Gaelic Players Welfare - Club & County. GPA GAA

Can we make GAA players bulletproof? The Welfare Debate

I play GAA - hurling in particular. I love it, and I see first hand the sacrifice that goes in from players and management throughout a season. In Dublin our season tends to peak in Autumn - September and October are the months when the big games are played, the trophies are given out. Teams train for that - wanting to have everybody as physically prepared as possible for those championship games.

Every little detail is covered by management, the game is mapped out. And then, as always happens, the week of the big game two or three of your important players come down with colds, infections. They end up playing the game, but at nothing more than 60%.

This happens across the board - at every level. Who is responsible? Well - could have been the player himself not getting proper sleep. Could have been the fitness coach pushing the player too hard or not hard enough. Maybe it was the manager insisting on giving his talk in the pouring rain. Or even the teacher in the group dealing with snotty nose kids all day infecting everyone via the water bottles.

Can we prevent this? We probably can. The question I’m going to try answer here is how do you make yourself bulletproof?

1. Three wholesome nutritious meals per day: This isn’t the time of year to be changing up your diet and trying to figure out the ratio of fat/protein really works best for you. What you’ve been eating so far has brought you here so lets not risk changing now. Depending on the individual, snacks may work for or against, but the three stables will build the the foundations.

Tips? Eat good quality meat, fat and vegetables at every meal. I spoke in depth with Donal Carr about this - see here.

2. Hydration - Good quality water is key. How much? When? And where to source it?

How much? In kg’s  .033  in litres of body weight. So at 82kg I need to drink(82x0.033) 2.7 litres on an non exercise day. So in reality closer to 3.7l depending on exercise and intensity of strength work will allow me to stay hydrated.

First thing in the morning I’ll drink about half a litre - I normally put some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in this. You don't want to drink too much before a meal, it can dilute your stomach acid, so I leave thirty minute gap before eating, then during the meal I really focus on chewing my food so I won't ever drink more than two or three very small mouthfuls with food. I then leave another thirty minutes or sometimes more depending on the size of the meal before drinking more water. Then I’ll drink water while working, I have a two litre bottle beside me such that I can then track how much or how little I drinking. I will do the same for lunch and dinner. Now this is where things get interesting. At training my club insisted that instead of having someone filling water bottles and sharing bottles, you simply bring your own bottle. This is ingenious, it literally took two training sessions for the guys along with remembering to bring boots and a helmet, had a bottle of water. At this time of year you don’t want to risk players forgetting to bring bottles and getting very dehydrated during sessions, so I’d suggest small sized disposable bottles so there is no sharing of bottles.

3. Rest.

Sleep is when you recover, for the average person 10:30pm until 6:30am is the natural sleep pattern, but as a high-performance athlete you need more. Adding an extra hour by sleeping 10pm until 7am will give your body optimal chance to recover effectively between sessions.

Tips for sleep...

Stay out of bright lights one hour before sleeping, this includes iPhones, TV & laptops. Candle light and fire-place are perfect.

Drinking coffee or caffeine based drinks (including tea) after midday will affect your sleep quality. If you need that morning kick I would ask why, rather than adding an extra espresso.

Stress is the mother of all disruption in the body. It’s as important to be aware of the stresses in your life as it is to even attend training, so working night shifts, fighting with your girlfriend, working overtime all add up. Seek to reduce stress especially during this time of year.

4. Happiness - Victory

Keep a journal. When you lift that county title or that All Ireland you can look back and repeat the following year continuously looking for that one percent that will be the difference between two in a row or looking back thinking "If Only".  

When I look back to 2008 while playing in Waterford IT I used to wear a hat and scarf to training and games, then as soon as I went without them a head cold with kick in. That all changed when I cleaned up my food intake, hydration and regularly swam in the sea. If only I had known that then!

What I got up to this week

I met Pat Divily of Pat Divily Fitness based in Galway & Greg Muller of Pure Athlete also in Galway, two absolute gentlemen and what a pleasure it was to be in their company at the CHEK Inspire Conference. I arranged to meet my hurling physical prep coach and great friend Robbie Bourke, it's always a pleasure to spend time with him yet his demand has increased so much of late it is tough.

I was blown away with Paul's lecturing capacity to turn it on and deliver in such detail. If you haven't heard of Paul, his book How to Eat, Move and be Healthy is a must read for everyone.

