Woods & Waters; Dr. James Sullivan

Were the go to. Oh goody. OH FUCK GOOD LUCK.

Oh you oh God love you Oh you oh oh oh oh oh oh. It's in water with your host but Levitt. If you're not feeling good we're going to make you happy tonight and healthy. Doc Solomon is here. Doc Sullivan he can make you healthy and he can make you happy. And who is Dr. Sullivan. James W. Sullivan University of Maine and a pretty good football player right after the early 50s. Now the head man at the University of Maine a Southern Maine.

Good to see your friend it's always great to see you. You look great I don't know about that I'm trying to hold my oh you're holding it well tell me about Jim Solomon what do you been up to when she left or no. Well it's quite a long story I don't know if you want to well I'll listen to it. Well I was real fortunate when I left University of Maine I was I was asked to come the University of Delaware with Dave Nelson. Where have I learned men learn how to fish. Well not that that all right or he just would just football and management and there was a lot of all the subtleties and fields and all Latin coach not only gave us that kind of background but he gave us a background. Where. He thought it was extremely extremely important that we know about the values of good living and he believed in it and we all did too. And. Those lessons of life will never be forgotten as far as I'm concerned. Tell me about the little general's ribeye haven down there. Well I don't think there's a man in the country that knows more about

football. I know there's not a man in this country that knows that football rules like the coach does. He's was the youngest member of the. Of the NCAA Rules Committee when he started and he John an extremely extremely great job with those rules over the years. And I know that for a fact I've read most of those rules as a as a as a change year to year. I've talked to him personally many times. And he's been a close friend of mine for many many you know when he came to University I'm a nerd in the fifties when you were a boy. And there was Michael Jordan in West Des Moines and so forth. All we were talk was football. Now the last time I saw David Nelson all he wanted to talk about is fishing he suddenly got the fish and your vision with it. Oh yes I mean I've got several ties with him. He in the summer he has a place on the Chesapeake Bay called Todd's point and we've been on and fish blows I had invited him up here to the allegation was several years ago and we had a great time.

So we've gone back in fact we want to move ahead one for one week a few summers ago also. He's really into that fishing and. He does a fantastic job as far as knowing where to go down to take me down Chesapeake Bay where to go and where the fish are he even he studied fishing. I know you know Jimmy was the last person in the world I thought would have a good interview you do but I've never thought he'd get really good at the fish in a way the way he had. But it's great for him to do that because I think it gives him particularly when he was coaching give them an outlet and something he really enjoys and something that his son too by the way Eric is an excellent fisherman just excellent. So over the years he's really come to enjoy fishing and I'm real happy for him because he had to record a hundred blows up in a one time a few years ago we caught up 100 one day and a hundred some on the next day four of us. Tell us we could pull him and it was just unreal at times.

We just unreal because you get excited to see showing you all oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah he gets excited he gets excited and see those fish and when there's no one there's no first to be found I've gone to him when we've been trolling the troll and no fish to be found. You know you guys were wrong or an innocent little fish. But it is it is just a joy to be with Jimmy here in the house. And No. Single topic is more important in America and especially in this day and age. Than good health. Tell me all about Jim Sullivan in good health. What have been games and what a vignette I know you've done three books. This is a magnificent thing here called management and health and fitness programs. You've gone to Brazil three times to lecture and conduct classes down there. Tell me what you've been doing. Well. It goes way back I think when I when I when I was young as you perhaps know I grew up and in Romford my mother and father were attending. And they were illiterate immigrants that came here there was 11 of us in the family. And

I'll never forget those days were real tough. I was real fortunate for her and after the war I met my wife who was a bass graduate. And. She. Asked me if I would be interest in going to college because I didn't have any money. But anyway we decided well I'll give it a crack. So we got married and I started college. And. At that time I knew and I realized what it was to be have good health to be physically fit. I was always physically active in high school. And as you perhaps know through college and after college. So. I really got to say to myself Well look. What can a person do for his her own personal health. Well that's a lot of person can do. I I started off when I start writing. I wrote a book called. Teaching physical activity to impaired youth because I was always had a soft spot in my heart for people that were disabled handicapped. And in that book. I had alluded to how people could you know teach and work

with and give some very important lessons to the impaired youth which was a handicap to disable whichever term you want to use in the next book I wrote was called fitness for the handicapped. Where I thought there were a lot of fitness activities that the handicapped person could do. And the last book. Called management of health and fitness programs that was a book that I thought was needed in the field because there were many many clubs as agencies as governmental agencies or private agencies there's universities. There's business and industry all have some kind of fitness programs. But nowhere could I find a very few. Can I find that had management skills to run and conduct those programs. So I thought the book that this last book that I wrote I thought this was aimed at those people and in it I covered them majority of topics some of which I think are really really important one was how to design a program. One was to develop a survey of

