'A' Days. How many can I sneak into a week?

I wanted to write about my routine. I want to try writing about it as if I were observing it outside my body. I think I have about 3 versions of my work routine. I'd grade them A, B and C.

My goal is to have as many A days as possible each week.

A

• Up at 4:50. pack lunch and snacks
• Bring work clothes, dress in gym clothes
• grab shitty dunks. listen to something of value or motivating material
• 545 arrival at Lifted Boston (current gym)
• workout 6-645.
• catch breath
• Drive to parking area. walk to office
• shower at office
• in the seat, fan on by 730. 2nd Iced Coffee in hand.
• Some type of breakfast. bar, shake, or some eggs
• mental and tactical prep for prospecting dials.
• 20-30 dials. goal is to generate 1 solid lead.
• do follow up
• check email
• plan for scheduled calls
• sometime another snack around 930 or 10
• 1 scheduled call
• lunch
• read blogs, check facebook and other social
• 1 scheduled call
• meet bro at starbucks
• plan for next day
• try to leave office just before 5
• enjoy a nice dinner at home w wife
• 1-3 glasses of red. 
• get in the rack at 830 or 9. read for 30-60 minutes.
• hopefully sleep like a dead body ready to go at 450 again. 

Right now I think I have 2 A's 2 B's and a C most weeks.

Closing a chapter

I just spent a few minutes here browsing some of my old writing. What a crazy journey its been. If you told me that I'd be back in the seat cold calling and selling software again, I would have tried to start a fist fight with you. But here I am...

I always wanted to open a gym. I think I was born to coach. So I opened a gym. Over 5-6 years, I ran a gym that barely broke even (lost money). I think we put out a decent product, but I think I made some serious mistakes. Mistakes that I could have prevented by studying harder at Babson or by seeking a mentor who had done what I was looking to do. On that note, I don't even think I knew what I was setting out to do. Back then I didn't want to own multiple gyms. I guess I didn't want to make money. Well I succeeded at not making any money.

Mistakes:

1. Terrible location, great space
2. Bad neighbors, poor expectations set
3. Opening on day 1, zero dollars in the bank. (WTF)
4. Terrible understanding for the numbers. Break even, lack of operating budget, target revenues.
5. Spent zero time SELLING. This could have overcome bad location.
6. Trying to be everything to everyone.
7. Using groupon and living social as easy ways out.
8. Putting myself in position to fail.
9. No clear mission or plan.
10. No end game in mind.

Could go on and on!

Starting Over

I was motivated to start writing again by two blogs that I read everyday.
1. avc.com
2. http://themusingsofthebigredcar.com/

Absolute gold mines for business people. Check them out.

So, Starting over....

As you can see from the archives of this blog (over 100 posts), I was at one point working on the craft of writing pretty regularly. You'll also see that a lot has happened since my last post.

I plan to check in here 3 times per week. I am writing for myself, but I think my journey could be helpful to others.

Sullivan's Spring Training 2011

Visit facebook page for pics, vids, info:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sullivan-Training-Systems/157964640891450

This post is intended to give some details to those interested in training at Sullivan's during the Spring 2011 session. If you have trained with us before, seen the results, enjoyed yourselves, and think friends, teammates or enemies could benefit please post on facebook, shout from the mountain top, email, twitter, text, etc. Our goal is to get 40 athletes into the gym this spring training with us.

Start Date:

Early start: Monday, March 14th, 2011 (free week of training)
Official start: Monday, March 21st, 2011

End Date: May 27, 2011

11 weeks of training. 75 minute sessions. after school availability everyday from 3-8pm, plus weekend morning sessions.

What is it?

Typical session will follow a basic outline of 75 minutes addressing the following:

Foam rolling, self massage technique
Active or static stretch
Dynamic Movement, athletic prep
Core/Torso training
Power/explosive work
Strength work
Conditioning/endurance work


Who is it for?

Hockey Players fresh off from a loooong winter of competition.
In Season Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Soccer for 1-2 days of strength maintenance.
Athletes who plan to train with us this summer, to develop their strength and technique.
Anyone looking to get stronger, faster, healthier, leaner.

Options:

2 x per week: $549.00 total ( or 3 payments of 183.00)
3 x per week: $749.00 total ( or 3 payments of 250.00)

Gym location:

65 Mathewson Drive, Unit B
Weymouth, Ma 02189

1 mile from Weymouth High School, easy access from Routes 3, 53, and 18.

