Larry´s "secret" to fitness

What do the likes of Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Paula Radcliffe, Haile Gebrselassie and Larry Mullen Jr have in common? They’re all dedicated followers of the core exercise regime specifically designed for them by Limerick-based sports injury therapist, Ger Hartmann.
Prevention is better than cure, as they like to tell you in expensive medical schools – although Hartmann has always known that. For almost 20 years now, after a training accident in 1991 ended his career as an elite triathlete, Hartmann has been treating some of best-known athletes in the world at his clinic in Limerick. More recently he has found his expertise in increasing demand outside of the sporting world.
Hartmann’s methods go well beyond the treatment of injuries. He not only identifies the source of the problem, he instils the positive mindset to ensure full and proper recovery. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an elite athlete or an actor or a musician,” he says. “If you’re performing any physical work, and are serious about longevity in your career, you have to do some prehab work, even just some stretching or strength work. Otherwise you’ll be on a Zimmer frame before you’re 60.
“Strength and conditioning has become more important in that regard, and it applies to every facet of life, even people sitting down at a computer all day. Part of the issue here is the lifestyle changes. Our fathers and grandfathers and even our grandmothers were doing more physical work, whether on a farm, or even riding a big black bicycle to work. They were conditioning themselves, naturally.
“There is almost no conditioning in daily life now, especially among children. It’s practically gone from PE classes as well. That’s why core work and proper conditioning is ever-more prevalent, and has so much more of a need as well, whether it’s the elite athlete or not.”
Hartmann’s reputation for ensuring physical wellbeing, and the mental wellbeing that comes with that, has gradually attracted a range of clients from outside the sporting world, such as, for example, the U2 drummer.
“Many people do not realise the fitness and conditioning needed to perform at the top level in drumming,” Hartmann explains. “It is very physical and very good conditioning is required to enable the drummer to perform both on stage and in rehearsal day in day out, year in year out.
“Larry’s longevity and indeed U2’s is testimony not only to the great music they perform but their attention to keeping themselves fit and in top condition for the rigours of constant travel and concerts, especially as each member reaches 50 years of age. So a lot of this is about longevity of their career, whether it’s Paula Radcliffe, trying to run her fifth Olympics in 2012 at age 39, or whoever. Larry is on the road 33 years. And he puts his body through tremendous stress when he’s on tour, simply because drumming is very, very physical. There’s rotation and repetition and it’s all full-on. So Larry puts himself through a very good conditioning programme, not just cardiovascular, but all the prehab work, so his skeletal system is strong enough to be able to perform on stage night after night.”


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