Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine readily admits it has been an intense few months, but he is taking it all in his stride to fuel a German promotion push.
The former Hibernian midfielder has been an integral part of FC St.Pauli's side this season who are pushing for promotion into the Bundesliga.
Irvine has started 13 matches in all competitions this term for St.Pauli, as well as four substitute appearances, with the undoubted highlight being a 2-1 win against heavyweights Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal Round of 16.
"In my first game for the club, I realised the intensity here is much higher," Irvine told FC St. Pauli.
"I was used to having one week rest between games to recover, but now I play a game three days later."
Irvine credits both the Australian national team and St.Pauli medical teams as well as his sleep routine as the most important part of his post-match recovery to ensure he remains fit enough for the rigorous demands of club and international football.
Despite playing the full 90 minutes in both of Australia's recent World Cup Qualifiers, Irvine churned out another full match for his club just days later against Paderborn.
Irvine was pleased with the way his body reacted after covering 12.63 kilometres against Paderborn, more than anyone else in the team, despite having 180 minutes of international football as well as travel time in his legs.
"When you get into your late twenties, you think things will start to slow down and get difficult, but that's not the case, as the game against Paderborn showed," explained Irvine.
"Everybody has helped me to be as prepared as I can be and recover as well as possible.
"I think I'm in as good a shape as I've been in my career."
The 28-year-old hopes to be back on the pitch again at Regensburg this Saturday to help snap a five-game winless streak for St. Pauli.
It shapes up to be an important game, with Irvine's outfit hot on the heels of league leaders Darmstadt, trailing them by just one point.
"We'll have to be at our very best to get a result there," said Irvine
"We've had a good start to the training week and everybody's excited that we've got a chance to get the win we haven't been able to get for the last few weeks."
You can watch Irvine in 2. Bundesliga action for FC. St Pauli against Jahn Regensburg on Sunday morning at 6.30am (AEDT).