whether with interest survey would call then there was another survey a need survey talked about budgets and in their book and we talked about staffing and we talked about management skills and the principles of management and it went on and on and on. And so and then I described the programs and health you know very briefly because it was an A a work it was it wasn't a book a cookbook on the activities themselves the exercise and so it was a book that was based on management skills. So but I did describe the health programs I also described the fitness program. And as you perhaps know we at the University of Southern Maine have been running fitness programs for the past 15 years. And I along with Bob Folsom was very instrumental in getting those programs going at the present time there are perhaps 3000 people some of which are of the public we have students in them we have factory staff in them and we have every fitness program. That's that's no. We have cardiac fitness we have senior fitness to the senior

folks we have pulmonary fitness. We have a robot exercise. We have weight training. And we just go on so we go through and then we have low back. So we have a variety of fitness programs that the public are invited to want to join and they do. And the students in the faculty and I just I just. Told the gym I wrote in this book. That there are now 2000 agencies in America working in one direction bringing over health and so forth. And this contrast to the 30 when you began this see if it goes through your blood oh I know you would but I hope you weren't too critical. No no not many pictures and I. It was like reading the Wall Street Journal looking for the sports section. But anyway. This is so vitally interesting and so in part with respect to health. The thing I'd like to have you expound

on just a bit. Old gaffers your age not mine. What can one do in this day and age you can all get out and jogging run five miles. You can't do aerobics dancing and all those kind of things but in the way of activities where what do you tell the seniors. Well first of all I will I want to straighten out the terminology. I think the term that I like to use is chronologically superior. Anyone that's over 55 chronologically superior that means in my book that that person depending upon your function level can do many many many things. We don't expect them to join because as you get older the bones the bones take too much of a beating if you jog but there's no reason why they can't walk a fast walk. With sustain for about 20 25 minutes will give you the same benefits as somebody to go jogging for that particular time. The other thing is they can do stationary bike they can do a regular bike they can play tennis. They can play

badminton play racquetball. It all depends what they like to do. But they the point is that they should do it they should do it you know consistently at least three or four times a week. And the other thing is some some of the older folks and chronologically superior folks like to like to you know do weight training to keep their muscles in tone and I think that's very important. But the thing is it's hard to get them started. They just don't realize how beneficial exercise is to a person. It's extremely beneficial and you not only do a present person have to exercise they have to watch their nutrition have to watch their stress OK stop right there was going to get into food. Oh good. Well too much I'm not an expert. What should one avoid I mean all that I can answer. Fats got us you know a lesson ours look at me and then we're going to be flown out here doing his very best rant about cameramen to hit the big mine like that anyway. Facts are already relieved by the fat bacon

you know. No bacon. Anything that everything or good you want to you know although not a lot really. But what I what we like to do is if we do eat those kinds of things for example if we approach often oh my wife is very conscious and taken cutting off the fat. As much as possible. Like for example if we have chicken soup and she makes it from you know from scratch not from a can. Then what you'll do is let it cool and then as you do you just scoop off the fattest on the top I think but there's more there's more to it than just the facts I think that that smoking never help a person I don't care no matter you know. It's just not going to help anybody. I think smoking is real bad ever smaller and we years and years ago and I gave it up after the war 40 some years ago. You never smoked in college. No sure no. Right after the war I gave it up I became an athlete I said this is it. Like you could never smoke in a Coach Nelson. Well there are clearly who are clean living all the way. OK very good

too. We live by the principles and we expect that they're still calling you I still call coach I still call him coach when I write to him it's coach and the whole bit. We never change that relation joy and I do mean it all. But anyhow. I think the fact is the risk factor is that that a person must look at other things that we've been looted to as we're talking about we're talking about the cholesterol of fat and see when that fat gets into the into the arteries and clogs up those honorees. Then what happens is the blood can get through and if the blood can't get through from the neck up then you're talking about someone's going to have stroke like Paul Red Berry or red I think smoke for many many many years as I remember and then from the neck down you get some kind of a heart attack whether it's a van whether it's moderate whether it's mile It all depends on on you know and the situation that particular time. So the risk factors again would be. Try to get a keep away from fats as much as possible. Smoking stress and and. And I think when you when you did that an exercise is very important. That's why I

think it is very important to preach people exercise at least three or four times a week. I try to do it myself and I do it. And I think once it becomes a habit then they do it automatically regardless when you're older whether you're young now you know in our country the children are definitely not doing enough physical fitness activities. And that was pointed out from a girl in an orange or I forget her last name. One of the faculty member did a study I think was 30000 mayn children to 20000 and forget what it was and it was perfectly clear from the results of that study that the main children are not physically fit. What's the devil television television is bad we don't do much of it in schools we should be doing more of it in school. It should be a lifetime commitment. In other words starting young just like you start to learn how to read and write and walk and then they should start to learn to do some kind of physical that you think are schools on the secondary level high school and so forth do enough in the way of physical education you know. Do I know. I really that's one of that's one of our greatest weaknesses in the state Iraq is

