This week, Aidan O'Flaherty, known on Social Media as the Irish Physio, joins me in my kitchen to talk all things running. I met Aidan when I injured myself in preparation for the London Marathon. During our sessions, it occurred to me firstly, just how knowledgeable Aidan was on all things running and recovery and also how little I knew about how to run properly and recover effectively.

I then decided to bring Aidan onto the podcast to talk about these topics in more detail as the lockdown resulted in a lot of us taking to running in order to clear our heads and add movement into our days, however with that I'm sure came injuries and niggles that ruined the fun.

Aidan's history starts with a football career and due to multiple injuries led him to physiotherapy where he has completed a higher-level certificate for exercise physiology and worked in the NHS for a number of years before working in private practice. Aidan's focus is on running and running injuries as he has also completely fallen in love with the sport and therefore aims to help athletes and recreational runners continue to enjoy the amazing sport.

Aidan also had a past with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol which he opened up about on this podcast and although it's a hugely moving story it's incredible how he has completely changed his life and lifestyle as a result.

Topics we discuss:

His childhood
Aidans early career in football
How he pivoted into physiology
His personal injuries and recovery
The benefits of running for our physical and mental health
Importance of strength training
Importance of nutrition
Importance of sleep
Aidan's personal diet
Aidan's relationship with alcohol
Turning Sober

This is a fantastic episode which I wish I could have had before training for the marathon, it is so inspirational and if you are not currently a runner, I think this may inspire you.

References:

Pedisic, Z. et al. (2019a) ‘Is running associated with a lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality, and is the more the better? A systematic review and meta-analysis’, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(15), pp. 898–905. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100493.

Mancine, R.P. et al. (2020) ‘Prevalence of disordered eating in athletes categorized by emphasis on leanness and activity type – A systematic review’, Journal of Eating Disorders, 8(1). doi:10.1186/s40337-020-00323-2.

This podcast is kindly sponsored by Fresh Fitness Food, please use the code CATCHUPS60 for £60 off your first 5-day free trial

https://www.freshfitnessfood.com/

To follow Aidan head to @theirishphysio and check out his insightful content

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