Bespoke Coaching

High performing athletes think about recovery differently.
They’re not just looking to recover from the match they have just played in.
They’re getting themselves ready for the next training session which starts the minute the final whistle blows into the following day which is going to entail frequent feedings of carbohydrates along with protein and fluids.
Also it’s worth nothing. As the rate of glycogen (carb stores) resynthesis is only around 5% per hour. Early intake of carbohydrate during the first 4 to 6 hours post match is important in maximizing refuelling time especially if the training and match schedule is busy.
Something I like to do with teams/athletes is break it down into 4 stages.
Stage 1: Coming off the pitch.
Stage 2: Changing Room.
Stage 3: Post Match Meal 1.
Stage 4: Post Match Meal 2.
Stage 5: Next Day

Swipe across to see what to include the first 4 stages and keep your eyes out for part 2 and what to do the day after a game.

A common question that I get asked when it comes to hydration particularly around exercise is... ‘What is better for hydration? Water or a sports drink?’
First off. Water is great and we should be consuming water across the day in general to hit our everyday hydration needs. It’s also fine for short & less intense training sessions.
However when it comes to consuming sports drinks. This is where context is needed.
When we sweat, we lose electrolytes particularly sodium which helps our body to absorb fluid (thereby improving hydration) along with aiding other functions like aiding muscle function. Sports drinks contain electrolytes but they also contain carbohydrates which is the bodies main fuel source especially during high intense activity..
So how do I know whether to choose a sports drink or water around exercise?

Ask yourself this?

❓ Is your training session over 60 minutes long?
❓ Are you doing a double training session?
❓ Is it a very intense session or a race/match/event?
❓ Is the weather very hot &/or humid when exercising ?

If you answered yes to ANY of these. Then a sports drink is your go-to improve hydration and reduce any physical fatigue..
Any questions. Just drop me a DM.

Getting injured can be highly frustrating whether in-season or off-season.
However, outside of physical rehabilitation. These areas will have a big influence on your rate of recovery.
Swipe across to find out more on what to focus on when recovering from injury.

Any questions on your own situation. Drop a DM and we can discuss.

Whether you are an athlete or not. Quality sleep is one of the most underrated but highly effective tools for mental and physical recovery.
Sleep can be disrupted for many reasons such as…
🥱 Work/Study commitments.
🥱 Screen time before bed.
🥱 Caffeine consumption (Both amount and timing)
🥱 High levels of mental stress.
🥱 High levels of physical stress (Especially applicable to athletes when training load is high.
🥱 Timing of training/matches.
🥱 Alcohol intake.
When looking to improve sleep. People often jump to straight to supplement/medical drug use. However, there are foundations to have locked in before you should even consider these which often aren’t effective without these foundations anyway.
Swipe across to see and share with someone who you know will benefit.

May summed up.
1️⃣ With temperatures rising. Hydration/carb slushies were on the menu to help keep core temperature cool whilst also bringing a bit of novelty to our fueling & hydration set up.
2️⃣ Baking = Start of the carb load...
3️⃣ Red cards..
4️⃣ Box Jumps
5️⃣ Rehab progressing nicely as we work on some running mechanics.

6️⃣ A 5 year olds All-Ireland..
7️⃣ God help us if he keeps this free taking routine going ⌚️
8️⃣ How sunny sesson started and how it's going...

Using a ‘food first’ approach should always be the preferred strategy to support health and performance goals but there are some situations where having a food only approach may not be practical or even be detrimental to health and performance.
This is where the use of supplements can come into play and swipe across to see certain scenarios where supplements may be needed over a food only approach.

The more I speak to athletes, coaches or parents of athletes. The more I realise there’s a huge problem!
This problem is that a lot of the nutrition advice that athletes and the stakeholders around them are being exposed to isn’t designed for athletes. It’s designed for the general public.
This is resulting in athletes showing up to training and events under-fueled which is affecting performance and even well-being.
An athlete fueling for performance and recovery has completely different needs that of someone trying to ‘eat clean’ or ‘lose weight for health benefits.

Swipe across to see 5 common nutrition messages that can be damaging for athletes and what the correct message should be for athletes..

It’s just a few weeks to the and runners are putting the finishing touches to their preparations.
For something that has such a big influence on performance. Nutrition can still be a afterthought to a lot of runners but swipe across to see what I get my runners to implement to hit those PB’s.
Note: Always trial your race day set up first in a training session or less important race to ensure it suits your individual needs.