Jackie Tyrrell knows a thing or two about keeping in shape.
He played 14 seasons for Kilkenny and was a physical specimen in his time as he went on to win four All-Star awards.
But someone who isn’t in shape is NFL running back Eddie Lacy. He recently moved to Seattle Seahawks on a one-year contract worth $5.5m.
Lacy has struggled with shedding pounds recently and is now being offered $55,000 every time he hits a target weight.
And in a column in the Irish Times written by Jackie Tyrrell, he couldn’t understand the whole situation.
“Here’s a guy who was a star running-back for Alabama in college and who was great in his first two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He has real talent but he hasn’t been able to keep himself in good enough shape for the past two seasons to make the best of it. And now he needs a contract incentive to make a decent weight.
“Reading that, I was just baffled.”
Tyrrell continued to criticise the former Green Bay Packers player.
“How can an elite athlete with all these great opportunities ahead of him allow this sort of thing to become an issue? Is he not embarrassed? Even if he’s happy with being financially set up for life already, how can he let something as important as his fitness slip like that?”
The former Kilkenny hurler revealed how strict the fitness regime during his playing time and that healthy eating was of utmost importance.
“A routine basket shop should take any normal person 10 minutes. But I’d be there checking sodium levels and saturated fat levels on the back of food packets in supermarkets and it could end up taking me double that time.”
Tyrrell also recounted the time that he ventured across to Miami and met one of the highest paid athletes on the planet in Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is the opposite of Lacy, he’s a proper athlete and Tyrrell broke down how both of them have the will power to stay in shape.
“But I guess it comes back to motivation. I think of Giancarlo Stanton and what motivates him. Massive contract, huge profile, numerous sponsorship deals, millions made already, millions more to come. So what makes him tick?”
“I come to the conclusion that it’s the very same thing that makes an All-Ireland-winning hurler tick. It’s aspiring to be the best version of yourself. We all go different ways and have different opportunities. We all have challenges and perceived obstacles. Finding your way depends on you, what you’re willing to do, what gets you going.”
