Takanoyama's training and diet

[Umigame 82]

I'm curious how Takanoyama has been able to put on so little fat and so much muscle mass while living and training in a sumo beya.

Does he do a lot of weight lifting, or just the classic sumo exercises?

Does he not eat rice?

etc.

Has anyone heard/read about his training regimen & eating habits?

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

Naruto oyakata is known to favour weight training as part of training regime. All sekitori (in all stables) are muscular, Takanoyama is much less muscular than Kisenosato or Wakanosato who are both very beefy (also Takayasu is very muscular) but Takanoyama just doesn't have the fat. Why? Probably due to training habits of lot of keiko and natural aversion to eating huge amounts of food + body type. Czech amateur sumoman Shiroikuma said back in the mediocre old days that he brought Takanoyama protein drinks etc and encouraged him to gain weight without much success. Takanoyama has gained weight slowly over the years and basically only muscle. Takanoyama is one of the greatest stories of oozumo and unique career in many ways.

[Asashosakari 19,664]

Before the basho Nikkan Sports had an article on Takanoyama - he really wants to go up to 120-130 kg, he says. My first thought was, "yeah, good luck with that..."

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

Perhaps his pharmaceutical regimen is lacking...

[Gusoyama 104]

I vaguely remember someone saying he doesn't like the food that much, and also has a high metabolism, and some other factor too that I can't remember.

[Torabayama 51]

Is Takanoyama's 10-5 record enough to get him up to makuuchi at Aki? Yay or nay?

[Kintamayama 45,530]

Is Takanoyama's 10-5 record enough to get him up to makuuchi at Aki? Yay or nay?

I say Yay.

[aderechelsea 125]

Wasn't Shiroikuma complaining to him for not wanting to "mess" with his chiselled body for so many years?

He said in an interview i took for a local magazine (Ring Sports April 2005) that he "wasn't sacrificing all the necessary things in order to move forward with his sumo", with immediate relation to his unwillingness to gain weight. He predicted thought that when he became sekitori his star would shine as he would be relieved from his tsukebito duties and focus just on sumo.

[Igordemorais 75]

Is it for aesthetic reasons?

He clearly does not have endomorphic genes because if he did , with his height, he should weigh a lot more.

Is there steroid testing in sumo? If not there REALLY is no reason for him not to gain that weight unless he has serious weight gain difficulties or absolutely refuses to use steroids.

[Babaryutaikai 1]

Is it for aesthetic reasons?

He clearly does not have endomorphic genes because if he did , with his height, he should weigh a lot more.

Is there steroid testing in sumo? If not there REALLY is no reason for him not to gain that weight unless he has serious weight gain difficulties or absolutely refuses to use steroids.

I haven't been to Naruto beya for a while, but I remember that, for a long time, he did not like rice. On a personal basis, I believe he was not gaining weight for vanity reasons, but he finally got where he is, so let's see if his relief from tsukebito duties will enable him to concentrate on eating and sleeping more. Takanowaka did extreme weight and flexibility training, and while he ate as a sekitori should, he was not exactly "big", but did have excellent musculature.

[yorikiried by fate 2,029]

Is Takanoyama's 10-5 record enough to get him up to makuuchi at Aki? Yay or nay?

His rival for the last free slot in Makuuchi should be Kokkai. He lost against him on senshuraku, so even though his numbers give him a slight edge, it is a difficult question to answer. As much as I would like to see him in the top division, I'm afraid we won't see him there, yet.

[aderechelsea 125]

Is it for aesthetic reasons?

Is there steroid testing in sumo? If not there REALLY is no reason for him not to gain that weight unless he has serious weight gain difficulties or absolutely refuses to use steroids.

Now THIS is good advice for an up and coming rikishi. "Take steroids .... there are no testings" (Sign of approval...)

anyhow ....

