Brian Hurley likes to stay in tip-top shape for Gaelic football by borrowing training techniques from pals in professional football and Formula One.
The Cork star is close pals with Ireland internationals John Egan and Conor Hourihane - and he is always picking their brains in order to improve his game.
And he has also done a couple of sessions with F1 star Alex Albon’s physio.
Hurley’s pursuit of marginal gains isn’t just limited to the resources available to him with the Rebels.
“From a performance side of it, definitely, I look to other sports,” he told the Irish Daily Star.
“I love Ronan O’Gara. He is obsessed with his technique. You pick up things like that.
“I am friends with a few lads in the UK who play soccer and I am always bouncing stuff off them; what are they doing when they are playing their best?
“I’m always just picking up small things that I could try to bring back into my own game. If it adds a couple of percent, then great.
“I’m friends with John Egan and Conor Hourihane. I catch up with them when they are home and I try to pick up a few things.
“The two of them have played in the Premier League and that’s probably the highest level in the world in soccer.
“It’s great to pick up a few things from a recovery point of view, what they do week in, week out and stuff like that. It’s the small percentages that you are chasing.”
As for Formula One, Hurley’s eyes were opened to the physical demands placed on drivers when he started to watch the hit Netflix series, Drive to Survive.
“It’s unreal. I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“I’ve had a few injuries or whatever, and Alex Albon’s physio, his S&C coach, he did rehab, two sessions with me in Cork.
“I follow him on Instagram. I could not believe the neck work they do, the strength and conditioning, the cardio, the bike work and stuff.
“I just thought it was, sit in a car and drive.
“That made it (F1) more interesting. With the connection to Alex’s physio, it made me follow what he was doing as well.
“It’s not just the skill of timing or whatever, it’s the amount of work they do on the shoulders and neck side of things.
“He was telling me about the effect the weight of the helmets and the speed, and even the wind can have on you. It’s mad.
“That’s an interesting side of it that we never saw before. I couldn’t get over that side of it.
“I think it’s the same in golf, the amount of work they do on the S&C side of it for power, we don’t see that side of it.”
Hurley has rediscovered his love of Formula One thanks to the Drive to Survive series - a no-holes-barred behind-the-scenes documentary about the sport.
He would love to attend a race, but concedes that he will have to wait until he hangs up his boots.
As for getting into the seat of a race car himself, he said: “I’d love to, but even to be there, I’d say it’s pretty cool. Seeing the inside of it on Netflix has really pulled me in.
“I used to watch it a lot as a kid. When the series came out it really got me into it again.
“But it’s a bit of a disaster, you are training or playing at the weekend and you are racing back to see it.
“Monte Carlo or even the new Vegas track is something I’d love to do, if I’m being honest.”
Hurley added: “My father has a Honda garage, so that probably drove my interest in the sport. I was brought up watching cars and stuff like that.
“My wife got a voucher (for Mondello). I didn’t get a run off it yet, because my father had a small accident during Christmas.
“He’s got a voucher too, so we were going together. We are due to go soon, hopefully, when his hand is fully mended.
“He has been up to Mondello with the garage, they get brought up by Honda. I’ve been there but I haven’t actually driven a car there. It would be a nice experience, hopefully.”
# ALLIANZ INSURANCE has teamed up with Cork senior footballer, Brian Hurley, the scorer of a goal and a point in last Sunday’s Allianz League win over Limerick last Sunday.
This year, for the second time ever, the outcome of the Allianz Football League has a direct impact on qualification for the GAA All Ireland Senior Football Championship, heightening interest in the competition.
This season, the Allianz Leagues will continue to showcase not only the rivalries between teams, but often the opportunity for players themselves to claim their spot in the county panel.
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