Ohhh big scary man! Tommy Walsh is currently in Australia eating the locals for breakfast.

Here at Gaelic Star Magazine we get more emails than Santa and The Megan Fox appreciation society put together.  It seems you aren’t happy enough with an awesome magazine but feel the need to pick our brains 24/7.  In light of the volume of emails in our inbox, we have asked resident guru Neil McTeggart to help us out. Take it away big lad! Ed.

Question: Hi! I have been going to the gym on and off for about 3 years and have dabbled with various routines but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. A friend gave me a gym workout to help with my power on the pitch. Can you help!

Mon – Chest / Biceps

Tue – Shoulders / Abdominals

Wed – Back / Triceps

Thur – Chest / Abdominals

Fri – 10k Run

Megan Fox. We get more emails than her. FACT.

Thanks for your email. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of info here which is important for program design but given the layout I can make a few assumptions. To make it easier I have answered below using the medium of bullet points!

- A routine split into body parts can make you look good but fails to address the body as a whole. This routine is designed with the bodybuilder in mind, not the player.

- Chest appears twice, while Back only appears once.  Most guys will overwork their Chest with more volume and frequency than Back. Over time the Shoulders will pull forward and the Back may develop a kyphotic curve.  This tightness in the internal rotators can then lead to a weakness in the external rotators thanks to a phenomenon known as altered reciprocal inhibition.  To put it simply – shoulder injury!

- I don’t know about you, but I have legs and I train them. If you play sport then neglecting power training and single leg work is akin to neglecting to wear condoms on your trip to Amsterdam – dumb! (bit rude, is this necessary? Or am I being a prude? – you don’t know who accesses your page)

- A 10k run is ok if you want to partake in 10k runs but I have yet to watch a match were a player runs for 10k in a straight line at a constant speed. Sport requires quick changes in speed and direction. Your run should mimic your play and even then Irish and UK players (is he referring to rubgy players???)) are often considered TOO aerobically fit. Less is more when it comes to running as your sport will already provide you with plenty of specific cardio work.

- On Tuesday we see work for the shoulders and abdominals. Training shoulders the day after chest leads to an overlap in the upper body pushing muscles. These muscles need time to recover which is why a day on day off approach works well.

- The abdominals are considered the main ‘six pack’ muscles of the torso. A player needs to forget about sit ups and crunches which can lead to back pain and focus instead on addressing all of the core musculature. Open up ‘Google’ and do a search for rotational core exercises – these exercises will work the abdominals AND the rest of the lumbo pelvic hip complex.

 My biggest problem with this routine is not the overpowering chest work or lack of leg training but this earlier sentence – “A friend gave me a gym workout . . .”

Neil Mct in great shape.

As an experienced trainer I spend a lot of my time correcting postural issues and strength imbalances caused by guys and girls taking advice from friends. Unfortunately the general population think gym work is just a matter of hitting buttons on machines or reading a poster on a piece of gym kit. If you need help with a program, ask a qualified trainer or coach who can assist in designing something based on your goals and individual needs.

When I build a routine for a client I will consider things like foam rolling, targeted stretches, activation work, integration exercises and compound power moves. This will all be based on movement assessment, goals, training experience, injury, training frequency and other such variables. A routine that is aimed at everyone can be ok if it is well structured and suits your goals but even then you could be missing out on an important weakness that could bite you in the arse down the line.       

So to summarise, thanks for the mail! I apologise for ripping it to bits but I do it because I care. In the New Year I hope to get some videos uploaded to the new Gaelic Star website to help assist you guys and girls when it comes to busting a gut down the gym. Happy New Year and all that!