Image from left to right, Robbie Bourke, Greg Muller, Paul Chek, myself and Pat Divily.

If you have any questions feel free to drop me a mail - lorcan@modernhealthycaveman.com

Make it happen,

Lorcan

Foraging Interview and Day with Miles Irving & Jim Stynes ShortInterview

Hello from London,

I am in the UK for the CHEK Europe conference in Surrey. I am very excited to meet the main man himself Paul Chek and even more psyched to be attending with my pal Robbie Bourke. Myself and Robbie met while playing hurling with our local GAA club which we still part take to this day. Its very close to the twenty year mark when we started out. Robbie has been a close mentor to me over the last few years and though we certainly don't agree on everything we do agree on most things. Robbie has interviewed fifty five experts in the field of strength and conditioning and wellness on his podcast channel which can be found here.

Foraging Wild Food

I spent the day foraging in Chartham with  Miles Irving and WHOO do I feel super charged for the next two days. Miles is an incredible character that took me under his wing for the day.


He are a few snaps I got while out foraging.

Jimmy Stynes Short Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFsTrCBaHQ

"If you love life you breath that into other individuals"

With love from beautiful England,

Lorcan

Teen Hols, Article on Mental Health, Visit to High Rock & Damien Demsey

Happy Tuesday to you,

Today in my blog Ill cover what I have been up to in the last week and how I spent time over the long weekend in Dublin.

Teen Hols - SVP - Link to Facebook
I spent Tuesday to Saturday in Baltinglass with the teens hols charity with SVP. The purpose is to give deserving teenagers from inner city, Tallaght, Crumlin etc, a holiday. This is five days packed full of adventure in Wicklow & Kilkenny. We had amazing weather for the period which we rock climbed at the climbing walls in Baltinglass, canoed down the river Barrow finishing at the diving boards in Graignamanagh, horse rode going from trot to canter, swimming in the Slaney, hill walked across the Wicklow way (picture below- thanks for photo Linda) and more all while trying to keep up with twenty four passionate teenagers. I had amazing time and fully recommend volunteering with them.

Article on Mental Health - Link

A friend and mentor of mine John Cantwell put this up a while back which is completely contrasting conventional treatment of mental health. Very informative read I am sure you will enjoy.

Visit to High Rock & Damien Demsey

My friend Timmy Hammersly ( centre ) is off to walk the Camino de Santiago, before he flew off on Monday Myself and Joe ( all SOAR crew )thought no better way to prepare then a dip in the sea at high tide in Portmarknock. Swimming in the sea is incredibly vitalizing and refreshing which I fit in two to three times a week. I find my sleep quality to be much more in tune with natural circadian rythyms which is why when traveling across time zones I prioritize swimming in the sea before and after to beat jet lag ASAP.

You can find more on the benefits from when I interviewed Donal Carr Here. It's no surprise the following day at high tide I seen Damien Demsey swimming.

During one of my first training workshops with SOAR we played Damien's Busting Outta here which was recorded in my old boxing club in Glasnevin.

I had five fights in the ring there and some of my proudest moments winning in front my father and friends.

I haven't had the luxury of seeing Damien live but with him playing in Portmarknock in late September, that will have to change.

Here is his video.

With Timmy flying off from Dublin airport,a couple of old team mates from Waterford IT got together for a 
night out. Here is Timmy on left, Brendan Kenny, Shane Fives, 
Jennifer and myself 
in SAMs bar on Dawson Street.

People often ask me do I drink and are some what surprised
when I tell them I do.

I balance alcohol with my metabolic type by eating higher protein and fat meals, hydrate well and swim in the sea before and after. I don't drink two days in a row as it doesn't give my body a chance to recover. I find it very important to eat large vital meals the 
following day and exercise.

My favorite alcohol to consume is Bio-dynamic wine, but that's

for another blog post!

Some slow cooked organic grass finished beef from omegabeefdirect.ie.

Enjoy the week,

Lorcan 

Grass Finished Beef - Why, How and Where

Happy Wednesday!

What an absolute pleasure to be in Dublin when the sun is shining!

I got a vitalizing dip in the sea this morning at high rock in  Portmarknock during the peak of high tide.

Wow do I feel fresh!

My experiences with wild meats and grass finished beef.

I have stalked wild deer in Ireland for a little over six years, this requires you to learn to process your catch, handling and butchering wild venison.