High School Hockey Playoffs

It's that time of year again, Mass High School Hockey Playoffs. Last year, on the coaching staff for North Quincy boys team, we sat out because we weren't good enough to be there. Not the case this year. They boys took care of business and we will be playing Franklin at some point this week in the D2 tourney.

If you are cruising around the rinks checking out the games keep your eye out for some of Sullivan Training's athletes. Hingham, Weymouth, Braintree, BC High, Fontbonne, North Quincy, Dexter, Xaverian, CM, WHP, Marshvegas.....this list goes on.

I will keep you updated on how it goes.

The Secret to Changing Your Body.

One of the most common questions that people ask me is, "How can I lose x amount of weight, in y amount of time?"

The answer to this question may look simple on paper but much less easy in practice. Do me a favor, starting today and for the next 7 days, build yourself a table that is 7 columns wide by 5 rows deep. The 7 columns represent the days of the week and the 5 rows should be labeled as follows: "Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner." Write down everything that you eat and drink for 7 days. Be honest. I have had clients return me sheets that include lucky charms for breakfast, and 8 captain and cokes with dinner. Once you have 7 days worth of your current nutrition habits, look for patterns. It doesn't take a nutritionist to see where you can make changes. Try changing one habit or pattern at a time. If you always have a snack before bed or after dinner, try cutting that snack out.

Allow yourself to have 3-4 slip ups per week. The key is getting back on track right away.

Some thoughts on progress/plans.

Based on your current workout regimen, do you know what you are going to do next week? Are you going to do the same exact workouts that you do this week? Are you going to change exercises? Sets and reps? Rest periods? Length of sessions? And on and on....

What I am trying to get at here is that you need to have some type of plan, however basic it may be. Repeating the same exact workouts from week to week will leave you mentally burnt out, and hating your trips to the gym.

My recommendation: Try looking at your workouts on a monthly basis. Write down all of your workout sessions in a given week. Then, plan to change up the volume (total work). For all of your lifts in week 1, do 4 sets of 8 reps. Week 2 do 5 sets of 5. Week 3 do 4 sets of 8 again. On Week 4 give yourself a break. Cut your workouts in half. Do 2 sets of 8, skip cardio and head home. I am giving you permission. Week 5 is a hard week again. See the pattern? This type of approach may be the key to workout longevity and the real reason some type of people go hard for a month and then take 4 months off. Consistency is crucial to maintaining your fitness and bodyweight levels so you aren't all over the place.

Give it a try.


Go get em,

TS

Some Friday Advice for Yas.

Some reading information for you guys...if you work in the fitness industry or are well read, these will seem really obvious. For my friends who work regular 9-5 jobs (probably 7a-6p), this stuff may help you steer clear of some previously shitty advice.

1. When you do abs, don't do sit ups and crunches. As new research comes out, the abs are designed to prevent movement of the spine, not create it. This means you want to be doing things like planks, bridges, roll outs, etc. Not only will you be improving your body's performance, but it has also been shown that these exercises activate more muscle fibers, aka are better suited for building your washboard.

2. Don't take a routine out of a magazine and haphazardly follow it. Think about things like: Do I know how to do this exercise? Do I know what they even mean? Do I need 10 sets for just arms? Does my gym have this equipment? Is this move too advanced or easy for me? I would rather see you grab some tid bits from here and slowly add them to your repertoire than to dive into some other stuff. Take the time to learn how to do things correctly.

3. Don't do "straight sets" any more. Example: a straight set would be to see 3 x 10 on lat pull down and do it like this, Do 1 set rest 2 minutes, Do another set and so on. Pair that exercise with a different type of movement, cut down your rest and get your breathing going a bit. You will crank up your ability to burn calories during resistance training.

4. Do more resistance training than "cardio". You burn more calories doing total body lifts than treadmill or elliptical work. Plus it isn't as boring, will help you shed fat, and build muscle (harden up those soft areas).

5. The best exercise for your six pack is "fork put downs".


TS

Recipe Help!

Based on a comment from the post with the grocery list, I wanted to share some info. The comment was basically, "Great! I bought all of this stuff, now what do I do with it?"

While Cait and I are definitely broadening our cooking horizons, we are by no means chefs. We always use recipes from other people. When cooking meals that will support your health and fitness goals, a great resource is Brian St. Pierre's blog, here: http://brianstpierretraining.com/index.php/category/recipes/. It would be irresponsible of me not to point you on to someone who has got 100 times more/better knowledge around food and nutrition than myself, and I really like Brian's stuff.

