HOW I STAY FIT

Philly McMahon

AS the star defender for the Dubs, life revolves heavily around fitness for Philly McMahon. For the entrepreneur — who has set up a charity to empower youngsters in Ballymun, a growing healthy meal home delivery company, FitFood, and a unique fitness club, BeDo7 – almost every day is punctuated with some form of training.

“I’ll do one gym session, two to three intense pitch sessions and one GAA match a week,” Philly says.

On top of that, what people might not know about the 28-year-old Gaelic footballer is that he’s big into mixed martial arts, or MMA.

“Every chance I get I do a few MMA sessions and I also love boxing so I like getting in a few rounds with Bernard Dunne.” For Philly, the continued motivation is less about keeping it varied. “I keep it interesting by setting goals with my training.”

Philly has also spoke openly in the past about the death of his brother who battled heroin addiction, and, coupled with his charity, he’s hugely focused on the impact of sports on mental health and wellbeing. “It’s massive, the release of dopamine makes you feel good. We have a very negative subconscious as it is. Even when someone asks, ‘How are you today?’ the Irish response is ‘Ah, grand,’ so exercise shifts this mindset to more of a positive one.”

Philly, it’s clear, has taken the experience of losing his brother and channelled it into a more positive and proactive attitude in all areas of his life.

When asked about the toss-up between a training session and a few hours spent relaxing on the couch, exercise is the no-brainer. Why?

“You have to be grateful in life that you are alive and well enough to get up and exercise. That motivates me.”

He’s turned his fitness philosophy into a business: “With BeDo7, we have a unique system where we encourage people to be themselves, do more, and be a number 7, an original, scientifically formulated measurement of strength, movement and body mass.”