EPISODE 30: JESSE GUFFEY, LOS ANGELES DODGERS ATHLETIC TRAINER

On this week’s episode, Rory and Rudds were joined by three staff from the LA Dodgers and several of Baseball Ireland management / coaching team for a unique podcast. 

The gym was being used by Jesse Guffey (LA Dodgers Athletic Trainer) and Frank Andrews (Baseball Ireland Strength and Skills Coach) to screen the Irish team as well as some promising prospects for the national program. During the training session Team FFS got to observe and see the coaches working with their Baseball Athletes as well as learn some of the intricacies of the sport from chatting to the Dodgers backroom team.  

This episode is an eye opener into the physical demands that throwing and rotational sports can place on the body, especially with teh jaw dropping frequency of games that these athletes play. 

Main topics discussed:

- Baseball in Ireland

- Development of the sport globally

- Similarities between Hurling and Baseball 

- Non early specialisation in junior athletes

- Strength & Conditioning for Baseball

- Pressures of working with athletes in a Billion Dollar industry

If you are interested in giving baseball in Ireland a go check out http://www.baseballireland.com/

Enjoy.

EPISODE 29: TRAINING FOR MUSCLE & STRENGTH

On this week’s episode, Rory and Rudds discuss the difference between size / strength and the nutrition for both.

- Can you do both at once?

- The key differences between training for strength and size

- Two different types of hypertrophy

- How to fuel for bulking

This episode is packed with information on one of the most common goals that the guys address at FFS. People looking to get stronger and / or increase size. There is practical information on training guidelines and easy ways to assess if your strength training regime is working.

Also a few great tips to assess; are you getting bigger? or are you getting fatter?

Enjoy

BLK Box are rapidly becoming the number one name in gym fit out and equipment fabrication in Ireland and the UK. Rory, Rudds and Craig took the trip up north to the Titanic Quarter in Belfast to visit the showroom, warehouse and it's founder, Greg Bradley.

The guys discuss the dubious circumstances on how Rory and Greg met and how important it is for everyone in the company to roll up their sleeves when needs be, but also how working hard isn't as effective as working smart.

Greg talks about the growth of BLK Box from 3 people to almost 35 over less than 5 years. Culture and the people in the company are what Greg credits his success to and at FFS the guys can relate to that.

There is also some practical advice for those looking to fit out their own gym and how people can get the best bang for their buck.

Daniel Twomey is a man well suited to join Rory and Ciaran and discuss the positive impacts of exercise on mental health. He is a personal trainer in Trinity College Dublin as well as completing a PHD in Physical activity and positive mental health.

Daniel ran the Dublin marathon last year in aid of Pieta House and ran with the ambition of raising awareness of how important it is for us to support each other as a society. He posted a raw and passionate video in the immediate aftermath of the marathon discussing a period in his life when he was suffering from very poor mental health and was in fact suicidal.

The guys discuss the importance of communicating with friends and family, letting people know that there is always someone there for support and people are never alone.

Daniel dives into how exercise is the best anti-depressant available and how physical activity & exercise is for everyone, regardless of your current fitness level. A big talking point is how comparison is the thief of joy and how people should focus on themselves and not others on their fitness journey, or any aspect of their life for that matter.

See how Daniel got roped into a tricky situation when Rory blindsides him with the upcoming run in the dark. Here’s a hint…. Who’s your money on?

This week the guys talk through Rudds’ marathon that he ran over the weekend. He found out he could no longer run the Dublin Marathon as planned so took off solo last weekend with a few weather enforced and technical mishaps along the way! It makes for an entertaining recap, but as always the big man had some learnings from his mishaps.

Rory discusses how running has helped him with some semblance of consistency throughout a very hectic summer and how it provides a mental / social support for him.

The guys give their experience on running marathons and highlight some of the key benefits for those thinking of taking up running.

Episode 25: Kevin McLaughlin.

This week Rory and Rudds sat down with retired rugby player and now VP of operations of Kitman Labs, Kevin McLaughlin.

The guys discuss the rationale behind kitman labs, to harvest data to help elite sports teams deal with injuries and rehabilitation and how it’s inception was borne at Leinster Rugby by Stevie Smith.

One of the big topics of the episode is - Will coaches be driven more about objective measurements of certain criteria, for example a 2nd row in rugby should be this height, weight, bench press X amount and squat X amount, when it comes to selecting players into academies or sports teams?

Kevin offers some great insights into how elite level coaches use the data as a measure of objectivity but never lose sight of their innate coaching abilities to make decisions.

Kevin shares what habits he has picked up from visiting various clubs from different sports at elite level, and compares them to what he experiences dealing with the 4 provinces in Rugby at home and more specifically his time with Leinster. Kevin also shares his thoughts on the best ways, from his experience, to try and build a good club culture and how this is very different between sports like Rugby and Soccer where money and ego play a much bigger role.

The guys discuss dealing with a long list of injuries and set-backs throughout Kevin’s career.

Rory gives some practical advice for recreational athletes on running an inventory of their bodies capabilities and regularly assessing these bench marks in order to spot any red flags for injury.

