I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, as a coach the greatest thing I can do for you is keep you injury free.

So with that in mind, instead of pounding the roads and bench pressing the chest off yourself this January how’s about you make some time to get flexible and become more mobile?

First stop – a good yoga class.

One of the first alarms that goes off in the head of a GAA player when yoga is mentioned goes something like this, “Jesus I’m far too stiff to do any of that.”

I’ve good news for you, the more inflexible you are the more you’re going to benefit from yoga.

And if it isn’t “I’m too stiff for yoga,” it’s: “sure only women do that.”

Let me set you straight there too, some of the best athletes in the world practice yoga.

Lebron James, arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time, is a massive advocate of its benefits. And why wouldn’t be he; improved mobility, a reduced chance of injury, better balance and a massive focus on breathing.

All of these things go together to create a stronger, fitter and more rounded athlete.

With the hamstrings being such problem area for so many GAA players including simple stretches like the downward dog on a regular basis can do wonders for your mobility.

We often cite that the GAA is an amateur game played at a professional level. At the top level things like diet, psychology and strength and conditioning are all close to if not on par with the top end of our more glamorous cousin’s soccer and rugby. Yet placing an emphasis on recovery is probably the one area where we fall behind the most.

Show us weights, we’ll lift them, show us a track, we’ll sprint to the bitter end. Show us a mat and ask us to sit still and breath for ten minutes…you’re having a laugh, mate.

Ryan Giggs is one of the more high profile soccer players to embrace the benefits of yoga, but his ex-teammate Rio Ferdinand and current Manchester City stars David Silva and Joe Hart both include it in their training regimes.

So on that list of New Year’s resolutions right between “Get strong” and “Lose weight” stick in “Join a yoga class” so that you can become more mobile, improve your breathing and reduce the chance of keeping up an injury!

I attend yoga at Setanta Ballygawley with Sarah Connelly. Look her up on Instagram and you’ll quickly see yoga is a potent combination of strength, balance, poise, flexibility and control.

Whenever you get through your year injury free and lift that Championship trophy high above your head you can thank me for pointing you toward that yoga class way back in January.

If you want more help with fat loss, diet or training don’t hesisitate to contact me through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @PGthePT or log on to my website www.pgthept.com and join the newsletter for more nuggets of knowledge like this straight to your inbox every morning from Monday-Friday.
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