TSull

Friday "Cardio"

I know that I still have a lot of friends out there who are doing workouts from the 80s and 90s. I still have numerous people telling me, "Hey Sull, I did 90 minutes of cardio today! Aren't you proud?" To me, that is a shitty time to preach about, "well, you could have done x, y, or z." Getting in to the gym and moving around for 90 minutes is a nice accomplishment. I will however take this forum to tell you that I think you can be more productive. In stead of getting in 2 - 3 90 minute sessions during the week, I would much rather see you guys doing 25 minute sessions throughout 4-5 days. I think more frequency and being consistent will lead you to much better results. Your body will look better, feel better, and you will have more time left over for the stuff that really matters.

Here are 3 "cardio" workouts that won't take a lot of time or thought:

Set up your treadmill, do your regular warmup, and slowly start to increase your speed until you are going faster than your typical jog. Not a sprint, but something called a tempo pace (between jog and sprint). Leave the treadmill running, step off, grab a quick blast of water and gather your thoughts.

I want you to CAREFULLY get on the moving tread and do your thing for 15 seconds. CAREFULLY step off and do a set of pushups. If you can easily do 10 pushups do 10. For most girls 3-5 nose to the ground pushups will be very challenging and plenty. Do your pushups, stand up, and take a peak at the clock REST until the next even minute starts. Start your 15 second tempo on the minute, step off, do your pushups, and rest. Repeat for 6 sets. Finish with some type of basic plank variation for abs and hit the showers.

You could do this workout with any bodyweight exercise like pushups, inverted rows, chin ups, or squats. Be careful with exercise selection so you aren't crushed when you get back to your run.

Let this type of workout take the place of a 90 minute cardio session. Trust me, it is better for you and way less boring.

Things to fill your cupboard and fridge with

One of the biggest keys to getting and staying lean is to fill your house with the right stuff. If you have ice cream in the freezer and chips ahoy in the lazy susan, chances are, you will dust those until they are gone. If your house is filled with the stuff below, you will be fueling your body with good stuff.




chicken
sweet potato
extra virgin olive oil
onions
apples
turkey
brown rice
almonds
peppers
oranges
tuna
old-fashinoed oats
walnuts
broccoli
bananas
wild salmon
beans
pecans
spinach
blueberries
shrimp
natural peanut butter
cauliflower
strawberries
steak
whole wheat bread or flourless bread
pesto
carrots
raspberries
pork
whole wheat pasta
avocado
asparagus
pineapple
omega-3 eggs
whole wheat wraps
guacamole
cucumber
plums
Greek yogurt
quinoa
milled flax seeds
tomatoes
kiwi
whey protein
buckwheat
pastured butter
celery
peach

Approved Exercise List

Spend most of your time with the following list of exercises. It is by no means comprehensive, and there are 1000s of variations of each, but this should point you in the right direction. Plug these into your workout skeleton from Monday's post below.



Push:



pushup, bench press, dumbell bench press, standing dumbell overhead press



Pull:



dumbell row, inverted row, pull up, chin up, assisted pull or chin ups, weighted pull ups or chin ups, chest supported row machine, cable row, standing cable row, rope climb



Legs:



split squat, goblet squat, glute bridge, hip thrust, reverse lunge, front squat



Abs/Torso:



plank, side plank, back bridge, suitcase carry/hold, ab wheel or dolly, and any variations



Cardio:



Treadmill, elliptical, stairs, jump rope, burpees, running, biking, swimming, bodyweight exercises performed as a circuit.

January Workout Advice

Greetings in 2011! After spending some time with family and friends over the holidays, the recurring question that I seem to always get is, "what should I be doing in the gym to lose weight/build muscle/look better?" It comes in various forms but almost always boils down to the same issue. People just want to look better. Your average gym goer doesn't care about much else, and my friends are no different.

For most people, going to the gym shouldn't be a complicated thing. To me, each time you set foot in there you should follow the same skeleton or format with different components plugged in. Here is a simple, effective skeleton for your workouts:

1. Foam Roll (8 minutes): self massage technique that will help you feel much better, google it.

2. Do 5 stretches (30 seconds per stretch x 2 sides x 5 stretches, 5 minutes): a hamstring stretch, a quad/hip flexor stretch, a calf stretch, a chest stretch, and a lat stretch. Any will do, I can give you some ideas if you don't get it.

