The training of the body for games, athletics, gymnastics, and other forms of exercise and for health, growth, and development

Front matter

ESATHIETIDS’^ t

THE TRAINING OF THE BODY.

THE HUMAN SKELETON.

Preface

There are many excellent Papers on the subject of health. In America alone there are three, viz. ‘ Good Health ‘Health Culture’, and ‘Physical Culture’. England has several similar publications, of which Sandow’s is one. These are well worth taking in regularly and studying carefully, and they are very widely read, but somehow by themselves they do not produce enough effect upon the public. People rush through the pages, and then little remains in the memory. The same applies to the hundreds of Magazines which are published every year. In them are many valuable and interesting statistics, which, however, it is almost impossible to remember a week after one has read them.

Yet it is vitally important for us to consider some of these topics, and especially the topic of health and the training of the body. Most of what we do we do through the body ; through it we feel, and think, and speak, and act. Hence the importance of studying health and the means to health. The St. James’ Gazette, of Jan. i, 1901, had two very interesting quotations on the subject: —

‘ The dead century has seen the loss of much that the England of to-day would gladly regain. The country population which gave us matchless colonists and soldiers has shrunk with the decay of agriculture : the great towns . . . have spread like some cancer.’ (Daily Mail.)

‘ Amid the host of more important attributes, the last century is likely to be distinguished by its athletic zeal. Games . . . were not discovered till the late sixties. Then suddenly . . . athletics and football . . . leapt into popularity. Doctors say that the effect on the physique of the race is already marked. The omen for the century is a good one.’ (Daily Graphic.)

Yes. The omen for the century is a good one. But still the value of Training for and by Games and Athletics has

X not impressed itself upon the great majority; and still the fundamental principles of Training for work as well as for Games and Athletics are daily ignored by millions. National Education on the subject of Health, Training, and Athletics is terribly haphazard, if indeed it can be said to exist at all. There is much knowledge, and there is abundant literature, but these have not yet influenced us as a Nation.

What we need is something to arrest the attention of the reader ; reading seems to have become too easy. It does not impress itself upon our minds. We read without putting into practice. In this book I have tried to enforce the arguments, partly by allowing them to take up a good deal of space, and partly by marking the important words with capital letters. This method is not altogether to be approved of, but I have found it very helpful in reading many books. Capitals call the attention to the most essential points, and, if the excessive use of capitals in this book achieves the same end, there will be something to recommend the method. It had occurred to me to put stars which might remind the reader to pause and realise the meaning of certain sections, and to apply the suggestions to himself. But I preferred the use of capitals.

There have been many other difficulties in editing a book of this kind, and especially was it difficult to treat Dr. Schmidt’s great work satisfactorily.

First of all, I had differences of opinion, which were based on personal experience. For example, I could not agree with him that skill cannot be increased after the age of thirt}-, nor could I agree with him that flesh foods are necessary for health or training.

Then, again, I had to add a great deal to his advice. There were some recent researches in America, and there was the large subject of Games. His work deals mainly with gymnastic exercises, such as marching at the word of command. I have of course been unable to treat of all Games, which would require a volume to themselves. I can only lay down general principles, hoping that readers will work them out for themselves in special Games. For the value of this form of exercise is increasing in proportion as city life is increasing at the expense of country life. So I have spent a long time in suggesting how one may improve at Games, and I have pointed out that

XI

Games are essential to .the training and education of the body, the moral character, the social faculties, and even the intellect. It is high time that we realised, and that every Nation realised, how far better Games are for this purpose than mere exercises ever can be. I have also tried to point out how one Game differs from another in its effects.

This has made the book somewhat longer than I should have liked, although I have removed a good deal from Dr. Schmidt’s work. I have kept out some facts which were mentioned by Dr. Schmidt apparently because they were facts; for instance, the measurements and angles of the skulls of different nations. The following quotations will show the kind of passage I have thought it best to omit.

‘The main body of the occipital bone is shell-shaped, with a basal ^part and two lateral or articular portions. These are so arranged ‘around the great foramen of the occiput that the basal portion lies ‘in front of it, the main body behind, and the articular portions at ‘either side.’ (Dr. Schmidt's Section 13.)

‘The temporal bones fall naturally into: (i) a flat part which, joining ‘\vith the parietal bone, forms the wall of the tempofal fossa with the ‘articular fossa for the articulation of the lower jaw or infra-maxillary ‘bone. In front of this lies the zygomatic process, which unites with ‘the cheek-bone to form the zygomatic arch, which helps to determine ‘the shape and character of the face. (2) The mastoid portion....’ (Do.)

