After a tumultuous four years off the pitch, and having experienced both adversity and remarkable success on it, Cork's indestructible camogie star Ashling Thompson has bashed her way out the other side.
Tomorrow, we'll bring you our full feature interview with the Mildford maestro, but today, we're focusing on her BS-free health and fitness tips for the winter of 2017.
The former All-Ireland-winning captain is one of Irish sports most outspoken advocates for mental health; she suffered incomprehensible personal tragedy in 2012, when she lost both a close friend and her partner to suicide. She first encountered the issue, however, following a car crash in 2009, which prevented her from playing camogie - her predominant life passion - for a lengthy spell.
Thompson has since all-but conquered the devil-on-shoulder conundrum she once faced, and since first telling her story publicly in 2015 - earning the admiration of a nation - has become a Red Bull athlete. Considering her athletic ability, leadership qualities and mental fortitude, the Newtownshandrum woman was a perfect candidate to spearhead an upcoming health and fitness drive.
Of course, you wouldn't be human if you didn't get 'notions' about your diet and general health over the holiday season. Much to our relief, however, Thompson suggests radical overhaul for the new year is doomed to failure, and to instead take your winter fitness efforts at your own pace. Phew!
Here are her three BS-free tips to power through those winter blues:
1) Calm the feck down about dieting
I think a lot of people tend to stress out way too much about going from eating sweets and shit constantly over Christmas into, you know, rabbit food!
A complete stop to eating bad food... That's like feckin' somebody who smokes 20 fags a day and turning around and taking their box of fags off them and expecting them to quit completely. You definitely develop an addiction to shit food. So, I think people should just ease their way into healthy eating.
Like, even though I play sports and I train five, six days a week, I still give myself leeway because I know I'd crack up if I kept eating 100% healthy, 24 hours, seven days a week. I just can't do that.
People need to stop stressing out, and weighing what they're eating. Literally eat whenever you want - every few hours. Snack away on fruit, or whatever, but don't have a food timetable. Don't be concentrating that much on your intake. Once you exercise, it doesn't really matter what you take in as long as it's reasonably healthy. But at the same time, if you want to have a bar of chocolate, go'way and have a bar of chocolate. It's not going to make that much of a difference.
Stop overthinking it. Maybe look up healthy foods and fun ways to eat them instead of feckin' taking your gravy out of your dinner, like!
Gym who?
When it comes to working out, even the fitness campaign I'm doing for Red Bull - mine is based on core. Because when you're working your core, you're essentially doing a full-body workout.
And core is brilliant, because you can do it from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a mat or even a towel.
Look up your core exercises. They go from being easy to being difficult. You can add weight. You can take off weight. You've got squats, lunges, planks.
You don't need any gym, as well, if you're stuck for money. You don't need any equipment unless you want to go to the next level.
Energy drinks can give you the necessary kick up the backside
Running on the road is free. Take 20 minutes out of your day, go for a jog. It's things like that - I think people tend to stress out on schedules and timetables, the weight of their food and how many times a week they need to go to the gym. If you feel like heading out for a run, take the 20 minutes and do it.
In terms of motivating yourself, especially after work and things like that... One thing people ask me is how the Red Bull campaign I'm doing ties in with fitness and workouts. But basically if I'm at work, and I'm having a shit day - say I finish up at 4 o'clock and I might have training at six - I'll literally just drink a can of Red Bull, and that's how it works for me. It literally gives me that kick up the hole to go to training even if I really, really don't feel like it.
I certainly don't wake up and drink it in the morning for no reason - I drink it when I need that kick, when I don't feel like training whatsoever. That's how it works.
So, just to sum up, the main thing is don't stress, like. Take it as it comes and ease your way into it. Do not stress out about the whole thing, because at the end of the day, you have to do what makes you happy.
Our full interview with Ashling Thompson will be available on-site from tomorrow evening, depending on how sore our cores are.
