Synapse Performance

When you think things couldn’t possibly get any worse…

We had a brilliant week in Brussels. Some of our 3rd SSH students have just returned from a week long Erasmus funded trip to where they joined students from 4 other institutions for a week of learning, research and culture, culminating in the students presenting their work at an international symposium.

Thanks you very much Gregoire, Vincent, Juliette and everyone else at for being such great hosts.

What nonsense!! terrible to see this type of stuff being taught on coaching courses.

Our latest research is now available open access for free in the Journal of Sports Sciences.

This study explored the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of strength and conditioning coaches in international women’s rugby union, focusing on perceived differences in how male and female athletes are coached. By examining these perspectives, the research aimed to understand how communication and interpersonal approaches differ between the s*xes and how these differences shape coaching practices.

Swipe through this carousel to read the key points of this study!

Irish S&C Conference 2024…

I think I have finally decompressed after the weekends conference.

What a fantastic weekend bringing together such amazing speakers, companies and attendees for the biggest conference to date!

Each year we can’t believe how much bigger it has gotten (and we also promise ourselves we will recruit more people into our organising team but that hasn’t happened yet).

We were delighted to be able to facilitate the very first Gaelic Games Athletic Development community of practice event, and I was personally honoured to be the MC for this event.

I just want to express thanks to everyone who spoke across the two days, everyone who helped on the day, and of course our wonderful exhibitors and attendees who make this conference even possible.

I am proud to say the Irish S&C Conference is now cemented as a key event in the Irish S&C calendar now.

Hopefully we can continue to grow both it and the in the years to come!

Last chance to buy tickets to this years Irish S&C Conference.

Registrations close at end of day today, so if you want to come to the biggest event in Irish S&C, get your tickets today!

Please note that if you purchase a ticket to the conference, it also grants you entry to the Gaelic Games Event on the Friday evening!

See you all in Dublin next week!!

Nice to get a paper accepted today in a top tier journal.. looking forward to sharing some of insights into high-level coaches perceived s*x-differences in interpersonal aspects of coaching in strength and conditioning in international women’s rugby.

Great to attend my first congress and present some our research today on s*x differences in response to matched resistance training.

Fancy learning from some world class practitioners on how best to test, profile and program for your athletes?

We are delighted to be hosting .mcgurn_strengthandfitness & for a one day event in Queens University, Belfast on Saturday May 11th.

Tickets are priced at €39.99 for non members and €29.99 for members.

Get your tickets now!

Link in Bio!

Delighted to complete my accelerated apprenticeship in carpentry under .clancy.3975 this week, and now with internal walls all studded out the house is starting to take shape nicely.

Division 2 champions ✅ job done ✅…

Final stage of PhD done and dusted with the graduation yesterday ✅

Exciting times ahead now in DCU as we move into our new state of the art sports science building this coming Summer, with very impressive S&C and physiology labs where I hope to teach and research for many years to come!

I’m looking forward to speaking at the later this month at

I will be chairing a panel discussion with , & .dunne about strength and conditioning in elite performance and its potential for in the general population.

If you are interested in attending you can use the discount code above for 20% off your ticket.

Thanks very much to & for having me in to record a series of talks over the past few weeks on all things strength training for older adults, exercise considerations for women, & general health behaviours.

Brilliant to see county councils engaging with academia in an innovative way. Hopefully we will see this trend continue with other county councils.

The recordings should be available online in the coming weeks.

🏐🏑Gaelic Games ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT Community of Practice Event. 🏐🏑

🔗We at the are delighted to help facilitate this event and excited to work with the Gaelic Games Athletic Development working group to bring this event together.

📣This Community Of Practice event will be shaped around the Gaelic Games Athletic Development Action Statement and the Gaelic Games Sports Science Framework, with contributions from Athletic Development practitioners in Gaelic Games.

📆 : Friday 16th Aug 2024
📍 :

📈This event is suitable for :
Gaelic Games Coach & Player Pathway participants with an emphasis on the club youth and adult setting (F3).

🗓This event will run the evening before the Irish S&C Networks Annual Conference.

🔖For those interested, there is also an opportunity to register for both the pre-event and main conference.

📆 : Friday 16th Aug 2024
📍 :

🎫 Tickets available via the link

Please reshare!

One of my students is investigating the prevalence of hormonal contraceptive use, side-effects & menstrual cycle related symptoms in female Gaelic football & camogie players.

We want to hear from players at both club & county level.

https://forms.gle/6kkq1po1J2cRHop5A

Ticking off a few boxes today for the Irish S&C Conference in Dublin this August!

I am really looking forward to what will be a brilliant (and night!) of learning, networking & general craic!

Only 10 mins from Dublin Airport too for anyone interested in a weekend trip to Dublin (or maybe even fly in just for the one day).

Enjoyed recording a talk for on the importance of strength training for health on Monday evening which will be distributed through the Councils website.

We have two more talks coming up, with the next focusing on female specific considerations for exercise.

We have a limited number of places for anyone who would like to attend the talk live.

See details on how to sign up on the socials and website.