This gave me a feel for what wild meats feel like in the flesh and of course while cooking.

So with the help of renowned chef Maryanne Reddin, I made a batch of thick juicy succulent burgers. After mincing we put straight onto the pan.

We cooked medium rare, trusting the health of the dear was top quality, and Maryanne's handling skills.
I couldn't believe how the burgers held its shape on the pan and how attractive the meet was to eat uncooked in the middle. A tasty flavor came out which we made a sauce with some butter.

In comparison to the beef I had been getting in Ireland a kind of watery residue would seep out and the attraction to have rare just wasn't there. It just didn't seem right so you instinctively cooked for longer.

So some time later while in Melbourne I came across T.O.M.S organic butcher in the South Melbourne market. He said the meat was completely rared on organic grass and importantly grass finished. To be frank I hear a lot about organic food and with a filtering system of,' I ll judge for myself bud'. I nodded and bought some mince which he insisted on saying it was minced in the last hour and to try the lamb necks in a soup.

So I rocked on home and prepared some thick burgers, I was shocked by the density of the meat, IT FELT LIKE DEER MEAT!

While cooking I sensed it was cooked to which I ate rare/blue in the middle. Boy God was it tasty!

So since then while in the states I tasted Joel Salitins of Polyface Farm, beyond organic minced beef and HEY PRESTO the same density was in the meat.

So back in Dublin I had a dilemma, I searched for organic meat and tasted a few and to be honest it just wasn't the same. Similarly to conventional beef found in every butcher shop it just didn't have the density of the wild meat or in examples of TOMs in Melbourne and Polyface Farms in US.

I consulted Beef Gura Niall Davidson of Beef Cartel in London to which he described, that beef is simply not just beef, it comes down to the breading, the environment and the balance of mixed grasses and plants that are in the beasts diet. I attended one of his Beef Cartel events which similarly again the meet was denser, so much more tasty and cooked with primal traditional methods methods. I will go into much more detail in another blog post when I interview Niall.
But to summarize, the beef was of the Highlander Bread native to the Scottish Highlands which foraged for its food in natural evironments.

So my dilemma continued until I found farmer Joe Condon of Omega Beef based in West Waterford.
I asked master hunter JJ Devine, and butcher Conor Hammersly to join me to get a balance of questions to Joe.

Joe has a heard of primarily Belted Galloways with some Speckle Park cattle.

Joe believes in a system of very low labor farming which allows him to lead his lifestyle and be the one that decides his own hours. For the farmer who always complains about not having time and complains about spending thousands on fertilizer each year Joe is the real deal out lier for alternative ways.

Joe has his heard forage for food in common-age land in the Knockmealdown mountain range in West Waterford.

It is quiet a vast area of land the heard have to cover to forage for their daily nutritional needs.

I interviewed Joe while he showed us around his salad bar of mixed greens which for the final few weeks before slaughter they enjoy the cream de the crem of the land.

Joe slaughters an animal once every two weeks and ships direct to his costumers. Joe believes in sustainable farming with which he won't put too many animals on the land.
He ships in boxes designed specifically for transporting meat to ensure top quality to his customers.

You can find the interview with myself, JJ Conor and Joe with the links below.

I got a box from Joe which I am now only half way through, I can't recommend highly enough. It cooks very different to conventional beef so be sure to research first, as the flavors and density are very comparable to TOMs and Joel Salitins which I would most definitely not say lightly.
Part One
Part Two
(.m4a format download and play)

You can order Joe's produce from his website Omega Beef Direct here, (Ireland Only) I recommend asking for bone morrow to grill on the BBQ and off course make amazing stock.

Remember its the health of the soil that reflects the health the food is grown from.

Thank you to JJ and Conor for assisting with interview and Joe for being so welcoming to his farm.

If you have a product that you think will meat my standards, drop me a mail to discuss a visit.
lorcan@modernhealthycaveman.com

Enjoy the week!

Lorcan

Update, Morning Glory & Barefeet

Happy Friday!

Couple of very action packed days.

I finally got my members area up and running switching to online for clients questionnaires, program design and much moren. lorcanmulhern.ptenhance.com 

Barefeet
Barefeet is a non government organisation based in Zambia that with face paint, drums and incredible energy have been helping children living on the streets of Zambia.
I brought some of the guys out to Sandycove to get a refreshing dip in the sea, one thing led to another and we got into Afrabatics mode.