In this weeks Quiz, Rory is thrown under the bus by Rudds in a Leinster Heineken Cup themed quiz where the loser takes on the 50 burpees for time forfeit.

Enjoy.

Episode 24 of the For Fit Sake Podcast.

Terry Kennedy- Irish 7’s international.

Introduction.

• Terry play’s his club rugby with St.Mary’s RFC.

• Terry is currently in the Leinster Academy.

• Irish 7’s player, having previously won the European Grand Prix, finished 3rd in the London 7’s and competed in the 7’s world cup in San Francisco.

3 mins 50: Biggest difference between 7’s and 15’s.

• Having the aerobic fitness in 7’s.

• In 7’s you’re constantly involved vs when playing on the wing in 15’s you might be limited in certain games.

• Training- The amount of running load is the biggest difference. Building fitness through drills in 7’s, trying to train your skills under fatigue.

• When going from one drill to the next it’s important to keep the intensity up and replicate match pace as often as possible.

• If you don’t work hard in 7’s its more noticeable than in 15’s.

8 mins 45: What are some of the skills you look for in the best teams in the world? The likes of Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa.

• Fiji like to throw the ball around, they would be difficult to copy as there wouldn’t be as much structure in their attack.

• South Africa are obviously very physical and have incredible work rate. They work hard for each other and hunt in packs when in defence.

• We’ve had the former South African Strength and Conditioning coach who has been working hard with us to get the conditioning right.

10 minutes: What has the conditioning coach brought into the training sessions.

• Work rate in defence, when you make a tackle trying to get back to your feet as quickly as possible and making sure you’ve 7 players on their feet.

11:35-14:14: What would an in-season week and a pre-season week of training and conditioning be like?

15:15: Recovery

• In between matches, trying to stay off your feet. Trying to refuel your carbohydrate stores and having a protein source too. If there is time between games then a meal will be provided.

18 mins 30: Travelling with 7’s tournaments.

• Experiencing different countries and cultures by playing 7’s, places like Uruguay, Chile, San Francisco, Dubai, Hong Kong.

20:41 mins: What’s your favourite tournament to play in.

• Hong Kong 7’s is the best. It’s a carnival atmosphere, everyone’s on the beer from about 8 in the morning and in fancy dress.

21:40 mins: Best opponent you’ve ever played against & Best player you have played with?

22:52 mins: Best try you’ve ever scored-

• Twickenham, try vs Fiji.

23:35 mins: World Cup memories.

25:50 mins: How do you stay in good condition throughout the year.

• It’s a 12 month calendar.

• There’s always a tournament to be played, if not playing 7’s then there’s 15’s to look at too, there’s always something to be doing.

27 mins 44 seconds: The rugby 7’s quiz.

Steffan Fusco is a personal trainer who works with some of Irelands leading talents in sport, fashion and showbiz. Having worked in an office job from 9-5 in online sales, Steffan decided to pursue his passion for helping others through health and fitness.

Key areas of discussion.

1. Weightlifting for females.

2. Rituals and routines.

3. The importance of preparation.

4. Functional training to improve body composition and performance.

5. Simplifying training.

Rudds takes on Steffan in this week’s “showbiz” quiz, forfeit to be announced via Instagram.

Episode 22 of the For Fit Sake Podcast - The 10,000 calorie challenge.

In this episode Rudds and Rory discuss their 10K calorie challenge. Rudds took on the challenge with the intentions of eating “processed foods” vs Rory attempting to eat 10k calories of “whole foods”.  Each participant must only eat their calories and cannot consume calories through fluids, smoothies, milkshakes and the sort, in a 24 hour window. The lads reveal the challenges and insights into their respective food types. Rory and Rudds were very “eggcited” at the start, however, Rory seemed to run out of thyme, whilst Rudd’s had to “turnip” the heat by ordering a dominoes in order to complete the challenge. 

Rory’s main challenges with the whole foods include;

How fibre plays a role in satiety.

Bloating and feeling lethargic.

Poor sleep quality.

Rudd’s main challenges with processed foods include;

Sugar crashes.

Foods disagreeing with his normal diet (minimally processed and high in fibre).

Meat sweats.

Other areas of discussion include,

Out training a bad diet, can it be done?

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

For Fit Sake – Episode 21

Victor Rabei - Super Lightweight Celtic Champion

Victor is a Moldovan super lightweight who has grown up in Dublin. He is trained by Steven O’Rourke (who also train Cillian Reardon, previous guest on the Pod).

He made his pro debut in the summer of 2017 against Chris Adaway and Victor currently holds the Cetlic title with a 5-0 record.

The 3 key areas that the guys address are:

1. The day to day life of a professional boxer

2. Physically & mentally preparing for a title fight

3. Tactically preparing for a fight

This week’s quiz could have been the most difficult to find a link between our hosts and our guest. As much as Rory might fancy himself to go a few rounds with Victor we all know how that would end…. Listen right to the end to see how creative Rudds got this week to somehow find a link between Rory and Victor… We know, we know, he is reaching big time!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/victorrabei/?hl=en