that and perhaps the reason is economics we just don't have the money to hire the physical the physical education teachers that we that should be in the teaching and the other thing is many of the high schools think it's all academics it's all at the end I believe in academics almost from believing academics are extremely important it's number one. But the what the go parallel that someone has to you know come in with a pitch of physical activities. Now the sport's a great there's no question about sport. But after a person plays a sport what happens to that person. I know what happened to me. So whatever you just go down unless you have some kind of an activity that keeps up your muscle tone and your cardiovascular fitness. A lot of people don't understand that the heart is a muscle has to be exercised like the rest of the muscles in the boy's particular leg muscle. And as a result. This is where it's get the stuff in the school. The schools should be. And in my view. Emphasizing physical education in much as I emphasize the academic learning they go hand in hand they parallel not one of the above one below. And then

it becomes a lifetime habit. And then you're all set. Well I know you've made three trips to Brazil. Yeah. How important is the health for the fitness programs in Brazil. Well seven years ago when I went I think I went for the finals of the Americas and I lectured for two weeks on fitness. And. At that particular time I had been around the city many times of that you know in a Federal University of Rio Grande of the north and it's about a thousand that that city is about 1500 miles of Rio de Janeiro to northeast right on the coast. And I don't see many people exercising at all. So I spoke to the university people or anyone else that wanted to come through a translator and I gave them all a general background about different kinds of fitness programs. Well. The second time I went I lectured for two weeks on physical education for the disabled the handicapped population this past. This past May be a year this may last May I spoken two weeks for the the topic was health education. Well while I was it this past

May I was never so surprised in my life I used to go down to the beach every morning and I'd walk. A friend of mine who was a vice rector who was the called President they called recta down there had a heart attack in Germany a few years ago. And he and I would walk the beach every morning. I was amazed and I took pictures. Of some of the people that had bypass surgery I had some kind of angina or some kind of a heart disease problem. They were down there walking. In addition I saw many many young folks starting to jogging around and they had a beautiful jogging cause cause it's so warm we had to go for early in the morning. And so I figure somewhere along the line I musta made a little inroads someplace because now they're starting to understand and he's done to learn that fitness is a very important aspect of daily living. What can. Young people without programs in the schools be a junior high school be it high school and so forth. What can they do on their own.

Well the first thing I would do I don't I don't care how old a person is I think it's very important to have a physical examination. A medical examination. You can't detect some of the things that's wrong with a person by just saying OK you can go out run and you can go and do this you're going to do that. That's one of the reasons why one person enters school is very important and they do they have a complete medical examination. That's number one. And as far as as far as the others you know when you are in your teens or you're in you know below you know in your early years in elementary grades and even even sub primary and those earlier grades I think it's important that they do some kind of physical activity and they can do all kinds of things. For example just the other day I went by we have a childcare operation at the university and the Billings is attached to the gymnasium. In Portland. And I saw the little ones and I don't think they're more than three or four. They were starting to do a little competitions of little. Relays and a little jogging and

the teacher would say go and they would start. They would start the run that you say stop. See who would be the one who would be too. They have to be kept on that though that make sure that they are all one of the I think its very important that age that you don't start seeing the NLM better than the cars I think you cause all kinds of growing a problem and the other thing is that in a state of Maine we're blessed we just don't understand how great the state is in terms of its climate. In a winter you can jog you can walk. You can bicycle in the fall in the spring and you can ski and this many many types of activities you can play racquetball inside if you like that you can play badminton which I've done for many years. You can play squash. There's so many different activities that will give you the benefits that that will be derived from a good physical fitness program. So there's no excuse it's just a matter of. Am I too lazy. Well I get started. Who's going to motivate you to get started. And but once you get started and you know how well how well you feel after you exercise you have to get yourself in condition.

I'm I'm just sure you'll keep on for the rest of your life. So those are the activities that I think are important. Do you think that. The individual be it the young person or the senior or what have you. There's a lot brighter a lot keener and I'm thinking mainly of the kid that has to do studying. Bringing in top shape a balanced diet hopefully and in his doing physical training here is perhaps running off plan soccer or whatever sport do you think this is the brightest student of one who does not but if so there's no question in my mind I think recent research will will prove that regardless of or here age once you get your your body in condition once you get your body in condition in that it can do the kinds of things that you wanted to do in terms of studying your mind as more as more work and I think you grasp concepts much faster and then you do your. Then you do your regular program whatever happens to be they go hand in hand so that's right. I

