Peter Stringer limbers up for fitness venture

Former Ireland and Munster star looks forward to new horizons away from the playing pitch

Peter Stringer. Picture: INPHO/Cathal Noonan

Time’s relentless passage has done little to slow the bounce in Peter Stringer’s step, as the 43-year old former Ireland and Munster star makes a vibrant entrance into the city centre hotel. 

It may be three years since he retired from rugby, but the man trailing a legendary 98 Ireland caps, a Grand Slam and three Triple Crowns is looking forward to a new set of challenging horizons away from the playing pitch.

Promoting a coaching mantra that says “it doesn’t take skill or talent to work hard, you just have to want to do it”, the individual who remains the most capped Irish scrum-half is relishing his new venture in a different sporting arena.

Taking time out from a playing career that consumed over 20 years of his life, the legend they call ‘Strings’ was careful to choose a new career chapter that best suited his talents.

“Bodyplan has really been in my mind for quite a long time, and has developed from my lifelong attitude to fitness and nutrition and getting to a place at 40 years of age still playing sport at the top level,” he says.

Peter Stringer raises the Heineken Cup. Pic: Eddie O'Hare

Admitting that the essential idea was always there, it was a case of waiting for the right time and place to best execute it for maximum value.

Bodyplan is based mainly around two programmes — Executive Lifestyle and Aspiring Athlete. The former is designed for the cohort who want assistance with structure and planning around their training regime, in addition direction on daily nutrition.

“We all have busy lives and sometimes we lose sight of the importance of self care and the impact it can have on us and those around us,” Peter says.

He is specific about the kind of client he hopes to attract to this programme: 

It’s for people who want to work. I am passionate about helping people achieve their goals, but it will require time, hard work and an honest approach.

Coming from the man who recently reached television’s grand final of Ultimate Hell Week, it seems a lifestyle promise loaded with merit. The Aspiring Athlete programme is designed for those who are already functioning at a high level within elite sports, and are looking for a specific edge around speed, agility, mindset or mobility.

“I spent my playing career constantly looking to gain that edge, physically and mentally, that can mean the difference between success and failure.

“I have a deep understanding of how important gaining that extra edge is for the professional athlete, and this programme is based on educating and motivating individuals toward gaining that competitive edge. Being a professional athlete today is a 24-hour occupation, it‘s not just about the hours spent on the training pitch, but every aspect of your lifestyle that makes the difference.”

For the immediate future, Bodyplan will have his exclusive attention: “I’m happy to have a number of clients to begin with, developing the programmes and working through the first year. 

It will not be mass market venture.

He admits that it has been his most recent decade of personal fitness dedication rather than his early playing days as a 20-year old that have contributed to a sporting longevity his rugby contemporaries openly envied.

Calling on the experience that made him the most capped player of all time in European competitions, Peter is no stranger to the road best taken to achieving personal control in a career where those momentous moments of triumph were balanced against those days when the scoreboard of defeat was an unpalatable reality.

“Nobody wakes up feeling motivated to train every single morning and there will inevitably be bumps along the way — but a strong mindset is what allows you to stay focused on your intentions instead of negative thoughts.”

Stringer recently reached television’s grand final of Ultimate Hell Week

The unwavering discipline of having immersed himself in an elite professional environment for over 20 years has been the driver helping nourish his ambition to succeed. “I have always been my biggest competitor.”

In tandem with his Bodyplan business, the former scrum-half who played such a key role in Munster’s winning of that first iconic 2006 Heineken Cup is also an investor and co-owner of a new gym business opening in the heart of Cork city shortly.

The F45 fitness franchise, founded in 2013 in Australia and now operating in 63 counties, encompassing 2,800 franchises and 1,500 studios, will employ 12 in a dedicated space in the Elysian complex. A low-key opening in December will be followed with a range of membership options in January - that month when many of us look to fitness resolutions for the New Year.

“Being part of a gym and fitness operation was always an ambition, but I wanted to be sure of getting involved with the right one,” he says. “When the opportunity arose with F45, it was an easy decision.”

Described as the fastest-growing fitness franchise in the world, F45 currently has six studios in Dublin. Overseas the company has recently entered a partnership with soccer star David Beckham, in addition to actor Mark Wahlberg, basketball star Magic Johnson, golfer Greg Norman and model Cindy Crawford. 

F45 members in Cork will get free parking for their classes, in a busy complex that also includes medical centre Affidea, Aldi, Skyworks, the OPW, and the Bookshelf cafe.

Classes will run seven days a week for members, providing an innovative style of personal training in a group environment. 

“Our team will help each client improve their fitness levels and overall health markers through training and nutritional advice.

Our mission is to help create a positive and enjoyable experience for our members, in a close knit community.

A measure of the kind of high standards this remarkable individual has set for himself is best underlined in the words that marked his retirement from rugby in 2018, aged 40: 

“From the age of five all I ever dreamed of doing was playing rugby," Peter says. "The journey has been an uncompromising obsession filled with memories I will cherish forever.” 

It seems a safe bet to predict that the next chapter in the Strings story will echo to a similar uncompromising dedication.