Image and performance enhancing drug use is changing rapidly and it is no longer confined to elite sport or competitive bodybuilding. In today's, Bruce speaks with Dr David Nolan about his new research examining iPED use in Ireland. They discuss what people are taking, why they are taking it, the growing prominence of peptides, the influence of GLP-1 drugs and testosterone replacement therapy, and the increasingly blurred line between treatment, enhancement and aesthetics. The conversation also explores health monitoring, the limits of blood testing, barriers to engaging with healthcare professionals, the challenges of coming off iPEDs, and why this is not exclusively a male issue. David’s study provides an important first snapshot of a poorly characterised area of health and performance in Ireland, with plans to repeat the research over time and build a clearer picture of how the landscape is evolving.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:15 The Enhanced Games and the changing PED landscape

05:00 What are iPEDs – and who is using them?

08:45 The first Irish iPED study

13:15 What are people taking?

18:15 Peptides, GLP-1s and the changing drug landscape

29:15 Testosterone replacement therapy and enhancement

33:45 Health monitoring, harm reduction and healthcare

39:00 Coming off iPEDs: exit strategies and identity

46:45 Women and the changing iPED population

50:10 Who actually identifies as an iPED user?

53:50 Where does the research go next?

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Childhood cancer survival continues to improve, but what happens after treatment ends?

In this final episode of the Summer Series, Bruce travels to Navan to meet Cillian Maguire, his mum Tracey-Ann, and researcher Jenny Fitzpatrick to discuss the CHAMPS programme - an innovative exercise intervention supporting young people after childhood cancer treatment.

Together they explore recovery beyond the hospital, the challenges of fatigue and returning to everyday life, and the growing role of exercise oncology in improving health and quality of life.

A powerful conversation about resilience, recovery and how exercise can help people reclaim their lives.

This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.

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Few areas of healthcare have changed as rapidly over the past three years as obesity medicine.

With medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide transforming the conversation around obesity, Bruce revisits this insightful discussion with Professor Donal O'Shea and dietitian Aoife Hearne.

Rather than focusing solely on medication, this episode explores the biology of obesity, the importance of compassion in clinical practice, and why understanding obesity as a chronic disease changes how we think about prevention, treatment and long-term support.

The treatments may have evolved, but the need for evidence-based, person-centred care has not.

This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.

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When this conversation was first recorded in 2023, structured exercise programmes for people living with long-term health conditions were only beginning to gain momentum. Today, the role of exercise professionals within healthcare has never been more important.

In this episode, Bruce is joined by Annalouise Muldoon and Marie O'Connor, who shares her remarkable journey of recovering from an atypical stroke. Together they explore how structured exercise can help people regain confidence, independence and quality of life long after they leave hospital.

As Ireland continues to develop new educational pathways for exercise professionals working in healthcare, this conversation feels more relevant than ever.

This episode forms part of the ISESA Podcast Summer Series: Exercise Beyond Sport - three conversations exploring the growing role of sport and exercise science within healthcare.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the next few weeks, we're revisiting three episodes from the first season of the ISESA Podcast that have become even more relevant today than when they were originally recorded.

Together, these episodes explore how sport and exercise science is increasingly moving beyond performance and into healthcare—helping people regain independence after stroke, supporting people living with obesity, and improving quality of life after childhood cancer.

Whether you're discovering these conversations for the first time or listening back with fresh ears, I hope they offer a new perspective on the evolving role of exercise professionals within healthcare.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish Rugby's Will Connors explains how he uses AI, Machine Learning and Biomechanics to decode tackle safety.

In this episode of the ISESA Podcast, Bruce Wardrop sits down with Irish international rugby player and sport science researcher, Will Connors.

Widely regarded as one of the most effective tacklers on the pitch thanks to his mastery of the "chop tackle," Will operates at the exact intersection of elite athletic performance and cutting-edge science. After nine highly successful years with Leinster, Will discusses his upcoming move to Connacht, reuniting with Head Coach Stuart Lancaster, and the tactical evolutions he hopes to bring out West. Beyond the pitch, Will is a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin. We dive into his fascinating work using computer science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to map the biomechanics of the tackle. Will explains the massive challenge of teaching an algorithm to identify safe tackle execution amidst the chaos of a professional match, and how this data can ultimately be used to improve player welfare and reduce concussion risks.

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In this super episode podcast, Bruce speaks with Adam Sweeney, a 22-year-old adventurer from Waterford. Adam is preparing to begin a two-month expedition with the objective of becoming the youngest Irish person to summit Mount Everest.

The discussion tracks his progression through increasingly demanding high-altitude environments, analyzing his experiences on Aconcagua in Argentina (6,961m) and the technically formidable Ama Dablam in Nepal (6,812m). We detail the physiological realities of acclimatization, the acute effects of hypoxia, and his specific strategies for managing nutrition and hydration when performing at altitude. Plus Bruce and Adam discuss the the psychological resilience required to navigate objective hazards like the Khumbu Icefall and the physiological breakdown that occurs within the "Death Zone" above 8,000m.

You can follow Adam's progress via his social media channels:

Adam on Instagram

Adam on TikTok

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