On a personal basis, I believe he was not gaining weight for vanity reasons

i think Shiroikuma meant the same but since it was not his exact words i avoided to mention it. But yeah ... this probably is the case. Which is good for him if he can manage both being a sekitori and looking good for the ladiezzzz (Holiday feeling...)

[Doitsuyama 1,192]

Is Takanoyama's 10-5 record enough to get him up to makuuchi at Aki? Yay or nay?

His rival for the last free slot in Makuuchi should be Kokkai. He lost against him on senshuraku, so even though his numbers give him a slight edge, it is a difficult question to answer. As much as I would like to see him in the top division, I'm afraid we won't see him there, yet.

You make it sound like results of direct match-ups, especially on senshuraku are relevant for the banzuke movements. Wrong.

[yorikiried by fate 2,029]

Is Takanoyama's 10-5 record enough to get him up to makuuchi at Aki? Yay or nay?

His rival for the last free slot in Makuuchi should be Kokkai. He lost against him on senshuraku, so even though his numbers give him a slight edge, it is a difficult question to answer. As much as I would like to see him in the top division, I'm afraid we won't see him there, yet.

You make it sound like results of direct match-ups, especially on senshuraku are relevant for the banzuke movements. Wrong.

I noticed - but maybe based on distorted perception - that the last three days of the basho or so features bouts that you could call "placement bouts". I never checked if their results make any difference. All the data lives in your basement, so I take the quick route and simply believe you. Independently from that, I think Takanoyama's promotion is not a done deal, yet.

Edited July 24, 2011 by yorikiried by fate

[aderechelsea 125]

I noticed - but maybe based on distorted perception - that the last three days of the basho or so features bouts that you could call "placement bouts".

that is partially the case with bouts between wrestlers aiming for promotion to a higher division and wrestlers trying to avoid demotion. But even then, it is the final win/loss record that defines their fates. There is no "head to head" factor in sumo.

If there was, a lot of yusho would not need to be decided on kettei-sen.

[Kintamayama 45,530]

I think Takanoyama's promotion is not a done deal, yet.

Since I am a fervent fan of done deals, I assure you it is a done deal. No way Cock-eye with 9-6 on J4e comes before Takanoyama with a 10-5 on J5w, not even if it falls on a Sabbath. In any case, I'm pretty sure there will be 5 promotions (if not 6) and not four.

We shall see..

[Igordemorais 75]

I did not mean to imply that taking steroids is a good idea, but from what I`ve seen ( I`m a BJJ competitor, also train in MMA, muay thai, have played several sports in varsity level) there are few, if any sports in which competition is so tight and placement is so important as sumo.

There is the heya`s image to consider, the lifestyle difference in rank, the privileges of rank. If you screw up big time it`s not "oh well this sucks I`ll train harder " , it's "I disgraced my stable, my stablemaster, and I might go back to earning half my salary and carrying the shoes of the other rikishi!!!!"

What i mean to say if, if steroids are widely used in all competitive sports, it is a VERY safe bet that they are used in sumo. I know for a fact that japanese MMA promotions such as PRIDE did not test for steroids.

As a matter of fact, I`m new to the sport and the forum but I`m sure the issue of steroids in sumo probably has been discussed, at great length, somewhere here.

Either way: I hope Takanoyama manages to bulk up in muscle. He is caucasian, much more prone to muscle gain with less fat than Japanese asians.

Eat more, rest more, and he will grow!

Let`s hope, anyway, because at 100kg he will be ragdolled in Makuuchi, regardless of how much he can bench press.

[Takamizakura 1]

I think Takanoyama's promotion is not a done deal, yet.

Since I am a fervent fan of done deals, I assure you it is a done deal. No way Cock-eye with 9-6 on J4e comes before Takanoyama with a 10-5 on J5w, not even if it falls on a Sabbath. In any case, I'm pretty sure there will be 5 promotions (if not 6) and not four.

We shall see..

That these two are bosom buddies on the current banzuke, it's still not too close to call?

