Interview | Strongman James Landless

Source: Power News by World Heavy Events Association

This weekend James Landless competes in the BNSF Britain's Strongest Man. I have been working with James on the run up to this competition to help manage his physical condition and enhance performance. Here I interview James on his journey so far... 

1. Tell us about yourself. 

Well I'm a stone mason through the day and a strongman at night so they go hand in hand with each other. Each one helping the other. Strength helps when I’m working, and stamina, flexibility and moving awkward objects helps the strongman training . But my hobby is definitely my sport. Outside of strongman training I enjoy socialising with friends.

2. Tell us about the highlight of your strongman career so far.

I was drawn to the sport accidentally as I had always fancied doing some sort of competition to push myself and I wasn't too keen on the dieting phase for bodybuilding. So I thought I would have a go at strongman.

The highlight of my career would have to be when I won northern England's strongest natural man for the first time. It came as a shock moving straight from novice level to a high level of competition. At that time I had only been training for 6 months as a strongman and was quite raw on all the events.

3. As Strongman training consists of a lot of lifting already, what type of supplementary training do you find necessary to do? What benefits have you seen from this training? 

I find that I benefit mostly by training body parts like a bodybuilder would. For example I would train back by itself and hit deadlift as a compound movement and pick 2-3 movements that would assist in building the back and strengthening the deadlift. For example I would warm up on pulldowns, and deadlifts reps and sets would vary week to week . Then I'd hit heavy barbell rows, pull ups and then maybe if I was feeling like I wanted a bit more, I would do some hyper-extensions.

4. What is your top tip for recovery?

My best advice for recovery would be eat, sleep, stretch and relax . My training has been full on for 18 months now and I've realised that you need to switch off from it and still make time for family and friends. Don't worry about being a bit rough the next day and not being able to eat a big breakfast. Building strength is a long process so balance is the key to consistent training for progression in the sport.

5. Can you summarise your own personal approach to training and nutrition?

My personal approach to training and nutrition is to look at my upcoming competition, try and separate all the events into training days to suit body parts. Then I’ll programme a session on a weekend where I do a couple of movement events - something like stones or another loading event. 
As far as nutrition goes I take it day by day aiming to hit around 50g protein per meal and some healthy carbs and maybe a bit of fat.

6. You used to compete in American Football. What have you learnt by playing the game and is there anything you feel you have reapplied when competing as a Strongman?

From playing American football I learned to be able to switch on and switch off quickly which is great for strongman. Strongman competitions are quite long and usually only consist of 5-6 events so you need to be able to switch on, smash it, then switch of after to conserve energy and focus your mind on the next event.

7. Your next competition is this weekend! Can you tell us a little about how you have been preparing for this competition? 

I'm preparing for my next competition by just slowly increasing weight so I peak at the comp weights in competition. I take a laid-back approach and am very careful in what I do. As soon as I get the events through for a competition I will not do any unnecessary exercises or activities to avoid injury.

 8. Do you have any future plans or goals within the sport of Strongman? 

My main goal is to win Britain’s Strongest Natural Man just once then I will retire from that organisation, take a year off while dropping around 3 stone (just to make normal life/work easier). Then I will focus on more of a power-lifting style training week e.g. deadlifts, squats and pressing (this will be the main focus) and maybe once a month or so do a light run through of strongman events to keep my hand in it.

Good luck to James this weekend competing! I am sure he will absolutely smash it!

If you fancy going to watch this competition then click here to find the details.

Watch James lift on his Instagram account here.  

Guest interview – Musical Theatre Student Ryan Lay

Tell us about yourself

I am currently in the 2nd year of a 3 years Musical Theatre Diploma course at The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. We cover all disciplines of dance such as ballet, tap, technical jazz, Matt Mattox style jazz, Pas de Deux, Musical Theatre double work etc. As well as studying acting and singing. 

What type of supplementary training do you do? What benefits have you seen from this training?

Due to our contact hours being around 45 hrs a week, it is very important to keep our bodies in their optimum performance level. Therefore, nutrition is a big part of our training. It’s important to eat the right foods to keep our carbohydrate stores full to prevent injury as if the stores are not full this will limit the duration and intensity of our performance. Our breaks between terms are long which is important for recovery time, but, it is also important to keep our fitness levels high throughout the holidays and due to this I am a member of a gym which I regularly attend to maintain strength and stamina. In term time, I also attend the gym to strengthen the muscles in my upper body to continue to develop myself as a performer. Of an evening I try to roll out my muscles, or stretch if we have had an intense day of dance to stop myself from aching so much the next morning. I have noticed improvements by just doing these two things alone, I am stronger which stops injury and I do not feel as tired or stiff the next day which could hinder my performance. 

At what age or stage in your dance career did you realise supplementary training was necessary?

It was mainly when I went into the 3-year diploma. Before this I attended their Theatre Arts Schools where we studied half a day of vocational subjects and half a day academic studies. When I went into the college department the intensity definitely increased and therefore it was much more important to engage in supplementary training to perform at my optimum performance daily. 

Can you summaries your own personal approach to supplementary training and nutrition?

I think the more supplementary training I can put in the better my performance will be. It will also improve my endurance and stamina, to keep up performance for longer. 

What is the support system like at your school for dancer’s health?

In our first year we have weekly anatomy lesson where we learn how nutrition and hydration has such a big impact on our performance and how important it is to think about this. As well, we have a weekly physio who we can book appointments if we get injured, in this session she will advise us on our best course of action. 

How do you juggle all you do and make time for supplementary training?