agree that if the person is as academically shop it's perhaps because that person is definitely and good physical shape at least that's the way I see it and that's my own opinion and I think research would prove that regardless of the age you have any instances in mind where some youngster suddenly adopted that program. Yeah. Were turned him around just a little bit. Well I'm glad you asked. I teach three classes of beginning weight training at the university and just out of that this fall. And I have 40 some odd students I have students in there that quite were quite you know overweight. I had some students that just had the muss the musculature was there but it wasn't toned up and they were both you know men and women in college some of them from all different disciplines some from psychology some from education some from computer science. They were all and I and I polled them all because I haven't been writing. I have to fill out some kind of a form to say whether that is whether English majors or psych majors of philosophy or physics or

whatever their major is and I try to. And once I get them in there and once I told them to start you know gradually and I said look this is just a muscle strength and muscle indoor that's not a robot exercise it's not a cardiovascular exercise that you have to do is something different and we do have some of those programs too. There for one credit as good to them. So it's graduation. But they can't take the same course twice. So we do have a robot exercise and we have weight training for my weight training where students are both in weight training and they're also taken a course in a robotics exercise so they get the get the for the whole the whole picture by said this is good for my heart. But these are good for my other muscles. And considering that the heart is a muscle and that you want to you know use and work that. And as well as you want to work the other growth in the large muscles the growth of motor muscles that we have in our body. Take me down the road in the same class some of these individuals will commit overweight and so forth that are not done any of this and suddenly you get into it in good shape and 60 days later

they're real happy with themselves. How have they responded to the program Vera after I mean well I motivate themselves. After the introductory period Gee I'm glad you asked that question because just yesterday Friday afternoon. I usually work out in the afternoon late night sometimes 3:30 4:00 o'clock. And I went down to the right weight room on the way by. I saw several of my students that was in the class. They just they just got the feel that they've got to get their program and we want to meet twice a week as a class. But they were in there three or four times a week which they should so that twice with me in class and then they were in there by themselves which was very very helpful. And when I saw that and I go and I talk and I know and I get to know my students and it's important to me to get to know my students I know sometimes there is such a class of you never get to know the student I like to know my students where they come from and they come from all over the state and some from as the Jews and Ramon the whole bit. But make a long story short I think that once I go down and I check then I know that they're really caught on. So

they're down there but they're not in class but they're down there and they know it's important they know they've been there want to they want to improve themselves they want to get themselves and they want to get themselves in better shape. And once they do that. And have to be in a semester I'm sure I'll see him in there again. Let me turn the clock back just a few years you weighed about 190 pounds playing football as I recall your sister just got a good memory and you're a tackle you were a tough little guy. Well I can say that because it was true. What did you get out of football. Good a lot of blood left you something down through the what did it teach you. You know I think I think the first thing that people. That youngsters get to play sports. I think the first thing is they get they get to learn where loyalty is. They get to learn what leadership is all follow ship. You know they're going to be leaders or they're going to be followers. They get to they get to learn to be dedicated to a particular physical activity or sport and in this particular case it gives you

some feeling of teamwork. You can't play football unless you're a teen you can't be an individual. That's not an individual sport like track you get to be a part of a team and if you're not part of that working team. No way. I think. If I when I put those factors together you know leadership. The. Morale. Attitude. And I think the idea of working as a as a team is very important your dedication to your coach your loyalty to your coach you're in your way you learn training roles. And in my imagine some you know some break those trend lines but I think if you're really sincere and you really want to be a good athlete. Those are the kinds of things that I flex will bring out an individual. And and I think those are you you keep for the rest of your personal your your life it's a lifetime commitment once you start to play. And you you go through it you don't quit you're not a quitter. You stick it out. I know when I played for Coach up there the first year I didn't play many many many. Hours or minutes even. I rode the bench and

I understood that but I was part of a team and I made the best contribution I could and then later on I can now learn my skills a little bit better the better refined I was for a string and so forth and so on. That as a kind of a lesson that you can't learn anywhere else you can't learn those things in a classroom. But no way. You've got to learn him either on a corner or on a feel. And I think those are things again I'll say and just repeat those things to last the rest you know your natural life. They're important to a person. But on the other hand. Although they're extremely important and you keep them for the rest of your life you've got to realize and coach always believed in this that you had to be a student first. He said What good is you. What good would you be to me if you were an All-American. But you're flunking. THIS COUPLE OF COURSE YOU CAN PLAY So what good is it. You had all those skills. So again it's hand in hand. It's good you've got to keep the academics up and your athletic school's right in there with it. Good to see an old timer like you a core logically soloist. Yes.

Dr. James W. Shelob and University of Southern Maine in Portland. If anyone out there group. No matter what is interested in health and the management of health programs this book is highly recommended. He can be easily reached that you am Southern Maine. Good to see you Jim it's always great to see you and good night everyone. Oh blow the load a good logo on the game. Load load you quote. You are all over the globe. 0 0 0 0

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