I caught up with the crew again yesterday after they returned from Limerick for their show in Smock Alley, Dublin. They have been on the road touring in New York and Vermont over the last few weeks and will be in the UK next week. Big shout out to all the crew especially Adam, Grainne, John Mwansa, Thomas Bowmns, Dennis Tembb and Chezen... Your Amazing!

Morning Glory - Wednesday

Morning Glory is a morning rave filled starting at 630am and finishing at 1030am. What a great way to start the day then with positive carefree people. I had fantastic time and banged into great friend completely unexpectedly.

I caught up with my friend Max in Mt Buller last year and had no idea of his MC skills. He amplified the energy of the room and made the morning one to remember. He was interviewed during the show live on radio by Ray Darcy.
I highly recommend checking out some of his videos over on livetothemax.me

There is another one coming up on 6th of August, if you fancy it. Facebook Link

Only way to come down from this was a fresh dip in the sea.

Video on the way!

Nice quote from Max while in the water,'People look at you as if your mad in the water, but it's the most refreshing thing you can do.' Amen to that!

I caught up with two friends Eoin and Noirin after who must of thought I was off my head on speed.
We got quick bite in a restaurant called The Farm which is most indefinably heading in the right direction in regards organic food. In fairness taste was lovely, I am just not fully sold on comparison to some of the restaurants in |NYC such as Gusorganics that are pushing the boundaries further. The food revolution is definitely happening.

I only just heard of this pop up Yoga in Darthmouth Square last week which I couldn't but try out. I fully recommend to anyone close by to attend. They update on their Facebook page here.









I met friend and physiotherapist Joey of functional training Ireland for a light barefoot puck around. Joey helped me earlier this year when I had trouble with my ankle ligaments. He put out a blog and video of his experiences with cruciate ligament prevention last week which is well worth a watch. Link


Then to top off the day SOAR held a training session in their base in Temple Bar.

One of the busiest and enjoyable days of my life.



Inspire and Respect,

Lorcan

Quick Update & New York Organic Farming and CHEK Institute HLC2

Happy Friday

What an amazing return to Ireland over the last week and a half.

By God hasn't the weather been amazing!

I have been lucky enough to spend some much needed time close to the sea restoring my natural circadian rhythm.  This included some Tai Chi out in Portmarnock (below), a visit to an old team mate Eddie Barrett by Waterford castle, getting some vital time in the sea in Tramore, Co. Waterford and believe it or not to a naturist beach in Sandycove (you will be most grateful I didn't take the camera out there) with a fellow Soar facilitator Joe.

I caught up with John Cantwell of slianchroi.ie for a very deep workshop on Sunday, ran in celebration of the summer solstice; worth checking out for all interested.

The Soar foundation held a Teenage Kicks workshop last Wednesday at the Chocolate Factory in Dublin to show to their investors just what inspiring work we are doing in schools.  For anyone interested to find out more about Soar you can check out their website at soar.ie and even better if you feel like you could add something, feel free to get in touch as donations are what keeps this dream a reality.  Tom (photograph below) has came over from the reach foundation in Australia to train myself and group of facilitators.  Thank you Tom for your wisdom.  It turned out to be very powerful event due to hard work of the Soar crew.

full set of photographs here

New York Organic Farming

Kilpatrick Family Farm

I spent four weeks with Kilpatrick Family farm based in Granville upstate New York. www.kilpatrickfamilyfarm.com This was incredible learning experience of what it takes to produce healthy nutritious food in a sustainable profitable practice. Michael prides himself as a steward to the land which doesn't see him as a business man looking to extract profit from the soil but to nurture the land and leave it as a fertile base for nutritious food  that's farmed in a sustainable manner. Thank you Michael for your share of knowledge in one of the busier ends of the farming season.

Here is quick video of intern Chris Thompson feeding out the layer hens and guard dog Liberty doing her thing.

(http://youtu.be/Y5rGT7vxLGk)

A few photos from around the farm over the four weeks. Thanks again to everyone that made my stay so special.

Rock Heavan Hills Organic Dairy Farm

I got the opportunity to visit a organic pasture based dairy farm. I was truly impressed by the glow/shine from the milking cows. The cows are out on pasture at present and diet is pasture grass and hay harvested on farm. On entering the farm you pass a conventional dairy, which truly stinks on contrast an absolute pleasure to walk though this farm.