The passages are full of technical terms. Such terms I have tried to simplify or have omitted. I have omitted most of the names of diseases, since the purpose of this book is to keep people well, and to guard them against disease beforehand. The names of bones and muscles etc., which would be useful for medical specialists, have also been left out for the most part, the illustrations being allowed to tell their own tale. The abstract language in which German abounds has been simplified. The following passage is an example.

‘The thing which specially corresponds with the tonic automatic ‘action is the semi-automatic, i.e. spontaneous preservation of equili- ‘brium by continuous muscle-tension.” (Dr. Schmidt’s Section 212.)

I might have omitted many pieces of advice that few readers will have the courage to put into practice ; for instance, the proper shape for shoes and socks, the system of long distance walk-

Xll ing with bent legs, and so on. But I thought it better to give everyone the chance of trying these ideas, since thousands have found them useful in their own experiences. This must be the excuse for a great deal of detail, each reader being left to accept or reject any of this advice according to his own personal experience. This applies equally to diet.

In speaking of what has come within my own experience, I may mention the effect which must be produced on the spectator by the sight of the lawn-tennis tournaments at Homburg. He could not fail to be struck by the keenness and sportsmanlike play of the Germans and other people, who are taking also to football, hockey, and rowing, and the various forms of Anglo-Saxon exercises. Nothing can make Nations respect one another so much as intercourse by means of games ; and, besides this. Nations are now learning this great secret of the success of the English-speaking peoples, and will soon adopt games as a part of their education as opposed to mere gymnastics or other exercises. The German Emperor is too openminded to neglect so valuable a means as this of helping on his nation ; and here victory and the desire for victory are least likely to lead to ill-feeling and jealousy. Each Nation may add its own contribution to the total number of games, and to the ways of playing them. America can teach us the use of electric light to enable large numbers of athletes to get exercise in crowded cities. For example, one can play games with rackets by electric light on the sixth floor of a building in Boston.

Games and athletics and sport are a magnificent preparation for war, while, on the other hand, they are the great influence of the present day that is making for unity by mutual understanding and (therefore) mutual resp>ect, while differences of language, of commercial aims, of customs, and even of dress and appearance stand in the way of this true unity. When many Nations compete in many games, as England competes with America in some few games already, and when games have become more democratic, the intercourse between nations will change for the better. Each Nation has certain games of its own and needs certain other games to develop the qualities in which it is wanting. New York business men should take up some form of sport which might develop patience. The xm

English, on the other hand, need more steady practice. They should borrow the Swedish system of gymnastics. The Germans sadly need games to improve them in promptitude and generosity: lawn tennis and football would be among the best. With the Germans practice is a second nature : they want to improve at games, but they have no idea how to do it. This book may show them how to improve their standard of play by cheap means, at the same time that they develop their bodies.

But the book is not only for those who do not speak English : it is for the English-speaking race in particular. We are more likely to practise exercises which are healthy, if we know that they will raise our standard at games. We have given to the world of athletics far more than we have received, and it is time that we looked about us to see what we can borrow and adopt. From America we have lately borrowed and adopted the car such as they use in New York. Let us see whether we might learn lessons from them in athletics, also, and from Germany and other Nations as well. From the German system of drill we may learn to develop the less used parts of our bodies. We have given much to others, — for example, such games as football, cricket, and lawn tennis. But we can get back from others almost as much as we have given them, if only we are on the look out for improvements.

It is an aim qf my work to supplement the games which we already play, by exercises and other means — for instance, by exercises for the lungs; and to prepare for these games in a scientific way, by making sure that the correct positions and movements are mastered thoroughly as the foundations of good play. And I am trying also to offer advice about games for the benefit of the Germans and other people who need to cultivate a good eye and rapid power of adaptation in the pleasantest possible way. For the pleasure and joy of games are among their chief recommendations: this is why we prefer them to mere exercises. If, however, we could be assured that the supplementary and preparatory exercises would increase our success at games, they then would become, if not enjoyable, at least bearable. What would have to be done consciously and with effort at first, would soon become sub-conscious and practically automatic. Nor must we forget that it is on our health that the future success of our nation will largely

JvlV depend. Our women must not be neglected here. Our health and our success will at present depend largely on whether we and they take exercise or not. Whether we take exercise or not will depend largely upon whether exercise interests us or not.

We need education on the subject of games as well as on the subject of health, but this latter subject is one of the most important for us, and every year it will become more so. The ordinary man, after his school and university life, begins a more or less sedentary life in an office. He may have learnt Anatomy and Physiology, but he has not learnt Hygiene. His mother has not taught it to him, since his mother has never learnt it. His teachers have not taught it to him, since his teachers have never learnt it. Throughout our highest education, at private schools, at Public Schools, at the University, most of us have no single word of teaching on the subject.

