1) Who is Danny Lennon? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I'm an Irish performance nutritionist and founder of Sigma Nutrition, a company that provides evidence-based educational content on nutrition and related topics. These days my main hobby outside of work is powerlifting, I compete in the Irish Powerlifting Federation (our IPF affiliate) in the 74kg class. I'm a massive Arsenal fan, love mixed martial arts (MMA) and have competed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
I've probably been lifting weights in some form for about 10 years now. During my teen years I mainly played soccer and Gaelic football and did no gym work. Once I went to college I started doing a bit of lifting to get me stronger for BJJ. More recently I've focused on powerlifting, and did my first meet in January 2016.
3) Whats been the hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
The hardest part is just persevering when things are uncertain and only getting started. There's always lots of fear due to the uncertainty. But I'm big on reminding myself of the importance of the process and keeping the discipline to execute a plan. Do that instead of worrying about what will happen.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
I train 5 days per week, built around squat, bench and deadlift, and variations of those. I'll do some rows as well. And at certain times of the year I'll do a restoration block, where I focus on all the things I don't do when preparing for a meet (single leg work, core work, rows, conditioning work and some general bodybuilding type stuff). Diet is generally set-up just to maintain performance. When I'm well away from a meet I'll get up to about 78kg, and then gradually bring that down to ~76kg and do a weight cut from about 75.5 - 76kg for a meet.
5) What have you learned over the past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
Doing the most amount of volume you can recover from isn't the same as the optimal amount of training volume you should do.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I don't really view things as cheat meals. If I want something specifically I can nearly always have it. I could say ice cream or chocolate, but then again, who doesn't like that stuff. I do really enjoy good Italian food, so some good lasagne would be my choice.
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
Whey protein. It's just so convenient for hitting protein targets. Plus it makes things like greek yogurt taste 10x better.
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
I'd focus on the few fundamentals that acutally matter rather than worry about small details. I'd focus on using a smart training program with progressive overload, hitting calorie and macronutrient targets and get plenty of sleep. And not worry about much else. And do LOTS more curls of course. I neglected doing any direct arm work for years, which I regret now purely for egotistical reasons!
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
Man, I could list so many here. I'm sure I'll forget someone important. But some that come to mind immediately are Martin MacDonald, Greg Nuckols are Eric Helms. I did a mentorship with Martin back in 2013/14 and since then we've became good friends. He's influenced so much of my thinking on things and has truly been a key part of how my career has progressed. I can't thank him enough. Greg is not only one of the smartest guys I've ever met but he's genuinely a fantastic human being. He does so much great writing that helps so many people interested in strength training and really understands science. I could ditto that for Eric. His knowledge and scientific mind are only eclipsed by his desire to genuinely help people and have a positive impact. So I'd say those three guys as they perfectly sum up people that are actually evidence-based and act with integrity and a goal to be good people.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Work hard, be patient, keep an open mind, be a critical thinker and make sure to enjoy the process.
11) What new goals are on the horizon? (new goals, aims, etc)
On the business side, I'm part of organizing the European Powerlifting Conference in July 2017 in Ireland. Over 2 days we have 5 of the best minds in powerlifing delivering educational sessions; Mike Tuchscherer, Bryce Lewis, Brett Gibbs and the aforementioned Eric Helms and Greg Nuckols. There will also be a Sigma Nutrition Conference this October which will be huge. And I'm working on some cool new stuff for our coaching services at Sigma Nutrition. On a personal front, I'm competing at IrishPF Nationals in July so I want to go in an put together a good meet there.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Sigmanutrition.com
Insta: dannylennon_sigmanutrition
Facebook: "Sigma Nutrition"
iTunes: Search "Sigma Nutrition Radio"
Twitter: @NutritionDanny