The herd are very calm and content friendly animals that walk straight by you without bating an eyelid. I got a photo with resident bull Rocky. 

I got some jars of fresh raw milk that went down a treat with my rhubarb. Big shout out to Skylor and Liebig family for the tour.

Brooklyn Grange

I arrived down to New York to attend the CHEK Institutes HLC2 course which I have been looking forward to since last December.

I had a couple of days before hand to catch up with some friends in New York. I was told about some of the roof gardens that supplied some restaurants around the city. 

I was sitting on fifth avenue at 4:30 pm and had a quick google search. Brooklyn Grange was the first one that popped up and when I looked at the subway route was only couple of stations away. I jumped up and landed there for 4:50pm. I thought why not go up and have a look around as on Kilpatrick Family Farm there was open door policy for anyone that wants to visit. I reached the top and was blown away with what I seen.

  

I got talking to farm manager Bradley Fleming and with what I am putting down to the T shirt (thanks Troy) got to work on the farm the next day.

Really touched by the positive outlook from the crew, that really capped of my experience of organic farming  in New York.

Well worth looking up the history of the farm brooklyngrangefarm.com

CHEK Institute Holistic Lifestyle Coaching Level 2

I have been looking forward to this advanced training course since December after getting to spend three days with Jo Rushton in Melbourne during the HLC1 training. ( I highly recommend btw )
This course has a quite stringent prerequisite list of attending & passing exam from HLC1, attending online & passing exam of Paul Cheks program design course, an extensive reading list and actually living the lifestyle that is discussed during HLC1.

I was blown away by lecturer Angie Lustrick, her energy and passion for optimal health is overwhelmingly contagious, which spread throughout the group throughout the course.

There is more information from the main man himself Paul Chek here.

Lastly, ill be catching up with grass finished beef farmer Joe Condon soon if you have any questions be sure to let me know.

Lorcan

What Inspires You?

I got asked this question by a medical student soft more who is very spiritual and thought out guy.

It took me time to come up with answer but it was under my nose.

Living In the moment.

Reaching for your dream.

Soaring to the best version of yourself.

Tuning into your core values.

From working with clients that work incredible hours in a job that causes them physical, mental and emotional stress, when I ask what is your dream the most common answer is,"I don't know". 

Have you taken a moment to yourself and thought about what your dream is, and then how you can achieve it.

Dream big!

From the depths of the state of New York.

Dublin Chapter. Soar - Be the Best Version of Yourself - Rock Stacking - New York

Hiho,

After a full year in Australia, I arrived back to Dublin undecided what I wished to pursue for the foreseeable future. Within four days I met with a friend that introduced me to Soar (www.soar.ie) It was quite a shock when one of the trainers had stayed next door to me the previous week in Jun Jac in Torquay. Small world hey!
I was so impressed with the first workshop, I put the thinking hat on over Christmas and after attending some school workshops and getting to know Tony and Karl I came to the conclusion this was something I could add to.
My journey in training to become a facilitator with Soar has entailed attending workshops all over the country and training with other facilitators once or twice a month. To try to explain exactly what we do is very tough and I think words (mine anyway) won't give it real justice. But to be the best version of yourself and want for the best of others would be my concept of their mission statement. But be sure to check out the website it might just give you a feel for it. www.soar.ie
Jim Stynes Every heart beats true is the reason why and how Soar was created. Its a real tear jerker but most definitely worth the watch.

Jim has now passed but his spirit is thriving.

Here is a picture from this weekends training followed by a friendly game of wall ball.

Rock stacking and morning swim
As mentioned by Donal in pod-cast titled Donal Carr health 101, I visited the forty foot in Sandycove in Dun Laoghaire with my pal Joe. We got a taste of the fresh Irish sea and played with some rocks.

                                               

When the girl of my dreams is too far away to hug its tough,but hey don't they say absence makes  the heart grow founder.

My next chapter is to begin shortly in New York. This was a massive decision for me to continue following my dream opposed to training with Soar but I wanted to be truly honest to myself and go with what I believe to achieve my dream in the most efficient manner.

I have passed my holistic lifestyle coaching level one exam and due to attend the holistic lifestyle coach level two this June. This means I can help you. I am here to offer my coaching services so feel free to contact me for further information.

With respect.

Lorcan