Now people can keep in health so long as they have regular exercise six times a week, but in an office, with a game twice a week at the very most, they become unhealthy and do not know of any cure. I hope that this book may do something towards enlightening the h’ard-workers, on this vital topic, which surely should be taught and studied from the ver}- earliest years up to the very latest.

The scope of this book will be seen from the summary in Part VI p. 479. Here I need only give a vague idea of it by a few examples. Good sample-pages would be 35, 89 loi, 138, 177, 179, 255.

Many interesting questions are wont to suggest themselves to us from time to time. We ask ourselves, for example : Which are the best exercises? Are the same exercises good for us at different times of life, at different times in the year, at different times in the day? What does exercise do for us? How can we learn to play games and to take exercise in the best way? How can we find out our faults and how can we correct them when we have found them out? What is the best way of walking? What is the best way of sitting? W hat is the best way of breathing? Why do runners frequently hold their arms to their sides while they run, and why do they frequently try to cling to solid objects when they are out of breath? Why are some puny exercises very tiring, not only to parts of the body, but even to the whole body? What is

XV the effect of hard brain-work upon a game or upon exercise when it is done just before the game or exercise?

Or questions about details may occur to us : for instance, why should a stroll often be far more tiring to the legs and to the head than a brisk walk? Why does a fast runner so often turn in his toes ? Or, what are the best kinds of shoes or boots? Or numbers of us ask what is perhaps a far more important question than all of these : Which are the best foods, and which are the worst?

These and many other questions will be answered in this book. The reader will get an idea of the scope of the work,

if he looks at some answers to these questions, given in vague

outline. What I say here is of course only a fraction of the whole answer.

The best exercises are those which are taken in the best air, those which bring into play the largest muscle-areas, those which give most exercise for the lungs etc., with the least

fatigue, and those which are most rhythmic, and (to some

extent) those which have been practised most, etc., etc.

Different periods of life demand different exercises. To take two extremes, the very young need many short exercises of speed, and not exercises of strength or endurance. In middle life we need some exercises of strength and endurance, and not so many of speed.

Exercise tends to increase the number of heart-beats. The heart pumps the blood more quickly through the body, and the blood carries with it more nourishment and force, and repairs the tissues of the body more quickly, and it also carries off the Carbonic Acid and the ‘Waste-products’ more quickly.

We can learn games and exercises best by practice of the right kind, apart from the real game or exercise itself. At first we should practise under the easiest possible conditions, and very very slowly and correctly, and we should practise ‘ Part by Part ’ before we attempt to combine the various parts. As to correcting faults, or rather as to finding out first of all what they are, we must analyse the whole movement into its various jiarts (some movements containing ten or more parts), and among these parts we must include the position of the various parts of the body, a consideration which is often neglected by teachers of games. We must find out in which

XVI part or parts our mistakes lie, and we must correct this part or these parts with great care. If necessary, we may even have to practise the opposite fault, or (still better) we may have to practise certain obstacle-exercises, after which the simple exercise itself will be all the easier.

As to the best way of walking — for long distances at any rate — walking with bent legs needs less effort, if only one dared to do it, and if only one had practised well beforehand, but not otherwise.

As to the best way of sitting, much depends on the chair, and on the desk. It is an important consideration, as such a large amount of time is spent in sitting. For instance, in reading or writing, the desk should be sloping, we should sit straight up and straight in front of it, and the paper should be also straight in front of us, so that we do not curve the Spine.

The best way of breathing is through the nose, partly because the nose filters the air and warms it. Not long ago, while walking in London, near Covent Garden, I counted only five people out of fifteen breathing through the nose ; the rest were breathing through the mouth. The breathing-in should also be upwards, the chest being filled upwards, and in ‘ practice ’ the shoulders may sometimes be lifted while the breath is being inhaled.

As to why runners frequently hold their hands and arms close to their sides, and cling to solid objects when they are out of breath, it is because the ordinary breathing apparatus is not always sufficient to give them breath. We have in our bodies what may be called a ‘ false ’ or extra breathing-apparatus, and this is brought into play best if the arms and shoulders are kept firm. In other words, breathing can be helped by certain more or less artificial means.

Exercise is often tiring, quite apart from considerations of bad air and bad health, when it only affects a very small muscle-area, and a muscle-area which is little used.

The results of brain-work just before exercise are very doubtful, but experiments have been made which show that immediately after hard brain-work there is less power in certain muscles of the body. Much, however, will probably depend on the food which has been taken.

