Practical training for athletics, health, and pleasure

Front matter

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o

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Contents

PART l.

Chapter. Page.

I. Exercise in General . n

Part II

training for special events.

XIV. Sprint Races.175

100 yards Dash — 220 yards Dash — 300 yards Dash—440 yards Dash—440 yards Relay Race —660 yards Run.

XV. Middle Distances.194

The Half Mile Run—1000 yards Run—The Mile Run.

XVI. Hurdle and Sack Races.206

120 yards Hurdle — 220 yards Hurdle—Sack Racing—Sack Racing over Hurdles.

XVII. The Mile Walk.223

XVIII. Jumping.239

Running Broad Jump—Running High Jump —Pole-vaulting for Height and Distance.

XIX. Throwing the Sixteen-pound Hammer- Putting

the Sixteen-pound Shot.263

XX. Bicycle Racing. 279

XXI. Football.292

XXII. BasKET-BALL.298

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

Throwing the Discus. (Frontispiece.)

Standing Start.172

Crouching Start .174

^ The High Hurdle.207

Standing Broad Jump.241

Pole Vaulting for Height.251

1 Throwing the Hammer.262

M Putting the Shot.268

Preface

HIS book is written to meet the wants of those

1 who desire to be guided in taking exercise for health, and those who wish to train for athletic contests of all kinds.

The contents consist of explanations of the effects of exercise on the body ; pointing out the benefits received by judicious exercise, and at the same time warning the athlete of. the dangers arising from excess¬ ive physical work. Useful hints on “training,” obtained from fifteen years of practical experience, and many ideas, gathered from some of the best trainers and ath¬ letes of the leading colleges, athletic clubs, gymnasiums and schools throughout the United States, Canada, and England, are presented to the reader, which are of ines¬ timable value.

The topics which will be discussed are : exercise in general, stiffness and its treatment, bathing, rubbing, diet, sleep, habits, fatigue, overwork, the treatment of sprains, strains, ruptures, contusions, abscesses, and fractures, the skin, and training so as to “ condition ” one’s self for all kinds of contests.

Preface.

The book is based not only upon sound medical principles, but also the author’s practical experience as a teacher of “ physical education ” to boys and young men. It points out how weak constitutions may be strengthened, predispositions to disease eliminated, certain diseases cured, and deals with the dangers and abuses of exercise, showing how to avoid them.

I wish to express a sense of deep gratitude to Mr. William B. Curtis, Mr. George D. Gideon, Mr. James S. Mitchell, Mr. Frank P. Murray, Mr. Lawrence E. Myers, Mr. Hugh C. Baxter, Mr. C. T. Buchholtz, Mr. George Orton, Mr. Everett J. Wendell, Mr. Wendell Baker, Mr. William Byrd Page, and Dr. J. K. Shell, because I owe a great deal of this book not only to their ability as athletes, bm aiso to the many cour¬ tesies extended to me, and the .personal friendship of some of them.

The Author.

PART I.

Chapter I. Exercise In General

H UNDREDS of persons exercise daily never knowing what the effects of the exercise they are taking are, and why these effects take place. To understand fully the therapeutic value of exercise requires a thorough knowledge of medicine with an exceptionally good knowledge of physiology and anatomy. When taking exercise, in a general way, one should always seek to gain health, not strength. Health and strength are closely allied, but they are by no means the same. Many men are pos¬ sessed of very strong intellects, yet they are not healthy. Some men are also muscular giants, but when carefully examined, it is found that different parts of their body, such as the heart, the nervous system, the lungs, and the kidneys, are far from healthy.

No person should take any exercise that requires a greater expenditure of energy than the body is able sufficiently to repair. Judgment in this respect is a most potent factor for accomplishing good or evil, aC' cording as it is used or abused by the person exercising.

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No person ever injured his constitution in any way by judicious exercise. It is the injudicious who suffer.

Every person should have a purpose in exercising, and should follow a regular course in physical training, seeking to obtain a healthy, strong and symmetrical body. The proper kind of exercise to be taken can be mapped out only by an expert with medical assistance ; there is absolutely no danger, and great benefit results, if the prescribed course be strictly adhered to.

The way exercise benefits a weakened part of the body is by sending new blood to the part. The blood itself may be enriched, by taking wholesome food ; and this fact should never escape the minds of those who anticipate a course of physical culture.

Pure air and water, sleep, ventilation, clothing, bath¬ ing, sunlight, and good habits, are also important aids to bodily health and strength ; in fact, they play as important a part as exercise itself.

All general exercise should be taken in moderate amounts at first, and there should be a regular pro¬ gression from the simplest to the most intricate and severe. The weak parts should receive especial atten¬ tion until the body attains perfect symmetry ; after this, increase in development should be sought for every part of the body, in order that no part may suffer. Should one part of the body receive greater attention than another, the former will become weakened in the exact ratio that the latter is strengthened.

Exercises may consist of free movements or move-

Exercise in General.

merits with apparatus. Every muscle in the body can be developed without a single piece of apparatus, but some persons will not exercise unless they use some of the many pieces of apparatus found in a gymnasium.

Persons who prefer to go to a gymnasium should never use a piece of apparatus without being instructed as to the group of muscles it is intended to develop. When attending a gymnasium be sure that the instructor is a competent one, in order that more harm than good may not be the result of your exercises. If necessary, consult a physician as to your general health.

Through the influence of any kind of exercise the small cells which compose the bodily tissues are brought into greater activity and in this way nutrition is increased. This takes place because the quality of the blood is improved by exercise. The immediate effects of exer¬ cise, on the blood, are to produce too much carbonic acid ; but the after effects differ greatly, and instead of finding, after exercising, an excess of carbonic acid, which is a poisonous product, we find an increase of oxygen, which is a food.