3. Train Abs first: when I say abs I mean your whole torso. Front, back, side, side. Think plank variation, not situps.

4. Use weights: Push something, Pull something, Do something for legs.

5. Finish with some moderate, quick cardio. Try 30 seconds of work with 60 seconds of rest for 5 sets as a starting point. You could use a cardio machine, do some calisthenics, or skip rope for this part. I will give you some more ideas in the future. Go moderate to hard for 30 seconds, rest for 1 minute and repeat for 5 rounds.

You should be able to finish everything in 60-70 minutes.

For folks who have demanding jobs and schedules, try getting to the gym on Saturday and Sunday with 1 or 2 weeknights in there. The weekend workouts help to battle against any damage you are doing in the bar room or the food court.


Email any questions:

tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

The Importance Of In Season Training

So you spent all summer and fall training hard and preparing your body for the grueling winter hockey season. You added muscle, increased your strength, speed, and conditioning levels. You pushed, pulled, and forced your body to adapt to the new levels of demand you were placing on it.

What do you think happens when you stop lifting, stretching, rolling, and performing your mobility work? Do you think it magically maintains itself all season?

The answer is no. College players and Pro Players train throughout the entire season, shouldn't you be mimicking the things that they do? You need to do some type of maintenance work on your body to keep everything functioning at the highest level so you can succeed on the ice. That is why I think in-season Sunday Sessions are so valuable.

We will be doing a big group session from 11am-12:15pm every Sunday to help you keep your bodies running at top speed. Session will begin this Sunday, December 12, 2010, so shoot me an email, text, or call to reserve a spot in the group. Cost will be $299 for the winter. Payment plans as always are acceptable.

tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com

781 831 3901

Adult Training: Winter Bootcamp

This Winter 2010, Sullivan's in Weymouth is going to be shifting gears a bit. We are in search of some new clients for our night time or early morning classes. Details are below. If you can get your Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, older sibling or neighbor to join with us, there will be a referral gift in it for you. Either a T-shirt or gift certificate, or training discount, whichever you choose. Please help spread the word and send this to as many people as you know!

Adult Training Camp (12 weeks)

Start Date: Monday November 8, 2010
End Date: February 4th, 2010

Session length: 1 hour

Available times: 6:30am, 7:00pm Mon-Thurs, and Saturday mornings

Cost: 2 days per week: $495 (or 3 pmts of 165.00), 3 days per week $595 (or 3 pmts of 198.00)

Some Additional Info:

Everyone's workouts' will be completely tailored to your physical abilities. I will never ask you to perform a workout or exercise that is beyond your current fitness level.

You will have fun and you can expect to lose 15 lbs!

Please email me at tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com with any questions or to sign up.

Here is video of a couple of my longest tenured training clients:

Sign Ups for Hockey Camp

Listen, If you want to prepare for hockey tryouts this year, you are an idiot if you don't do this camp.

Details can be found in the blog post below.



If you want to sign up, you must send an email or facebook message to Tom Sullivan with the following information to reserve your spot. Facebook Tom Sullivan or send an email to tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com



Name:

School:

Year:



If you send an email to reserve your spot before Midnight on Tuesday October 26th, you will receive a discount of $25, making your price $200 bucks for two weeks of training.

Introducing Sullivan Training Systems Preseason Camp!

On November 8th, 2010, I will be embarking on a new program offering with my good friend and high school hockey coach, Matt Gibbons. We will be offering a camp for high school hockey players, that will be better than anything out there. I don't like to bash anyone else's programs, I just know that there will be nothing like this. Here is a play by play of how the camp will go:

To Sign up: email tom@sullivantrainingsystems.com to reserve a spot

Monday, November 8th - Shea Rink Quincy
This will be our first ON ICE session of camp. We will have check ins, distribute jerseys and go over the game plan of what we are looking to accomplish for camp. We will hit the ice from 4-5pm at Shea. This on ice stuff will be completely different than what you are used to. We will not do suicides or wind sprints or any other useless conditioning exercise. Your conditioning will come from small area games, battling, and the up tempo pace of the skate, no standing around.

Tuesday, November 9th - Sullivan Training Systems, Weymouth, Ma
This will be our first OFF ICE session of camp. We are going to split the off ice sessions into two groups. One group will train from 6-7pm, group 2 will train from 7-8pm. This training will be strength, speed, acceleration, and endurance based. Find a kid who has trained at STS before and they will tell you that it is the best on the south shore. We will push sleds, climb ropes, throw medicine balls, and build leg strength.

