I’m moving to LA in January and I’m looking for a place to lift. I saw a picture of a weightlifting team training at Muscle Beach, but the pic was from the late 90’s and I couldn’t find any info. It would preferably be a place I can train morning and night (I lift 2x a day), but I’ll take what I can get for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
This could be helpful… http://www.crossfitcle.com/2008/02/map-of-all-crossfit-gyms.html
Thanks but I already know about a Crossfit in LA. The problem with that is I’m a competitive weightlifter. Not only am I not interested in doing anything but snatch, clean and jerk, and squat, but I feel it would be counterproductive.
Not to mention that I’m pretty sure they force you to train with a coach. Not only can I not afford that (especially 10-12x a week) but I seriously doubt I would learn anything about competitive Olympic lifting from a Crossfit coach. That’s not meant as an insult - it’s just not what they do.
You could check out this one. I know he’s into crossfit, but there’s some pretty serious O-lifting going on there.
Fair enough. I was just trying to point you to places that would even have the equipment to do Olympic Lifting. That was hard enough for me - I ended up working out at UCLA.
Anyway, good luck finding a coach in LA.
lavi,
Sorry if that sounded harsh - I did not mean it that way. You say you train at UCLA? Do you have to be a student there to do so or do they accept payment?
Carl,
As far as Mike’s Gym is concerned - I would love to train there, but it’s too far away.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
lavi,
Sorry if that sounded harsh - I did not mean it that way. You say you train at UCLA? Do you have to be a student there to do so or do they accept payment?[/quote]
When I went there, the gym facilities were abysmal. I used to work in the gym (the wooden center). They had bumper plates, but only two squat racks and most were occupied by fratdicks curling. I think there were probably better weight facilities in most CA prisons. I know they’ve expanded it since I left, but I don’t know how much. The athletes worked out in their own gym up Bruin walk towards the dorms, but you can’t get in there unless you’re a student athlete. I’m pretty sure you can pay to use the Wooden center, but it’s not worth it IMO.
They do accept payment. I’m not quite sure what the rate is. Parking will likely be a pain in the ass too.
And like PRCalDude said, it’s not that great. It had a bunch of bumper plates and 1 OL platform, 3-4 squat racks, and is often pretty crowded. But it was still the only place I could find within 40 minutes of me with even 1 OL platform heh.
Keep asking around on OL forums such as goheavy.com and such. Or maybe if you’re lucky, some “athletic training center” type gym might have someone with a real OL background? lol.
Where are you going to live/work out here?
We train at 4 Star Gym in El Segundo (about 5 min south of LAX). You can do just about anything you want here. We don’t have Oly plates, but if you wanted to bring some bumpers in the owner is fine with that. Chalk, dropping weights, metal music, screaming, heavy lifting, 24 hour acess (you get a key to the place), it’s all good.
PM me if you need some more info.
Late,
David
Yeah, I’ll keep asking around. Maybe I can cut some kind of deal with Crossfit LA to use their facility (doubtful), but it’s good to know that UCLA is an option - even if it is a shitty one.
I would love to be able to buy my own set, but I don’t have any money, nor do I have a place to use it.
David,
I haven’t figured out yet where I’m going to live or work. That place sounds awesome, but, unfortunately, I don’t have any equipment to bring. It may be a good option in the future, though. Thanks for the suggestion.
Scot Mendelson’s gym is in Sherman Oaks. Never been there, not sure if they have serious Oly lifting, but might be worth a call to see what they’ve got
http://www.scotmendelson.net/FIT.html
Hey, does anybody know if there’s o-lifting at muscle beach?
You might have a chance if you walk into the Acosta Center at UCLA and plead your case with Mike Linn (the head strength coach). It worked for me when Doc was there. In the past non-athletes have been allowed to workout there under special circumstances, although I’ve never met Mike.
If you make the case that you won’t be in the way, come in when the place is empty (just ask when you can some in), and especially if you compete (talk to the assistant coaches as well) then you’ve got a chance even if you’re not a student. Can’t hurt to try.
What are your lifts? You must be decent if you’re committed enough to train 2x/day. If you’re good it’ll only help your case. I also think that one of Mike Burgener’s lifters trains at UCLA, possibly at Acosta, so you’ve definitely got a chance.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
Yeah, I’ll keep asking around. Maybe I can cut some kind of deal with Crossfit LA to use their facility (doubtful), but it’s good to know that UCLA is an option - even if it is a shitty one.
I would love to be able to buy my own set, but I don’t have any money, nor do I have a place to use it.[/quote]
You might be able to trade space usage for teaching Oly lifts. I know some local affiliates in DC are open to that kind of thing.
Another idea would be to ask around on goheavy, or email Coach Burgener asking him if he knows of any place in the LA area.
Yoda-x,
Thanks for the tip - I’ll give it a try.
I would say I’m a decent lifter with lots of promise. My lifts @ 70kg are: 92.5kg snatch, 115kg clean and jerk, and 137.5kg front squat. I fully expect to be snatching double bw in less than 5 years.
Thanks again for the advice.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
Hey, does anybody know if there’s o-lifting at muscle beach?[/quote]
Not really. It’s a unique setup with a rubber composite lifting surface and rubber coated iron plates. No bumper plates or real weighlifting bars. Nothing you would consider Oly quality stuff there.
Golds in Venice might have Oly stuff (anyone train there???). There is a Velocity Sports facility in Redondo Beach that has a complete oly setup, but it is ungodly expensive to train there. Might ask them if you could get a special membership for that equipment use only…Mike Burgener does some work with them on occaision.
Yeah, you’re right about Velocity - they’re expensive as shit. But they might be up for some kind of arrangement.
I want to say that Garrhammer and Takano are both out of LA area.
There was a guy named Yuri that was training out of UCLA for a few years back when Doc was there, but I’m not sure if he’s there now that Linn has taken over. Yuri was a Polish lifter and a pretty good technician in terms of teaching. He had a group of lifters from what I remembered.
Hope that helps.