What is the goal? Bigger, better, faster, stronger?

Acclaimed fitness coach Joe O'Connor has witnessed first hand the trends and techniques use in preparing elite GAA teams over the past decade

Meath's Mathew Costello, left, and Eoin Harkin of warm-up before the Allianz Football League Division 2 match against Galway. 

How big is too big? How fast is too fast? And where, in the recipe for building a champion player, does an intercounty strength and conditioning coach strike the right balance?

Joe O’Connor has spent two decades trying to figure that out, working with a who’s-who of top-level GAA talent, from the Kerry footballers of 2011 to the All-Ireland-winning Clare hurlers of 2013 to the Limerick hurlers of 2018 – building the all-round athletes who are as renowned for their strength and speed as they are for their skill.