The People's Gym · Cork
GAA strength and conditioning in Cork
Club training covers the skills and the running. What it rarely covers properly is the strength that wins the ruck, holds the hit and keeps the hamstring intact in March. Our personal trainers build 30-minute sessions around your season and your position at our Douglas and Ballincollig gyms.
GAA
Strength for the club season
Hurling, football and camogie ask for speed, contact and repeated sprints over 70 minutes. All three come from the same place: a strong, well-conditioned body that does not break down.
Hamstrings, groins, ankles
The three injuries that empty a GAA dressing room. Strength through the posterior chain and the adductors, coached properly, is the best insurance there is.
Power and speed
Faster over five yards comes from strength first. Squats, hinges, jumps and sprints in the right order, at the right time of year.
Contact
Holding a shoulder, winning a ruck, staying on your feet. Upper body and trunk strength that transfers to the pitch, not the mirror.
Built around the season
Heavier work in the winter, maintaining and sharpening in the summer, lighter in championship weeks. The programme follows the calendar.
Around club training
Two 30-minute sessions a week that fit between pitch sessions, not on top of them. We talk to your club S&C coach if you have one.
Adults and teens
Senior players, juniors and minors. Teens train under our teen programme with age-appropriate loads and technique first.
Real Google reviews
From members who started where you are
In their own words, straight from Google.
"APT offer a great targeted personal experience to match your goals with an excellent depth of understanding of strength and conditioning from all their trainers and I would highly recommend."
"Great experience here at ATP. The trainer's are fantastic and they are very interested in getting the best results for you. They are very good at getting everything out of you for the full session while also making sure you are doing everything correctly so you don't pick up injuries."
"Excellent team of knowledgeable and motivating coaches. They can accommodate any level, from complete beginners to advanced athletes. Great stuff"
"Amazing supportive staff that encourage and motivate my son to reach his potential on his fitness journey"
How it works
GAA S&C at ATP
Every club in Cork trains hard on the pitch. Where most club players fall down is off it: either no gym work at all, or a copied programme with no coaching and a pulled hamstring in March. Strength and conditioning done properly is what separates the player who is still going in the championship from the one on the physio bed, and it does not need an hour a day. It needs two short, coached sessions a week that follow the season.
What a session looks like
You train 1:2, one coach and two clients, each on your own programme, for 30 minutes. Winter is the heavy block: squats, hinges, presses and pulls with loads that climb, hamstring and groin work every week, and jumps and sprints as the strength comes. Into the season the loads hold, the speed work sharpens and the volume drops so you turn up fresh for matches. Championship weeks are light. If your club has an S&C coach or a programme, we build around it rather than on top of it.
Injuries and coming back
If you are returning from a hamstring, a groin or an ankle, we follow your physio's advice and take over once they are happy. Getting properly strong before going back is what stops it happening again. Our after physio page covers that stage.
Getting started
Your first session is free. Claim it below and tell us your club, code and position in the form or when we ring. It is a real coached 30-minute session at Douglas or Ballincollig, no card and no commitment. Teen players start on our teen personal training programme, and our strength and conditioning page covers the general approach.
Memberships & pricing
Simple, flexible pricing
Personal training from €20.56 a session on a rolling membership, €35 pay as you go, and no-expiry packs from €289. See full pricing →
FAQ
GAA S&C questions
If yours is not here, give us a ring. We would rather talk it through.
When should a GAA player start gym work?
The winter, ideally. November to January is when the big strength gains are made before the club season ramps up. Starting mid-season still works, we just build it more carefully around matches.
Will lifting make me slow or stiff?
No, done properly it makes you faster. Strength is the foundation of speed. What makes players slow is bodybuilding-style volume with no speed work, which is not what we do.
How does it fit around club training?
Two 30-minute sessions a week, on days that are not pitch nights or at a time that does not clash. We talk to your club S&C coach if you have one so nothing doubles up.
Can you help with hamstring injuries?
Yes, both preventing them and coming back from them. Hamstring and groin strength is in every GAA programme we write, and returning players are loaded gradually following their physio's advice.
Do you take teenage players?
Yes. Minors and juniors train on our teen programme with technique first and loads suited to their age. Ask about it when you book.
Is it a class or personal training?
Personal training, 1:2. One coach with two clients, each on their own programme, so your position and your season set the plan.
How much does it cost?
Rolling memberships start at €179 every 4 weeks for two sessions a week, and our no-expiry packs never lapse. Your first session is free, no card and no commitment.
Get started
Claim your free session
Tell us a little about yourself and a member of the ATP team will be in touch to book in your free session.
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Manage your sessions on the go
Book your PT & classes straight from your phone, manage your membership and top up credits any time.
Find us
Two locations across Cork
Douglas
2nd Floor, Unit A1, Donnybrook Commercial Centre, Donnybrook, Cork City
Tel: 087 649 4134
Mon-Thurs: 6:30am - 8:30pm
Friday: 6:30am - 7:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday: Closed
Ballincollig
Unit 1A, Link Road Business Park, Carrigrohane, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
Tel: 085 725 2370
Mon-Thurs: 6:30am - 8:30pm
Friday: 6:30am - 7:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday: Closed