekend.  Come on out and watch our team put up some big numbers!

USA Junior Teams do well at Junior Worlds

  Congratulations to our exceptional junior national teams on their triumphs at the IWF Junior Worlds in Crete, Greece.  The women’s team won the team title and the men finished third.  This is the best overall performance by a U.S.A. National Junior team ever!  The outstanding performer was Hampton Morris of Marietta, Georgia who took gold and established a junior world record of 161 in the 61 kg clean & jerk. 


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REMOTE COMPETITION TEAM

Remote Team Coach Toby Skinner keeping an eye on the warm-ups of U-25 National level lifter Gina Kim at the 2022 AO 1

Polaris Weightlifting:REMOTE

COMPETITION

TEAM

Welcome to our Remote Coaching Competition Team, the place for competitive athletes looking for an experienced coach to help you realize your weightlifting goals!

Although we firmly believe the best way for an athlete to progress is in person under the watchful eye of an experienced coach, we understand that many talented athletes may be limited to this resource based on their schedule or the availability of a high level coach in their area.

To bridge this gap, we are now offering a remote coaching option for competitive athletes at the Senior/Junior National level.

We try to tailor our remote coaching experience to help fit your specific needs as an athlete . As part of our remote competition team you will receive individualized programming, weekly/daily check-ups, live zoom training sessions (if availability permits), video form critique, coaching demonstrations, nutrition advice, competition coaching at

- Senior/Junior/U25 National level events

- American open Finals, AO Series

- University Nationals

-Senior/Junior International events

- local meets in the greater Los Angeles Area

and access to train at Takano Weightlifting when in town.

We have a very limited amount of slots available for the remote competition team, we are currently only taking athletes within qualifying distance of either Nationals, AO Finals, Junior Nationals, Or athletes who’ve already established Senior/Junior National level/AO final totals and want to increase their rankings or make an International team.

Athletes interested please fill out and submit the Remote Competition Team Inquiry.

 

 

MEMBERSHIP POLARIS WEIGHTLIFTING

for membership options and inquiries please submit the form below and our head coach will contact you with the current options and links to our online store.