For the questions of detail — a stroll is apt to be fatiguing.

XVll and even to bring headache, partly because the blood settles e.g. in the legs, as it does when one stands. It does not circulate as freely as it circulates when one takes a brisk walk or when one makes ‘ full contractions ’, by the Macdonald Smith system.

Runners often turn in their toes, partly because ordinary boots and shoes turn out the big toe unnaturally. If you look at your boot or shoe, you will see that this is the case. The big-toe inside the boot or shoe does not point straight forwards, but turns outwards. Now the big toe does much to lift the body as one walks or runs. It differs from the thumb in coming flat down on to the ground, and to get the best leverage the big toe must come down perfectly flat and pointed in the direction in which one wishes to move. The only way to get it flat on the ground and in this direction is to turn the whole foot inwards, so as to make up for the big toe being turned outwards by the bad shape of the boot.

The best shoes and boots would therefore be very different from the kind we are wont to wear. They would be more in accordance with the natural shape of the foot, and, if one dared to wear them thus, they would be open, so as to expose the foot to the air.

As to the great food-question — the best food will not be that which is best for exercise only, but that which is best for sustained brain-work also. And here I differ radically from Dr. Schmidt, for I insist on the personal experience of each individual as being the most important criterion ; I insist that no one has a right to dictate on the subject, unless he can keep up hard brain-work and hard exercise for long periods together without feeling fatigue ; and I insist on the fact that the least healthy, that is to say, the people who are the most easily affected, are the best tests. I insist on a large number of scientific experiments under different conditions, continuing for a sufficiently long time, before any general conclusion be arrived at.

Other questions, for the answers to which I must refer to the book itself, would be : What is the reason of tiredness, apart from want of practice? What does the Oxygen do in the blood? Are there any exercises that might gradually help to cure such terrible complaints as consumption and constipation? How far should the left side be developed in games and exercises?

XVlll

These will be found answered in the book itself.

But my object is not merely to satisfy curiosity. It is also to encourage every one to try for himself, to observe what happens under certain conditions, to make notes of his experiences (and thus to contribute to our general knowledge), and above all to practise in the right way.

My object is to help people, and especially the young, to make the most they can of themselves. I wish to call the attention of all those who are in authority to what may seem to be small things, but which really are great. I do not wish simply to help the reader to success in games and exercises themselves, but to show their importance for health, to show how they affect the heart, the lungs, the digestion, the brain, and so on ; and also to show how games can be an education, not merely in Anatomy and Physiology, which are in themselves very important subjects, and which are best learnt if one learns about interesting games and exercises, but also in the great lessons of life, such as obedience to the right laws, practice and habit, co-operation, and so on.

While I am showing the best conditions for exercise, and the best methods too, I wish to expose a number of popular fallacies, especially the fallacy that “A game is only a game.” Many Germans (Dr. Schmidt is a happy exception) are for the most part under the impression that a game is not even a game, but is merely the development of muscles ; most English people think that it goes a little beyond this, but there are few who realise that in many respects a game may be the very finest all-round education and training which we can offer. This wdll be proved in Parts I and II. What I myself owe to the influences of games I can hardly estimate.

My own part in this book is based on personal e.xperience, and I hark back to this point. The personal experience of each person must be of more value to him as his guide, than anything else. But one object of this book is to prevent a great deal of unnecessary personal experience. I have suggested what I have thought most useful with regard to brain-work, training, diet, and so on, and also improvements in games, and in the carriage of the body, and in breathingi I have recently found, for instance, that to keep the left shoulder back is not only useful for the carriage, and for lung-development> and so for

XIX the ‘ wind’, but is absolutely essential for a proper stroke in a great number of Ball-games (such as Rackets). But what I have found out is probably only a small portion of what each might find out for himself. The experiences of many others are sadly needed, and it will give each reader a fresh interest in every exercise that he tries, and indeed in everything that he does, if he feels that he may be finding out something which will be useful for others besides himself. Throughout games and exercises it is of the utmost importance that everyone should realise this. It will raise the point of view from which games and exercises are regarded, and will encourage observation and memory and many other faculties. In truth, the personal experience of numbers of separate persons may some day prove to have been and to be the greatest teaching influence in the whole world. At present it is the most solid basis of the Science of Health. More on this subject of General Health will be found in a work which will be published in a few months.

Everyone wants to be healthy, everyone is interested in health ; but very few take the trouble to be healthy, and still fewer dare to think for themselves. They are the slaves of habit and custom and fashion. If this book does anything towards making the majority try new methods and then rely on their own judgment, it will not have been in vain.

Eustace Miles.

King’s College, Cambridge.