Wednesday, November 10th - Sullivan Training Systems, Weymouth, Ma
OFF ICE session 2. New exercises, challenges, and obstacles to overcome. Training times will be the same.

Thursday, November 11th - Shea Rink Quincy, Ma
ON ICE session 2. More small area games, quick decision making, competing, battling, and challenges. 4pm-5pm.

Friday, November 12th - Sullivan Training Systems - Weymouth, Ma
Third OFF ICE SESSION, week 1 completion. Group 1 from 5-6pm, Group 2 from 6-7pm.

This will be how the first week will happen, week 2 will be very similar.

Cost for the program will be $225 per player.


Wrapping up

This camp will feature 5 days of training, 2 days off, followed by 5 more days of training. You will get 10 sessions in 2 weeks, 6 hours of off ice strength and conditioning, 4 hours of on ice instruction and development.

As coaches our goal for this camp is to leave you prepared to dominate at tryouts at your respective school. We are expecting 40-50 kids and you will have an opportunity to compete against kids from other schools and leagues. Don't trust anyone else with your winter season preparation.

The Washed Up Athlete Program - Part 1

As I sit here and try to write about topics that will appeal to the audience that tunes in here, I keep coming back to the demographic of the typical reader. You know, the people who I run into on the street who say they loved the last blog or the people who chime in from the comments section or through facebook messages, etc. The typical reader and most of my good friends are the following type of people:

• 24-30 years old
• former collegiate athlete, with a few pros thrown in there
• currently sitting in an office for 8-10 hours per day
• living in Boston
• time being the biggest hurdle to getting the physique they want
• pretty active with a decent knowledge of exercise technique from playing days
• looking for a simple way to get more out of workouts

Let's start with one of the biggest problems I see in this population. The warm up. Or the lack of warm up. And for the record, doing a few trunk twists, a couple arm circles, and finishing with a set of bouncing hamstring rippers is not a warmup. Here is the type of warmup you need:

1. Foam roll or some soft tissue work - 5 mins
2. Static Stretch - 5 mins
3. A couple of mobility and dynamic drills - 3 mins

(this week I will film a good, quick workout for you at the gym, that can be done in a commercial gym).

Notice there is no, "hop on a bike, or go for a quick jog." These do not warm you up for anything except jogging or pedalling slowly on a bike. I want you to start rethinking your warmup. Stay tuned for the warm up video. Later in the week I will address abs or core training, and finally with a couple of sample workouts.

Boys & Girls Summer Middle, High School, and College Athletes

Summer 2010 is right around the corner. This year at the STS Summer Program, we are expecting between 55-75 athletes. We will be limiting group size to 9 athletes. There will be a number of start times which you can find below. Each session will last 90 minutes. The program will begin on June 21st and run until August 26th. That is 10 weeks of focused effort towards making you a better athlete. If you want to add 10-20 pounds of muscle to your frame while getting faster, more powerful, and leaner, this is the only place to do it. If you are a female athlete the program will be a little different. You will not add mass, but get quicker, more flexible and skinnier. Send me an email at tssullivanjr@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Start times:

Morning:
6am, 6:30, 7:15, 8, 8:45, 9:30, 10:15

Afternoon:
3pm, 3:45pm

PS. College program starts Mid May (whenever you get home) and high school athletes who get out of school earlier than the 21st can start sooner.

STS College Bound Athletes.

Johnny McInnis formerly of Quincy Youth Hockey fame has played the past two seasons for the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. This year in 58 games played, Johnny tallied a ridiculous 42 goals, 31 assists, and 73 points. He was selected as team MVP for the season. Johnny spent last off season with us and was able to put on substantial size, strength, and speed which can be credited to the dedication he put in at the gym all summer. Plus when you have a high powered scorer who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, that's a guy you want on your team (Johnny is in the white jersey below). John is off to Minnesota State next year to play ice hockey. Congrats buddy, I look forward to helping you take your game to the next level this off season.

Another STS College bound kid is Brian Sullivan of BC High. Brian will be playing college football for Massachusetts Maritime Academy (along with Rich Aylward) next season. Brian has been training with me since I opened STS and undoubtedly is the most dedicated athlete I have had. He continues to get bigger, faster, and stronger, and I have no doubt he will be rushing for piles of yardage next year. Good luck next year buddy! Bri is pictured above rushing for one of his many touchdowns.