The Fallowers Damien, Shane & John

Orlaith Curran joined us to talk about using GPS to inform coaching practices, what's involved in terms of physical preparation for the Irish women's rugby team and her PhD research on talent development in Irish hockey.  Orlaith comes from a camogie background but has developed a wealth of experience in rugby from her time in New Zealand and in Hockey from her time with the Irish U21s and U23s. 

Do 6 smaller meals lead to a faster metabolism? Are artificial sweeteners bad for you? Can your knees cross your toes when squatting? Are there benefits to taking BCAAs or Fit Teas? Is Himalayan Rock Salt better than normal salt? Does Lactic Acid lead to cramping and fatigue? Find out more in this episode as we discuss common myths we've heard and some sent in by listeners.

As many of us will be trying to set new years resolutions, we discussed some approaches that have worked well for previous behaviour changes. Drawing from the research by BJ Fogg and James Clear's Atomic Habits, we suggest a few immediate strategies you can use to increase your chances of success as we enter 2021.

This week we welcomed S&C coach Stephen Casey from Cork. We discussed Stephen's background from working in the Mardyke at UCC, his time as a personal trainer and his MSc in Sports Performance at University of Limerick. Stephen discussed his 'Big Rocks' when training teams or individuals. What training methods he feels are overvalued and how to take a 'critical look' at how we approach training teams. Stephen can be found on Instagram as @caseyperformance and on Twitter @StephenKC.

When we are planning some fitness tests with teams or athletes, what guides our thoughts? We discuss the various components or aspects of fitness we want to measure. What tests are most appropriate for various sports, groups, ages or facilities? We briefly mention some mishaps we've had while testing and discuss some of the struggles we have with coaches/managers when deciding on whether to test or not.

This week we looked at both top speed and acceleration. How they will benefit many athletes. What drills, exercises and activities to focus on. How to programme them into your training schedule and the necessity of discussing the importance of speed training with players and management.