PART I. HOW TO LEARN AND PRACTISE GAMES BY AND EXERCISES i

E. H. MILES. I. Common Faults 3

2. General Hints 6

3. The Part-by-Part Method 16

5. Objections to the Method, Answered . . 28

6. How to Correct Faults 33

7. When Exercise is Least Tiring .... 35

Part II. Advantages Of Games And Exercises By And Of Practising Them Rightly . 39

E. H. MILES. I. Fallacies Exposed 41

2. General Advantages of Practising Games

and Exercises Rightly 49

4. Advantages of Special Games .... 62

5. Advantages of Special Exercises ... 69

Part III. The Bones And Joints. Balance, And Exercises • . . 73

2. Balance and Carriage. Exercises ... 86

4. Bones of the Shoulders, Arm, and Hand . 119

5. Lower Limbs, and Care of the Feet . . 125

6. Muscles and Fatigue of Muscles; Strength,

Endurance, Speed 142

7. Muscles of the Abdomen, and Exercises . 174

8. Muscles of Breathing 182

9. Some Other Muscles 182

Part IV. I. The Heart And Circulation. Right And Left Side Exercises .... 197

II. THE LUNGS, BREATHING AND ITS EF-

FECTS 235

BREATHING EXERCISES 249

THE SKIN, AND CLOTHING 256

III. FEEDING, DIGESTION, AND NOURISH-

MENTS 271

CONTENTS

>Lxii

Page

IV. THE NERVES, RAPIDITY, PROMPTITUDE 293

THE EYE 329

Part V. Positions And Movements And Exer- Cises 335

1. Positions (Standing, Sitting, etc) . . . 337

2. Motion in General 342

7. Throwing, Bowling, etc 418

9. Rowing 439

11. A Few Hints about Ball-Games (E. H. M.) 458

12. The Best Exercises at Different Ages. . 463

Part VI. Summary, And Final Hints 477 By

E. H. MILES.

APPENDICES

BY

E. H. MILES.

I. FOOD FOR TRAINING 485

II SOME FOUNDATION-EXERCISES FOR

■ GAMES AND ATHLETICS 496

III. TRAINING IN RELAXATION AND RE- POSE 506

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

[by e. h. MILES.J

For ready reference the following list of pages will be found convenient.

i6 foil. (How to Practise).

35 foil. (When Exercise is least tiring).

88 — 89. (Exercises for Balance).

135 foil. (The Foot).

i77t 179- (Exercises for the Abdomen).

255. (Exercises for the Lungs and Breathing).

268. (Notes on Water-treatment).

393—395. (Long Distance Running).

433 — 436. (Exercises for Swimming).

479. (Summary).

496—505. (Foundation-Exercises).

506 — end. (Relaxation and Repose).

The long interval between the printing of the first and last pages of this work— an interval partly, due to the effects of the war on trade — has made certain corrections necessary. Besides this, it was not easy to arrange certain questions of Capitals etc. with the publisher in England and the author in America. Hence certain inconsistencies. The following corrections seem to be the most important.

Preface, p. vii. To the list of Papers add — ‘Health and Strength’,, and the German ‘Sport im Bild’ (Berlin).

P. 66 (bottom of page): add— ‘Hockey on the Ice, as played in Canada, and the United States, is one of the most skilful and graceful of all games.’

P. 72: a.dd—‘Siaim^has many advantages— the cold dry air, the joy of self-command, the full contractions of the muscles, all enable one to. get through more exercise with less fatigue.’

‘ The Ball-Game Exerciser enables a player to keep in training and in practice without the loss of time or money. Odd moments can be used throughout the day and the year. ’ See Notice on the last page but one of the book.

!*• 92 (5 lines from the bottom): for ‘unquestionable’ read ‘questionable.’'

XXIV

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

P. 1 19 (The Corset): add— 'Mr. Macdonald Smith has shown that grace depends largely upon the base being narrow. If ladies cover up their naturally narrow base, viz. their ankles and legs, they naturally have to begin a narrow base on the second storey, as it were. Hence the small waist. Before we tell ladies not to pinch, we must first allow them to wear shorter skirts. We do not demand ridiculously small waists of ballet-dancers. Personally I think that the high heel and the narrow shoe is also due to a similar desire for grace (by means of a narrow base). ' If ladies would only wear lower-heeled and broader shoes, there would be far less harm in short skirts. To put it coarsely, men would not care to look. Our women would be more active and healthy, and there would be less tendency to pinch. A wasp-like waist with a sensible shoe would be almost an absurdity. The reform must begin with the feet. I wish some prominent ladies of fashion should set a good example.'