It is difficult, but it is about putting it into your daily routine and just finding time to put them in. Nutrition wise, meal prep is important and properly planning what I will eat for the week to ensure I get the correct calorie intake and sufficient amount of protein. 

What are your future plans?

I want to pursue a career in Musical Theatre and my dreams is to perform on the West End.

Find Ryan on social media at:

Twitter - @RyanLay2

Instagram - @RyanLay2

Guest interview – GB women's offensive line player Lindsey Robson

Lindsey, a business owner and offensive line player for the woman’s Great Britain’s American football team answers some questions surrounding her transition from cheerleading to football, supplementary training and coaching at university level.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m Lindsey Robson, I’m 26 and by day I’m a florist. Being a florist is something I love, I have two shops through which I do demonstrations in the local community. The rest of my life is all football, between coaching, playing and watching I don’t have much time for anything else. Except my two lovely dogs.

You progressed from cheerleading to American Football. Was this transition easy, and do you feel that having a background in cheerleading has helped you within the new sport and to reach where you are today?

I was a cheerleader for ten years but for the best part of that I did game day cheerleading for Teesside University. To start with I knew nothing about the game but after watching a few times I really got into it. So as soon as there was a women’s team I jumped at the chance to join. I actually didn’t realise how little I really knew about the sport and I was hooked. Unfortunately with cheerleading you train all year for a two minute thirty second routine (plus other stunt and dance routines) and if I were to get injured playing a contact sport then I would have been letting thirty plus people down, so after nearly half of my life I left. Without cheerleading I would never have found football.

Do you feel there is anything the two sports can learn from each other?

Some of the fundamentals of the sport are similar. We have a similar squat position to begin lifts and tosses in cheer as the “contact” position in football. There is also the same element of protection, four bases are in charge of making sure the flyer doesn’t hit the floor, the same as five linemen protecting the quarterback. I feel that in this country cheerleading should try to adopt the more regimented style of American football, but a lot of the skills are transferable as are the attitudes. I have been hurt and have had just as many bruises from both sports. Both teams have the joint drive to win and succeed. Your team does become your life and you family.

What is it like playing in a sport which is a predominately perceived male sport?

I get a lot of the same questions and banter as the guys. “Why don’t you play rugby?” “Isn’t it just padded rugby?” “I didn’t even know there was American football in the UK.” I think there is a general lack of understanding around the sport as a whole, but with the success of the women’s soccer and rugby teams of late and the “This Girl Can” campaign it isn’t really a surprise that a woman would play a more masculine sport. The people who tend to be most surprised are guys who already play, they always seem confused when I turn up places and know what I’m talking about.

What type of supplementary training do you do? What benefits have you seen from this training?

When I started training with the Steelers in Teesside, I attended one strength and conditioning class a week. When I was picked to represent GB I added in some personal training with a Middleborough based PT. He was great and in my personal session adapted exercises to benefit my skill position, offensive line. I saw great gains in my lifts and strengths. The Steelers then had some administration problems so I went searching for a team that could provide me with the best coaching to stay within reach of GB – the East Kilbride Pirates. I travel up there twice a week to train which is a 6 hour round trip. Before our rookie flag (non contact) season I was in my Durham gym at 5:45am Mon, Wed and Fri for conditioning. So things like the sled and prowler, tyre flips, boxing and general fitness, but now that we are back to contact I am back on the weights with my Middleborough based PT.

At what age or stage in your career did you realise supplementary training was necessary?

As I touched on before, cheerleading is much less regimented that football, so it wasn’t until I started to play that I realised I needed to do more. Luckily this was arranged for me by PT with the Steelers. Once I had made GB I stepped it up again as to remain on the team you need to be a part of the P3 program. This keeps a record of your vital stats and also you combine tests. Strength, agility, speed and fitness.

How do you juggle all you do and make time for supplementary training?

I was always able to attend S&C with my PT as it was on a Wednesday evening. Once I started coaching at the university and then transferred clubs I had to stop this. I now take time off on a Tuesday and Wednesday to get these sessions in. A typical week is - Work Monday, PT Tuesday, Training Wednesday, Work & Coaching Thursday, Work Friday, Work & Training Saturday, Coaching or Spectating Sunday. So it’s pretty packed.

Can you summarise your own personal approach to supplementary training and nutrition?

I try to adapt my supplementary training to compliment the different football seasons, more cardio for the flag season and more weights for the contact. In terms of nutrition, being so busy it is very difficult for me to keep a strict diet. Luckily with business comes a Costco membership where I can take advantage of chicken in bulk. I recently invested in an AirFryer which is great. I am able to cook food easily with less than a spoonful of oil, most of my cooking is done in there now.

What have you learnt by playing the game at a GB level that you feel you have reapplied when coaching young talent at university level?

I started coaching just after my first GB game in Sweden in 2014. I actually learned a lot more about the sport by observing the coaches at Northumbria University. The techniques were different to those that I had seen at GB. The coaching helped me to be a more rounded player. So when we went to WEC 2015 I was a much better player and coming back to coach the 2015/2016 season I was a much more competent player and a much more confident coach. In football knowledge is power. The more you know and the better you understand the game and continue to work on the techniques the better player you will be. Brains can be better than brawn on the gridiron.

What are your future plans?

I’m hoping that GB will qualify and attend the Women’s World Games in 2017. I am going to work hard to keep my spot on the offensive line for that tournament.

Find Lindsey on Social Media via –

https://www.facebook.com/LinZ.Robbo

https://www.instagram.com/sugar_muffs/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxe_J0MNxVY –Follow my time in Sweden https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Ltc9ivLokRPT6rWV5CRcQ - All the WEC2015 games in Spain