And I can't see who else will drop out of Makuuchi besides these ones. Who else did you have in mind?

Kimurayama

Tochinonada

Takamisakari

Takarafuji(?)

Takanoyama was so close to winning this & going into a playoff with Myogiryu. Bummer. Maybe there'll be another scandal that'll give him another shot up.

[Asashosakari 19,664]

And I can't see who else will drop out of Makuuchi besides these ones. Who else did you have in mind?

Kimurayama

Tochinonada

Takamisakari

Takarafuji(?)

There are three free slots by default from the expansion and Kaio's intai. My guess would be six promotions, the question then being who accompanies Takamisakari to juryo. In a straight ranking it should be Takarafuji and Tochinonada, but sometimes being makekoshi as the very lowest-ranked rikishi can be detrimental in its own right, so one of the demotions might be taken by Kimurayama instead. (I suspect he'll get lucky and be maku-jiri for the third straight time though.)

Edited July 24, 2011 by Asashosakari

[Vikanohara 171]

And I can't see who else will drop out of Makuuchi besides these ones. Who else did you have in mind?

Kimurayama

Tochinonada

Takamisakari

Takarafuji(?)

Kaio maybe ?

[Kintamayama 45,530]

More than one article I have read today speculates that Kimurayama will remain Makujiri and Tochinonada will be the one going down.

[aderechelsea 125]

i really hope Takarafuji stays. The guy had a bad basho but i see so much potential in him.

He seemed indifferent at times but he is built like a powerhouse and i am hoping we'll see him back in form from Aki.

[Jonosuke 28]

It's been a long while since I last talked to JP (Shiroikuma) but I am really happy to see Takanoyama doing so well as after all it was him who brought Takanoyama to Ozumo.

I do believe still though for Takanoyama to be truly successful he will need to gain more weigtht just as Harumafuji did. I never expected Harumafuji to get to mid 130 kg

Takanoyama is truly muscular but he can follow how Kirishima did as he once had 1-14 record as komusubi, weighing less than 120 kg Within two years he gained close to 10 kg of solid muscle mass (no fat at all) and he was an ozeki. Of course he couldn't stay there for long but once one is an ozeki, he will be forever an ozeki. I am not saying Takanoyama should follow Kirishima diet and regimen as I believe Kirishima used steroids to get almost his bodybuilder like physique but Takanoyama somehow needs to gain more mass.

I feel Takanoyama needs at least another 20 kg to be competitive in high Makuuchi.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Jonosuke

[Igordemorais 75]

It took him 10 years to gain 12 kgs ( 27lbs).

I seriously doubt he will make it to 130....

[Treblemaker 254]

...

Either way: I hope Takanoyama manages to bulk up in muscle. He is Caucasian, much more prone to muscle gain with less fat than Japanese Asians.

Eat more, rest more, and he will grow!

Let`s hope, anyway, because at 100kg he will be ragdolled in Makuuchi, regardless of how much he can bench press.

Someone suggested a parallel between Takanoyama and Mainoumi. The latter at his heaviest was about 99 Kg. and the former is a lot taller, making him look even skinnier. But I don't think there are many more similarities. Mainoumi was an encyclopedia of different strategies, and I'm not sure Takanoyama has that creativity. Also, at 28, he's years behind Mainoumi in terms of career stats. I don't know what took him so long to get to Juryo, except for all the vacancies, but it took him 8 years to finally nail a 6-1 record at the Ms level.

Even if he makes it to low M status, the likes of the Lower Rung Inhabitants will probably blow him into the 5th row, unless he learns to do a good henka. The secret with Takanoyama is to never let him get hold of you. A Miyabiyama-like tsuppari attack might be successful night after night, simply because there's simply not enough body mass on the Thin Man to take that punishment at that level.

Having said that, I really like this guy and I wish him well, and hope he gets into M on a regular basis for at least a few basho.