The Better Athlete Podcast

This week we're joined once again by the machine that is Ricki Wynne. Following on from the episode where we discussed his prep for The Kerry Way Ultra, this week we chat about how he faired in the race. Ricki completed the 200km race in under 23 hours and came second! We chat about the lessons gained from other years he entered, the other competitors he faced and what he plans next. Give Ricki a follow at @rickiwynne10 and share and tag all of us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

This week we're joined by outstanding Tyrone footballer Kieran McGeary. Kieran looks back on a fantastic year for Tyrone including the intensity they brought to games, what Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan bring to the set up & his approach to big games. We loved this chat, lots of amazing info and Kieran is great craic into the bargain! Please share and review! Tag us at @siseire @james_fit_mcdowell @kieranmcgeary

This is a special episode; James interviews Fergal. Fergal ran his first ultra-marathon. Running 58.8km over the hills and mountains of Kerry takes a lot of physical and mental strength. In this interview Fergal tells us about the lessons and insights he gained from the experience, and what his plans are for the future. Please share and tag us in your stories! @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

This we've got a solo episode for you guys. We're talking all about speed, why it's a critical factor in most sports and tips on how to improve your speed. Please share and review! @siseire @james_fit_mcdowell

This week we're joined by Evan McGrath from Serenity of Mind. We chat about building mental resilience, being in the present moment & the importance of the stories we tell ourselves. This chat was a fascinating take on what individuals and teams need from a mental standpoint to achieve at the top level. These principles can be applied to every day life also. Please share! You can tag Evan at @serenityofmindsport and us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire.

This week we're delighted to be joined by David Grey. We've been admirer's of David's work for quite a while and it was a brilliant opportunity to pick his brains on a few topics. in this episode we spoke about one surprising way he developed his philosophy on movement, the movement of the ribcage & the importance of exercise selection. He went into detail on a number of fascinating topics! We hope you enjoy it and would appreciate any shares and likes. You can tag David at @davidgreyrehab and us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

We're back this week with our first returning guest. We're joined by our most popular guest so far, Ricki Wynne. For those of you that don't know, Ricki is an ultra runner. He talks to us about his comeback from injury, his recent FKT & how he's training for The Kerry Way. This was a fantastic follow up episode! Big shoutout to our podcast sponsors, Flexx Clothing. Flexx offer high quality fitness wear at affordable prices. Go to www.flexx-clothing.co.uk to pick up your clothing and use the discount code BETTER-ATHLETE to receive 10% off. You can follow them at @flexx.clothing and us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

This week we're joined by 2017 all-ireland hurling winner and founder of 'What's The Scor?', Paul Flaherty. Paul tells us about some of the lessons he gained from playing inter-county hurling that he has applied to growing his business. This episode gives a fantastic insight into the type of mindset you need to be successful in most endeavors. 'What's The Scor?' is a fantastic app which let's GAA fans around the world get real time updates on their county or club teams. Search for it on the app store now and if you'd like to get your club involved visit https://whatsthescor.ie/ and follow @whatsthescor You can follow us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

In this week's episode we're joined by hugely successful, US based jockey Declan Cannon. Declan has been based in Kentucky the past few years but also raced in Europe and Abu Dhabi. He tells us how a top level jockey stays cool under pressure, where his motivation comes from and how to stay injury free. This was eye opening for us so we know you'll love it! Big shoutout to our podcast sponsors, Flexx Clothing. Flexx offer high quality fitness wear at affordable prices. Go to www.flexx-clothing.co.uk to pick up your clothing and use the discount code BETTER-ATHLETE to receive 10% off. You can follow them at @flexx.clothing and us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

In this week's episode we talk about injury rehab. During the return to play in 2020 we saw a lot of injuries, mostly due to too much volume too soon. So we want to talk about that and some of the keys to returning from injury. Please like, share and review and send us any of your questions! You can follow us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

Today is a little change of pace. Although not trained sport psychologists, any form of coaching has a strong psychological component; be that at the highest level or recreational level. So in this episode we chat all about getting motivated, performing on the big occasion and driving yourself through those tough periods. Please like, share and review. You can tag us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

This week we're joined by Leitrim ladies footballer Clare Owens. Clare has had an outstanding inter-county career; she made her debut in 2006 at the young age of 16 and got to an All-Ireland final that same year. Since then she's gone on to captain her county, as well as winning numerous championships with her club; St. Josephs. In this episode we chat to her about the secret to her long inter-county career, being a role model for younger players & the future of ladies football. Please like, share and review! You can follow us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

In this week's episode we're joined by Dearbhla Rooney. Dearbhla is a youth Olympic Bronze medalist and European Youth silver medalist in boxing, as well as a fantastic Gaelic Footballer. We chat to her about how she approaches the big occasions, what she has learnt from individual & team sports and the importance of stamina for fighting. Please like, share and review. You can tag us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

In this week's solo episode we're talking all about recovery. Often this is an area where athletes let themselves down. It's all well and good going 100 miles an hour with training, but you need to let your body recover so that it can adapt. We talk about what works, what doesn't, manipulating training load for recovery & how lifestyle impacts recovery, and much more. Please like, share and review. You can follow us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

