cilloconnor-blog - Tumblr blog

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In recent years, cryotherapy has become a popular recovery method for many elite athletes, and as a results has started to make its way into popular gym culture as well. . But does it work? . THE BAD ❌💪🏻 . If you are training for strength and muscle gain, cryotherapy or cold water immersion is likely a bad idea. Quite a bit of research has found that cold therapies decrease strength and muscle gain. Why? It’s not exactly clear. A leading theory is that by reducing the temperature of the muscle, it interferes with signaling of genes, proteins, etc. that control muscle gain. . THE GOOD ✅ . If you are an athlete who is in the midst of a competitive week and needs to reduce muscle soreness, there is some evidence to suggest cryotherapy could be beneficial, although the effects vary from study to study. It’s critical to remember that this is in a scenario where an athlete is not trying to improve their strength, but just reduce soreness. . THE UNKNOWN 🤔 . Cryotherapy may have a positive impact on the adaptation to endurance training like cycling, swimming, running etc. Examples being an increased tolerance to storing heat and increased delivery of oxygen to muscles. However there is not enough direct research done on this to say if it is true. . TL;DR Cryo is probably not something worth spending your money on. 💸 https://www.instagram.com/p/BzNeLSgCNOT/?igshid=1o7hqdw2xgxcb

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The above is all that is needed to create a body that is both highly muscular and strong. 💪🏻🏋🏻‍♀️ Other things like machines can be useful, but they are far from necessary. ☝🏻 . If you are training somewhere that doesn’t have this type of equipment, or worse yet - that has it but actively discourages you from using it, then you need to get your ass out of there. PRONTO. 🏃🏻‍♂️ 💨 . If you are in a gym that has this stuff but you think you need more, you’re wrong. The problem isn’t the tools, it’s what you’re doing with them. 🛠 . Also more than one squat rack is highly necessary, unless you want to spend the majority of your session waiting for someone to finish curling in the rack. 😐🔫 https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLE8hSiNYY/?igshid=175xxse7yq57b

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Sometimes I train arms too.. . So how much should YOU train arms? . For beginners, direct arm training is kind of silly. As a beginner you have a unique opportunity to grow that you’ll never have again. So why waste valuable training time on movements that just don’t matter that much?Better to focus on things like chins and rows. They’ll still build biceps and you’ll get much stronger. . Having said that, 99% of people (men) will ignore me and do arms anyway. It’s okay, I’ve accepted this as a law of the universe. So you may as well train them right. Here are some guidelines: . 1️⃣ Use full range of motion. Healthier for your joints and scientifically proven to build more muscle. Nobody cares what you can cheat curl. Really. . 2️⃣ Don’t go too heavy. Keep most of your sets somewhere between 6 - 20. Isolation exercise done heavy are a recipe for pain - the bad kind. . 3️⃣ If doing arms twice per week, do one day higher reps and one day lower reps. Also only do them AFTER the main lifts. https://www.instagram.com/p/BzJTi3yANqw/?igshid=j2rt0usa27x2

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Are you a lad who struggles to gain muscle? Feel like you’ve tried everything but nothing works? 🤔 . Check out this article I wrote which details exactly what you need to do to start gaining muscle. 💪🏻 . Link in bio 🔗 https://www.instagram.com/p/BzAoSWyCBed/?igshid=asndg8qhl3qg

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Muscle soreness / DOMS. 🤕 Is it good or bad? And what causes it? 🤔Watch the video to find out. ✅ . Questions? Comment below ⬇️ https://www.instagram.com/p/By76fqICbdx/?igshid=ibrtlg2wan97

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Are you training or just exercising? What’s the difference and could you be getting better results? Find out by reading the article. Link in bio under ‘articles’ 🔗 https://www.instagram.com/p/By50x6Wi8r8/?igshid=pubtswy4hzqz

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The psychological benefits of strength training for women. 🏋🏼‍♀️ . The modern fitness industry prioritizes how people look over what they can do. 👎🏻 . Statistics are beginning to show an extremely worrying trend of increased mental health issues in girls as young as 11, including self harm and suicide... . The upsurge in these problems coincided strongly with the advent of smartphones and social media. 📱 . From an early age, women are being shown a fake virtual world and comparing themselves to the ‘influencers’ they see online. 💅🏻💄Influencers who will spend hours to get the right angle for a photo and then photoshop it to look perfect. 📸 . This ain’t real life. . Social media also creates a whole new avenue for bullying but that’s another topic on its own. . So why strength training? Because it’s the only sector of the fitness industry that doesn’t care about how you look, but what you can DO. And when you build a track record of proving to yourself that you can set and achieve goals that never seemed possible, it builds a huge amount of inner confidence and true body positivity. . Unfortunately strength training may never be as popular as other forms of fitness due to it being hard and requiring a lot of patience. But it will be my mission to help as many people who are willing to try as I can. . #getstrong . Video credit: @startingstrength https://www.instagram.com/p/By4vE-NAqEu/?igshid=1x7ojh0p3apqg

