Synapse Performance Podcast

In episode 104, David is joined by DCU researcher Dr. Stephan Behan.

Stephen’s research is all about children’s physical activity. At the moment, Ireland is on track to become the most obese nation in Europe by the year 2030. There are lots of reasons why Ireland has come to this and you can see it all around you in everyday life. How many of us can say we don’t spend half our day staring at some form of screen or another? When we dig a little deeper, we can see that Irish children are spending less and less time being physically active. Stephen’s research is trying to stop this.

The project, called Moving Well Being Well, aims to break the mould and intervene early in a child’s life to increase their physical activity levels. How can we do this? We want to focus on improving children’s confidence and motivation towards physical activity through developing their fundamental movement skills.

Fundamental Movement Skills are basic skills, like running, jumping, catching, throwing, etc., and these are the foundation on which all other movement or sports specific skills are built. If a child does not develop these skills early, they will not have the confidence in their physical ability to try anything new. Fast forward a decade and we have now have a generation uninterested in physical activity.

Through Moving Well-Being Well, we hope to instil Irish children with a confidence and enthusiasm for physical activity for years to come, and in doing so, turn the tide on obesity in Ireland.

In episode 103, David joined by applied sports psychologist Hugh Gilmore. Hugh holds an undergraduate degree in sports and exercise sciences and a masters in applied sports and exercise psychology. Hugh is also an accredited sports psychologist with the Irish Institute of Sport & BASES. David & Hugh discuss athlete identity, coping with anxiety & uncertainty, motivation vs. commitment, pragmatic advice for coaches dealing with stressed athletes.

In this episode, David is joined by GAA performance nutritionist Conor O'Neill.

Conor is the founder of Know Yourself Nutrition, an online nutrition coaching business working primarily with GAA players both at club and inter-county level. 

David & Conor discuss common issues they see with GAA players, tips on behaviour change and reflect on some of the challenges with growing a coaching business. 

Full show notes: www.synapseperformance.ie/podcasts/episode102

In episode 101, David is joined by performance nutritionist Mark Germaine.

Mark Germaine is a Performance Nutritionist (SENr) currently working with the Dublin Senior Hurling team, Dublin U20's football team, Dublin U20's hurlers and a number of elite professional boxers, in addition to his role as a researcher in the School of Health and Human Performance in Dublin City University.

He completed his Masters degree in Sport Nutrition from Liverpool John Moores University, where he also picked up the Don MacLaren Award for the research he conducted during his time there.

Finally, Mark is the co-chair for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Combat Sport Special Interest Group, who put out content as it relates to combat sport and weight cutting, and also host an annual meeting at the annual ACSM event in the USA.

As such, Mark's interest lie in Performance Nutrition and developing nutritional strategies to augment athletic performance, improve athletic recovery, enhancing the adaptive response to training stimuli and weight cutting sports.

In episode of the podcast, David is joined by Alan Flanagan, John Kiely & Ciaran O'Regan.

The groups discusses the topic of meta-cognition; thinking about how we think.

Topics include; what is science? what is knowledge? what does it mean to be evidence-based? how do we improve our critical thinking ability?

In episode 99, David answers a listener question on the topic of: Does Psychological & Emotional Stress Impact Adaptation to Exercise?

You can contact the show and submit questions by emailing: [email protected]

Full show notes available at: www.synapseperformance.ie/podcasts/episode99

In this episode, David is joined by Luke Jenkinson.

Luke is the current Head of Academy Sports Science & Medicine at Derby County FC, while also undertaking a professional doctorate at Liverpool John Moore's University.

In this episode, David & Luke discuss the pros and cons of early specialisation, and the potential role of isometrics in applied S&C.

For full show-notes: www.synapseperformance.ie/podcasts/episode98

In episode 97, David is joined by Sami Dowling & Shane Cahill of APEC courses.

Sami Dowling is the Director of Athletic Performance & Sports Science at Athletic Performance Education Company.  Sami brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the APEC education team. Working at the elite level of both rugby union and GAA, Sami has become a household name within the areas of speed development and the sport of Weightlifting.

Sami was a Strength & Conditioning coach with Leinster Rugby Academy for 10 years, one of Europe’s top professional rugby Academy’s.

Sami worked at the highest level in GAA, serving as Head Strength & Conditioning coach with the Dublin Senior Football team, winning an All-Ireland in 2011.

Sami served as Performance Director for Weightlifting Ireland, having coached at the World Junior, European Junior, and European Senior.

Sami is currently the Strength & Conditioning Coordinator at Hockey Ireland for the u16-u18 girls’ and boys’ national teams.

Sami has recently completed his MSC in Strength & Condition at the Institute of Technology Carlow. His role as Director of Athletic Performance & Sports Science at Athletic Performance Education Company is primarily focused on the development and growth of all strength & conditioning programs and service contracts run through the company.

Shane Cahill is the director of education and operations at APEC. An ex-professional athlete, Shane spent the majority of his professional rugby playing career in the UK playing in the RFU Aviva Premiership and Championship.

He has worked at the elite level of professional sports in the UK with teams such as Rotherham Titans in the RFU Championship where he served as head of strength and conditioning for two seasons before making his way back to Ireland to take up the role as of the head of strength and conditioning with Blackrock College RFC.

He is currently studying his MSc in Strength and Conditioning at the Institute of  Technology Carlow. Shane has gathered a wealth of knowledge and experience as both a professional athlete and as a strength & conditioning coach. His role as Director of Education and Operations at Athletic Performance Education Company is primarily focused on the development and growth of all education programs run through the institute.

In this episode, David, Shane & Sami discuss the realities of working in professional sport and being successful in the S&C industry.

Full show notes available at: www.synapseperformance.ie/podcasts/episode97

In episode 96, David is joined by Dr. Harry Dorrell. 

Harry is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Lincoln, where his research focuses on the use of velocity based measures to dictate training loads in an attempt to optimize adaptation to resistance training.

David & Harry discuss why velocity-based "loading" may be a more suitable term that velocity-based "training," how to practically apply velocity-based measures in a team setting and the future research direction of velocity-based training.

Full show-notes available at: www.synapseperformance.ie/podcasts/episode96

In episode 95, David is joined by Dr. Oliver Barley.

Dr. Barley is a lecturer and research at Edith Cowan University.

Oliver's research interest are in the domain of exercise physiology, specifically combat sports.

The focus of Oliver's PhD studies was in the area of weight cutting strategies in combat athletes.

David & Oliver discuss heat acclimation and it's potential benefits for both performance and the weight cutting procedure.