This week we talk to Rupert Wiltshire. Rupert works with some of the best Ballet dancers in the world, as well as with gymnasts and the Warrington women's rugby league team. He has a wealth of knowledge in strength and conditioning. We talk about what it's like training Britain's top ballet dancers, the relationship between strength & flexibility & taking a general or specific approach to exercise. Rupert has some really interesting thoughts in particular on load management. Please give Rupert a follow at @theballetstrengthpro and like and share this episode. You can find us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

In this week's episode we're joined by golf strength and conditioning coach Mike Carroll. We spoke about his big 3 of golf fitness, how Bryson Dechambeau's training transfers to his drive and how skills training and S&C merge in golf. Whether you play golf, or any other sport, there is lots to take from this episode. Mike takes a really effective, practical approach to training. You can find him on Instagram at @fit_for_golf and find his wonderful Fit For Gold App at https://fitforgolf.blog/ Please like, share and review. You can find us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

In this week's episode we're joined by Robbie Atkinson, of Total Training Dublin. In this episode Robbie speaks to us about how he doesn't get blinded by any one system, breathwork and the importance of training intelligently and a lot more. Robbie is a very smart guy and has some really interesting theories. As usual please like, share and review. You can follow Robbie at @totaltrainingdublin and us at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire.

In this week's episode we chat to North Melbourne AFLW star Aileen Gilroy. Aileen is extremely inspiring, not only has she played AFLW but has represented Mayo for over 10 years and played for the Irish underage soccer team. This episode is so entertaining! She chats to us about adapting to life as a pro athlete, being 100% sure she was ready after her ACL injury & the future of women's GAA & AFLW. She gives a fantastic insight into the differences between Ireland and Australia, in terms of training, lifestyle and mindset. Please like, share and review. If you're interested in finding out more on the crosscoders, you can follow them at https://instagram.com/crosscoderssport?igshid=bwsj4jsll3sj You can tag us at @gilroy7 @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell

In this week's episode we chat with Armagh Gaelic Football star Oisín O'Neill. Oisín shares with us the frustration of being told that GAA isn't an elite sport, how he dealt with a serious ankle injury, why it's important to put the hard work in during Covid-19 and why taking advice from people in your community is important. This one is jam packed full of useful tips! Please like, share and review. You can find James and Fergal at @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

On this weeks episode we're joined by pain and movement specialist David Mc Gettigan. The information on this episode is mind blowing. 99% of people have dealt with some sort of physical pain during their life and David has some amazing thoughts around this area. He talks about misconceptions on pain, how past experiences influence pain, his thoughts on manual therapy and much more. Like, share and review! You can find David at @painandmovementspecialist and www.davidmcgettiganclinic.com. You can find us at @siseire and @james_fit_mcdowell. Remember Our GAA Strength Foundations Program has to potential to make you faster, stronger and more mobile. Please visit the following link to purchase it https://siseire.com/gaa-strength-foundations-programme

In today's episode we chat to Cavan Gaelic Football star Jason Mc Louglin. Jason chats to us about the amazing 2020 he had where he won The Ulster Championship. We also chat about how he prepares for big occasions and how he manages working full time and playing at such a high level. Jason also gives fantastic insight into the team culture needed to be successful. Our GAA Strength Foundations Program has to potential to make you faster, stronger and more mobile. Please visit the following link to purchase it https://siseire.com/gaa-strength-foundations-programme @siseire @james_fit_mcdowell

In today's episode we discuss breathing. We breathe over 20,000 times a day, so making sure we breathe correctly and efficiently is really important. We discuss nasal breathing, the myth of belly breathing, why chest breathing isn't a bad thing and strategies to improve your breathing. Please like, share and leave a review! Also on Monday we're releasing an amazing product for GAA players to improve their off season conditioning, mobility and strength, keep an eye out for that. @james_fit_mcdowell @siseire

It's not often you get to chat with someone that is the best in the world at their sport, but this week we got to chat to 2019 World Irish Dancing Champion, Olivia Murray. In this episode Olivia talks about how working on her mindset brought her to another level, what changes dancing is making with regards to strength training and what it was like performing with Riverdance. Regardless of whether you're a dancer, runner or GAA player there is lots to take from this one. Please share on your Insta stories! You can follow Olivia at _oliviamurray and us @james_fit_mcdowell @siseire

Ultra running has to be one of the most brutal sports there is. Running 200km and beyond is grueling. That's why we wanted to get Ricki Wynne on to discuss his approach to training and mindset. Ricki is one of the top ultra runners in the country, if not the world. This episode is jam packed with value. Ricki discusses how he deals with set backs, his approach to taking care of injuries and the mindset it takes to reach your full potential. As always please share on Instagram and leave a review! Make sure to follow Ricki at @rickiwynne10 and us @james_fit_mcdowell and @siseire

With an extended off season for most sports at the moment we delve into the aspects you should be considering when training. We discuss discovering your weak points and how to work on them, what you can do even you have no gym equipment, bulletproofing yourself from injuries, how to get your body fat % down and much more! Please share and review! @siseire @james_fit_mcdowell

Welcome to the very first episode of The Better Athlete Podcast! In today's episode we discuss...... - Who we are. - Why we started the podcast. - The topics we'll cover. - The guests we'll have. - A quick fire round! Like, share and review.