Irish footballer gives insight into punishing strength and conditioning gym routine

Don't skip leg day

Or glutes day... or hamstring day... or any day, in fact, if you're a League of Ireland footballer. Things have changed a lot in terms of how teams prepare. Getting the right balance between being incredibly fit, as well as having the strength to take the hard knocks that come your way, are now a requirement of any footballer at any level. St Patrick's Athletic midfielder James Chambers has been speaking about the punishing regime he puts his body through to be right for his club, how the ideas behind strength and conditioning in clubs and in the league have changed over the last number of years. He's been explaining on the latest blog post on the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland website how difficult it is for players to get the balance right between strength and fitness and how managers are changing their approach

"When I was at Shelbourne, Dermot Keely was the manager and he put a huge emphasis on the cardio side of things, which is obviously hugely important. But the way we train is different now with so much science behind it that every little detail is picked up on and catered for in our programmes." "Of course, the fitness industry is a huge business and there is a lot more emphasis on strength and conditioning – even from the everyday person. The first time that I remember it becoming part of my routine was when I signed for Shamrock Rovers in 2010 and we linked up with IT Tallaght. And I really bought into the whole concept from the very start." "For a few years, you would have been able to spot me in the gym, hammering weights and doing heavy lifting, but, funnily enough, I actually got a little bit too big. Cue the jokes of who ate all the pies! But packing too much muscle on can actually slow you down and that isn’t a good thing for a player like me who isn’t the quickest at the best of times."

Chambers also dispels the myth that the same exercise in the gym will have the same effect on everyone. He cites an example of heading to work-out with two different teammates who all have their own individual routines which determines if they go for the 10KG or the 40KG weight. Different players react differently which is something we'll remember to tell our instructor next time we collapse after our 50th squat,

"Many League players go to the gym – some are even personal trainers away from being a footballer – and I would go with teammates like Aaron Greene and Christy Fagan, which is interesting because the three of us all have different body types. What that means is that some people can lift as many weights as they can and only see a slight difference in terms of results, while the opposite can happen for someone else."

Chambers also has some reassuring words for those of us who often feel very, very inadequate when we enter a gym and see lots of beefcake flexing in front of the mirror. It's ok to not know what you're doing sometimes because pros are exactly the same.

"If we’re being honest, most people think they know exactly what to do when they go into a gym but most of us actually don’t. It requires an open attitude to listening to experts, but also listening to your body. There is no point in hammering your legs if you’ve done a big session that morning, because you will hardly be able to walk the next day." "I’m still learning every day and if you can pick up little nuggets of information from different people, especially the experts, and apply them to your regime then you will see the results."