Spring In Your Step

Reflections on Dublin’s All Ireland Victory

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:48:38 +0000

Now that the dust has settled after Dublin’s epic All Ireland win against the men from the kingdom, my reflections on the match are as follows. The never give up attitude and ‘we are not accepting defeat today’, was Dublin’s ace in the pack. The levels of fitness both teams showed was extraordinary, this does not come about by accident, for lads that have to go to work on a Monday morning (for those that have work) and train in their spare time they have achieved levels of fitness for their sport that are every bit as good and sometimes better than a professional sports person. Their skill levels were also extraordinary, it is easy to look good when you have time and space but there was precious little space available on Sunday and we still witnessed some superb points and goals. Great credit is also due to the managers, coaches and staff of both teams.

Footnote: The dedication and commitment of the GAA footballers (and hurlers) that don’t make it to the all Ireland final is every bit as good (in most cases) as the ones that do and sometimes even better, especially the players from counties who have no real hope of getting to an All Ireland Final or whose counties have never graced an All Ireland Final Day.

Rugby – Ireland 15 Australia 6

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:44:56 +0000

What a result, and did anyone predict it? I was thrilled to see this Irish performance. They have been taking massive criticism for their performances to date but cometh the hour…Their fitness levels were superb, perhaps Declan Kidney and his staff knew exactly what they were at with their build up!

Dublin – All Ireland Champions 2011, 18th September 2011

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:40:01 +0000

It was great to see the Dubs win at Croke Park on Sunday and many congratulations to them; the players did themselves, their county, their clubs and their families proud. Commiserations to the Kerry team and their supporters, who as always were magnanimous in defeat, indeed Kerry in my experience have always been good losers (when my own county beat them in 2002, every Kerry supporter that passed me high up in the Hogan stand congratulated me on our win) and good winners (when I was involved with Mayo in 1997 they did no gloating or show boating in the Burlington at the post match meal which both teams attended on the Monday, and they too were a credit to their county, their clubs and their families).

Congratulations to the Tipperary minors, the winning goal was one of the best I have ever seen in Croke Park.

Footnote: Although the bookies had Kerry as clear favourites the Irish News GAA All Stars of 2011 were asked their opinion on Friday, 10 went for Dublin and 5 for Kerry!

Darren Clarke – I watched him this weekend and was thrilled to see him win a Major.

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:43:17 +0000

I imagine that Graeme McDowell’s, Rory McElroy and of course Padraig Harrington’s (3) Major wins, were huge motivation for him. I was very interested in watching his warm up/stretching routine with the “pole” and indeed Miguel Angel Jimenez’s stretching routine with his golf clubs (and cigar!).

It certainly proves the theory that Success breeds success – but attitude and belief cannot be discounted, hats off to Padraig Harrington for starting the ball rolling.

Core stability and core strength – What’s the difference?

admin — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:43:46 +0000

My clients tell me that they are working on their core stability on an on going basis, if this is true then their incidence of muscle pulls back problems etc should be reduced. This reduction does not always follow, as what the vast majority of them are doing is working on core strength, in otherwords their six pack and the global core muscles.

Very few have been shown how to develop the actual core stability muscles (transversus abdominis & multifidi muscles), these are the deepest muscles of the stomach, which research has shown if developed properly will contract a fraction of a second before any other muscle in the body contracts. It is very simple to do once you have been shown the technique and 5 mins a day 5 days a week will result in 1. an extremely firm stomach 2. greater feeling of strength 3. reduction in injuries.

It would probably take approx 3 months of doing the exercises deligently to really notice the difference. If you are interested in been shown this simple technique give me a call on 086-8343711