Physiological demands
Playing Gaelic football at any level requires great deal of physiological demands. Over the past couple of years Gaelic football has progressed in terms of the physical contact and quick style of play. Gaelic footballers just like most athletes require fitness characteristics. Gaelic footballers show high aerobic power and work at a high intensity as they sprint frequently throughout a game. O’Donoghue and King (2005) findings at collage/university matches showed that players had recovery periods of 36.7 s with high-intensity bursts averaging 5.7 s. However the game has progressed enormously from 2005 and the high intensity bursts has increased greatly and will continue to progress over the years. The heart rates averaged 169 beats per min with inter-county players displaying less variability in heart rates, suggesting ability to pace themselves during the game. Gaelic football, whether inter-county or collage/university is very high paced with heart rates exceeding 181 beats per min. Gaelic footballers also require strength as the game has become a lot more physical. Gaelic football teams today would all undergo a strength and conditioning programme, whether the team is competing at a high level or not, this reflects of the physical nature of the game. Gaelic footballers would have superior upper body strength as there are plenty of physical challenges throughout in terms of ball retention and winning possession. Gaelic footballers also require speed endurance due to the high intensity and the time of the games (70 minutes). Gaelic footballers would possess great Vo2 max levels however they may not be as high as soccer players, However due to the high intensity Gaelic footballers on average have 160bpm or higher.
When discussing the physiological demands of Gaelic footballers it is important to identify the different physiological profiles of the different positions played in the game. A study on elite college Gaelic footballers by McIntyre