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Excerpt from @rachelflaherty12 ‘s column about training with me in today’s @irishtimeshealthfamilyfitness 👍🏻 . DM me to try a free trial session if you want to understand how to train the right way ✅ https://www.instagram.com/p/By3ET1bCcaR/?igshid=7nblv666bf7c

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You may or may not be familiar with the idea of different body types. It doesn’t take a genius to observe that there is a huge variety of shapes and sizes the human body can come in. . The question is 1) are morphotypes real? Is there such a thing as a morphotype? Are skinny people ‘ectomorphs’ and overweight people ‘endomorph’? And 2) should they influence how we train and eat? . 1️⃣ These terms are just categorisations, which have no real scientific backing. In reality people’s bodies are much more complex. Someone may be naturally skinny but respond really strongly to training, and end up looking more like a ‘mesomorph’. . 2️⃣But should people train and eat differently based on their build? There’s no good evidence to suggest this is the case. For all our differences, our DNA is almost identical. We all require a diet with protein, fat, carbs and sufficient micronutrients. All of our bodies can become bigger and stronger or burn fat. Yes there are individual differences, and medical science is leaning more and more toward finding genetic tests that can individualise treatments, including diet and exercise. However there’s currently no reason to believe that your natural build influences this. . Main takeaway here should be: . ✅ Don’t put yourself into a box. Whether it’s true that you are naturally more inclined to gaining fat or struggle to put on muscle, there’s nothing you could do about it other than just play the cards you’re dealt as best you can. Labels become self fulfilling if you dwell on them. ☝🏻 . (Also anybody selling you a diet or training programme based on your ‘morphotype’ is full of sh#t ) https://www.instagram.com/p/By0WNp0ih8i/?igshid=1gl6uoh0xww63

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Happy Father’s Day to the funniest man I know 🤪 (at Booterstown) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byx2KMriwrB/?igshid=1pduo7d1mc6y6

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Unsure about how to set your hips correctly for the deadlift? Give this warm up drill a go ✅ . Generally the most efficient pull will be when the bar is over your mid foot and in line with the middle of your shoulder blade. ⚙️ For most people this will be when their hips are just above parallel. . This should feel pretty intuitive when you try the extreme ends of the scale: a really high hip position and a really low one. Somewhere in the middle you’ll find the most leverage and pressure to lift the bar. 💪🏻 . Note: for this drill to work, the bar has to be in contact with your shin and you must be applying upward pressure to the bar with a flat back. 🤙🏻 (at Cillian O'Connor Strength and Conditioning) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByuqK_SAFZx/?igshid=3feflls5tzw8

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In all the time I’ve been training, I’ve noticed one factor that separates those who reach their goals from those who don’t: CONSISTENCY. 💪🏻 . The people who reach their goals keep showing up and they STICK TO THE PLAN. 🤨☝🏻 . Our bodies need clear and consistent signals if they are to keep getting bigger and stronger. 🗝 . If you’d like to read my full article on this topic and how to address it, follow the link in my bio. 🧠🔗 https://www.instagram.com/p/Byr_EMViJlG/?igshid=17lz6e83j2or5

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Would you like to win a full year/€600 worth of online coaching, for FREE? ‼️💪🏻 . All you have to do to enter into the draw is: . FOLLOW my page ✅ ➕ TAG A MATE ✅ . Winner will be announced in a week. 🤙🏻 . . Note, online coaching is only for people with enough training experience to perform movements safely. Not suitable for beginners unfortunately. https://www.instagram.com/p/Byp33wYCJ8B/?igshid=66ja53vtzz0n

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Is static stretching before a workout a good idea? 🤔 . For future questions you’d like answered, comment below or DM me 📥 https://www.instagram.com/p/BynIDA6iKMB/?igshid=1spf0qvt52len

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Well done to client @patrickdunne_ who deadlifted 100kg for the first time tonight. Plenty more in the tank as you can see. G’man 💪🏻 (at Cillian O'Connor Strength and Conditioning) https://www.instagram.com/p/BylUum7gWGs/?igshid=1sm39yhl6gwb6

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@metallica 🤘🏻🎸⚡️ (at Slane Castle) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByfZAwKCSr8/?igshid=c2sowyh4xn2x

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@ellie_moore99 doing a good job of demoing the single leg Romanian deadlift as part of our warmup today. . If you struggle with single leg RDLs, try lightly pushing a dowel into your foot (foam roller works too). . This will he’ll give you feedback on what your hips are doing (we want to keep hips level), and force you to keep the back leg straight. . Mastering the RDL is key to properly executing the big hinge movements like deadlifts, snatches, bent rows etc. (at Cillian O'Connor Strength and Conditioning) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByXaT3_gRh1/?igshid=xbxg91tvja4h