Cillian O'Connor

MSc Strength and Conditioning. Strength coach and personal trainer.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

The Marginal gains concept has created a world where people focus on the last 1% while ignoring the first 99%. Get the basics down first! WHY DO WE FALL FOR THIS

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

Self employment is the only way to be free to speak the truth without your head on a chopping block.

[Call me Keir @RUGBY_STR_COACH]

Strength coaches asking for their job title to be protected like physiotherapists, be careful what you wish for.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@EamonnFlanagan @cianobriain @GregLehman @DerekGriffin86 Barbell sport coaches tend to have the opposite belief (low load and high reps = better for joints). Seems the unifying link is that doing more of what you miss in specific sports practice is useful. For runners that’s heavy work. For lifters it’s light loads and high reps.

[Call me Keir @RUGBY_STR_COACH]

Believe it can't prove it:

There's no such thing as heel strikers and forefoot strikers.

Everyone is both depending on the speed they're operating at.

The faster guys just forefoot because that's required to run at those speeds.

[Call me Keir @RUGBY_STR_COACH]

In a hotel for the night. Went to the hot tub, met some 19-22yo guys from KC.

They just qualified welding school, they're on their first road job.

Last week's wage: $4000.

Yay strength and conditioning!

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@cianobriain Right, they’re all going to be general in their transfer regardless.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@StrengthDebates @C_Ingram25 If you’re familiar with John Broz, he refers to this as ‘the dark times’. 🧿

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@Hey_TBA @RUGBY_STR_COACH @JonnyBones Potentially there are aspects of being an asshole that actually are rewarded by sports. Aggression, impulsiveness, confidence, etc.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

I can attribute just about every niggle and pain on my body to stubbornly adding weight to a small pain.

If stuff starts to hurt, keep training hard, but be willing to take the hit of dropping weight or changing exercise for a while.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

Maturing as a coach is realising that the big things (effort, food sleep) are really big, and the small things (sets and reps, special exercises, glycemic index) are even less important than you think.

[dave.strengthandkindness @davehagertydpt]

Your ability to be patient, improve your processes, and love “boring” but meaningful work is what will lead to success.

Not your ability to “grind”.

[dave.strengthandkindness @davehagertydpt]

Recommit Every Day

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

‘Procrustean Bed’

Procrustes was an inn owner who chopped off the limbs of his customers to have them perfectly fit his bed.

This is a nice analogy for forcing an expectation of linearity on the chaotic nature of training progress.

Embrace the chaos.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

If you’re not yet training with someone else. You’re being silly. The gains are near immediate.

[dave.strengthandkindness @davehagertydpt]

"The cost of being who you are is conflict with those who want you to be someone else.

The cost of being what others want you to be is conflict with yourself."

A Tiny Thought in the @farnamstreet newsletter. See what you're missing: https://t.co/DWL37p2yt4

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@davehagertydpt Absolutely. Higher quality effort is what we want.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

More work = more results.

Like any heuristic, it has its flaws. It is however the most logical explanation for any plateau.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@cianobriain No PRs happen in your comfort zone 💪🏻

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

We only ever really have one of 3 decisions to make for training:

1. Make things harder
2. Keep things the same
3. Make things easier

Most people fall short of their goals because they rigidly stick to just one of these options, regardless of their body’s response.

[Cillian O'Connor @CillianOConnor1]

@AdamMeakins He shouldn’t worry, it’s most likely just the regular kind of HIV 🙌🏻