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Cillian O'Connor - Strength and Conditioning

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Avoiding Weight Gain in Quarantine

Avoiding Weight Gain in Quarantine

Have you noticed yourself getting a little soft around the middle? Worried about how much weight you'll have gained when lockdown ends? What follows are my top 3 tips to avoid finishing lockdown on the chubby side. #1 Use a Standing Desk For those of you still working from home, this will be a huge positive change. All the home workouts and mobility sessions in the world can't undo 7 - 9 hours of sitting, and the effects that has on your body. There is a direct link lin

Perception = Reality

Perception = Reality

Are you stressed out and fearful about the COVID-19 pandemic? Worried for your financial stability and the health of those close to you? These are all really valid concerns, but today I want to propose an argument against worrying about these things. This article is not about fitness, so it might not be for you. If not, don't worry - normal content will resume for the next article. However I do believe that today's message is worth spreading and could help some people wh

Answers to Common Training Qs (#4)

Answers to Common Training Qs (#4)

The last instalment of this got a great response, so I decided to just do another one. Remember, if you have a question you'd like answered, simply contact me by responding to this email, or by messaging me on Instagram @cilloconnor . I want to start running. How should I get started? Probably best to start with walking. Remember that when you run, you are taking a force of somewhere around 2-3 times your bodyweight through your hips, knees, and ankles. This is why so

Post-Easter Nutrition

Post-Easter Nutrition

So you ate a metric ton of chocolate yesterday. You're wondering how much damage has this done, and what should you do now? This article will take a look at the effect of a single day of binge eating, and what is likely the best course of action for this week. 1 Pound = 3500 calories On average, you need to have a caloric surplus of 3500 calories to gain one pound of fat. The number of calories in an easter egg varies wildly depending on the egg, and the other stuff th

Training with Bands

Training with Bands

Though they're not my favourite piece of equipment for a home gym, bands are certainly cheaper than weights and can definitely aid you in muscle gain. In this short article I'll detail: what bands I recommend, how to use them, which exercises to do, and how you can progress your training with them. Which bands? I recommend getting a pack of varying band thicknesses (see photo below). It's hard to give specifics here as different brands colour code differently. I recommen

Answers to Common Training Qs (#3)

Answers to Common Training Qs (#3)

Back again with more answers to your training questions. As always, if you have a question you'd like answered, either reply to this email or send me a message on Instagram. I always answer questions on the spot, but I also like to include them in here so that everyone can benefit from the info. Hope you find these relevant and useful. Can you get all the benefits from free weights using a bodyweight workout? No. Bodyweight training has many great applications but like e

5 Pieces of Equipment Worth Buying

You can accomplish quite a bit with bodyweight-only training, but there's no denying it has serious limitations for those of us who want to make long term strength progress. If you simply can't wait for your gym to re-open, or you've decided to start putting together a home gym, then this email is for you. There are a lot of pieces of kit you could buy, but the following 5 will provide you with everything you need. So in order of importance: 1. Barbell and Plates This

The Deadlift Problem

The Deadlift Problem

Training with bodyweight / household equipment is tough, but very doable for squat, push, and pull movement patterns. But what about the deadlift? If you are someone who has built their deadlift up to a respectable standard, then it's much harder to replicate the kind of weight you could get with a barbell. In fact, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that you should probably put any hopes of increasing your deadlift strength to bed. There's a reason why barbells are

Tips for Thriving in Isolation

Tips for Thriving in Isolation

Times are dire, and there's certainly plenty to worry about. COVID-19 has brought with it a stress whirlwind of uncertainty surrounding both our health and our finances. I'm not discounting the above worries, but I am merely proposing that we accept that 1) it's out of our hands, and therefore 2) worrying about it won't help us. Instead, in an attempt to spread some positivity, I've outlined 4 things that you can control, and that will make your time in isolation more enjo

Free Bodyweight Programme

Free Bodyweight Programme

So you're stuck inside during the great Covid-19 crisis of 2020. And you'd like some ideas about what you can do to keep up your gains while your gym is (I hope) closed. Well, you're in luck. I've put together a comprehensive training plan with 2, 3, and 4 day per week options. If you are unsure about how to execute some of these exercises, stay tuned to my Instagram, which I have revived in order to provide some useful at-home training content. Additionally, I am goin

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