By Pauric Grimes

“THAT two stone just sort of snuck up on me.”

It’s not as if one day I just woke up two stone heavier but over the course of a year or two after hanging up the boots there it was. The wardrobe gradually went from medium to large. The frequency of exercising got less and less. And the motivation to do anything about it wasn’t there. I was stuck in a post-retirement limbo. Unfit. Overweight. Purposeless.

Purpose is a heavy word. It intimidates people.

It’s difficult. It’s the sort of word that makes your arse shift in your seat. But if you can get a little clearer on what yours is, then we can chalk this challenge down as a HUGE success.

Purpose drives passion and passion fuels performance. And I know you’re a high performer. So if we can start to get some clarity behind how we get the fire back in your belly then the steps you need to take to get in the shape of your life, physically and mentally, becomes much easier to get your head around.

We’ll be using this FREE two week challenge to be the spark which Reignites that fire.

Encouraging you to establish a start point, both in terms of physique and fitness, and then looking at how focusing on alternative aspects like routine building, energy management and attention blocking can be the game-changing tactics that you’ve not known you’ve been missing.

Over the past few years I’ve had more and more retired GAA players come to me with a similar story. Generally it goes something like this,

“I’ve never had to worry about weight or fitness before because I’ve always training to go to and matches to work towards that would have kept me disciplined with my eating but without those things in place I’ve found my fitness is gone, my weight is up and my energy is on the floor.

“And I’m not sure how or where to start making a change as I’ve always had such clear and defined goals within sport that I’ve never set a personal goal outside of winning a medal with the club!”

If you’re in that demographic of retired baller then this is likely a conversation you’ve had if not with friends then certainly inside your own head.

It’s tough to change the habits of a lifetime, but putting the hand up and acknowledging that you’re no longer ‘the footballer’ is going to be the catalyst for incredible change.

Old keys don’t unlock new doors and that identity of who you weere is what’s holding you back from who you could be.

And really that’s all we’re trying to achieve by setting this challenge. We want to give you an insight into what you’re truly capable of.

Because you’re probably your own worst critic. I’d say there’s a fair chance you’ve stopped yourself going after good things since you’ve retired because ‘that’ person isn’t going to be able to do X, Y or Z.

We want to help you change the script. The ceiling of what you could achieve in the past was always tethered to the ambitions of your team, now for you, the sky is the limit. And I think that’s what scares a lot of people.

No hiding place when it’s you versus you. But life is too short to live in the past, so join us and take part in our two week challenge. It might just be the spark that reignites YOU!

Find us on socials @ Level Up Online Coaching and join the challenge there!