Exercise accomplishes a great deal of good by increasing the combustion in our bodily tissues, and dur¬ ing exercise we find the process of respiration going on more rapidly in the lungs, skin, muscles and blood ; that is, in these tissues we find a greater absorption of oxy¬ gen and more elimination of carbonic acid.

The person who exercises provides himself with an extra amount of oxygen, and in so doing purifies his

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blood, because oxygen gives greater vitality to the red corpuscles found in the blood. The purified blood is carried by exercise to the different tissues in our body ; and receiving better blood, they become stronger.

Muscular work also regulates the nutrition in our bodies in a great degree, and when taken judiciously its tonic effect is equal to, and in a great many instances better than, that of drugs. Exercise is the most nat¬ ural and best tonic one can take, and when the quantity and quality have been properly regulated, its salutary effects are of the greatest value.

If exercise is benefiting the individual the body will feel the need for it, and the longer one remains inactive the more will this need be felt. When exercise of one’s body is greatly neglected there takes place in the human machine a great accumulation of reserve materials ; and from this accumulation there is also brought about a diminution of products which are necessary to maintain health. From these conditions there results an impov¬ erishment of the constitution. When we find a person of sedentary habits, we are almost sure to discover some complaint, because nothing leads more quickly to dis¬ ease than an absolute neglect of exercise. Most per¬ sons who have sedentary occupations suffer with obesity to a greater or less degree. If they were to take sys¬ tematic exercise and pay strict attention to their diet, cutting off all farinaceous foods, as well as those con¬ taining sugar, they could soon rid themselves of this condition. Moreover, they would not be likely to

Exercise in General.

*5 suffer with gout as they grow older. The goutiness is caused by an insufficient combustion of the nitrogenous materials in the body and by a lack of exercise.

The less one exercises the more susceptible will the constitution be to the poisonous effects of the waste materials, and the more quickly will these products accumulate. The more exercise one takes, within rea¬ son, the greater will the power of resistance be to the effects of these materials.

General exercise is often productive of pain at first, which is due to the poisonous effect of the waste mate¬ rials ; but if the person exercising has the courage to continue his exercises for a week or so, pain will disap¬ pear, and will not return unless the exercises be omitted for a long period. Exercise in a general way tends to modify the constitution of those who take it, so that all the parts of the body perform their functions and perfect health results. The benefits of exercise are not the same in all cases because all constitutions are not alike, and great importance must be attached both to the quality and quantity of work. Some persons take exercise regardless of quality or quantity, and more harm follows than good.

The quality should be such that it will strengthen the weak parts of the human motor, and the quantity should never be so great that it produces exhaustion. The effects that are produced upon the body by taking general exercise do not differ from those when exercise is localized, except in the matter of quantity.

Practical Training.

For the benefit of those who take general exercises it may be well to tell them to be careful not to bring too sudden a strain upon the blood vessels, heart and lungs, lest a rupture may be caused. Ruptures have been caused by a disregard for this advice, and even ruptures of the heart itself have occurred when least expected.* “ A porter at Bordeaux had made a wager that he would lift a full hogshead. In the superhuman effort he made to raise this enormous burden his heart was ruptured and he dropped down dead.”

By taking general exercises all the muscles in the body not only increase in size, but also in beauty of form. This is because the blood vessels carry more blood to them, thus ridding them of the products of dissimilation, at the same time aiding them in the assim¬ ilation of new material. Exercise in its general effects upon the heart and lungs strengthens these organs in precisely the same manner that muscles are strength¬ ened ; not only is the capacity of the lungs increased and the heart-beats made stronger, but both of these organs acquire a power of endurance much greater than they possessed prior to being influenced by general exercise. Persons who take general exercise never become deformed ; they are never troubled with narrow, hollow or “ chicken-breasted ” chests, their shoulders do not droop, their spines are straight, and they do not suffer so easily from fatigue as those who develop only special parts of the body.

Fernand Le Grange, Physiology of Bodily Exercise, (p. 308.)

Exercise in General.

Mental operations have a great deal to do with all exercises which are voluntary, and under no condition should a person who is suffering from brain overwork pursue a course of exercises which is voluntary. The exercises in such cases should always be involuntary, that the mind may not be called into action. When mental effort is required by an exercise, the brain becomes much heavier owing to the increased amount of blood sent there, and frequently great harm results because an absolute mental rest was needed.

On the other hand, when an exercise is of an involun¬ tary nature, the blood is drawn from the brain to the part used, e. g., the upper or lower extremities, and in this way the brain receives a thorough rest; more¬ over, since it receives less blood, it also becomes cooler, because diminished combustion is the direct result of diminished blood supply, and since there is a reduction in temperature, the brain is less excitable.

If we wish to strengthen the mind of an individual, voluntary exercises should be prescribed, and the exer¬ cises should be very intricate so as to demand a great deal of thought and analyzation. The more difficult a voluntary movement is, the greater will be the develop¬ ment of the mind. Care should be taken in dealing with intricate voluntary exercises, in order that the production of waste materials may not be excessive, and so affect the eliminating organs too greatly.

It is a very easy matter to tell when the waste mate¬ rials are in excess, because the urine will present a turbidity giving a brick-red sediment. Should this con¬ dition continually exist, it is better to make the exercise milder or stop it. Usually the turbidity of the urine will disappear in a short time, from three or four days to two weeks, provided the exercise is taken daily, and the person exercising is not rheumatic ; even then it will become clear if exercise is continued for a longer time, unless leading to exhaustion.

Variety of exercises does not fatigue a person so quickly as a single exercise. This is because one part of the body may be at rest while another is being exer¬ cised. When the heart and lungs are brought into action, as for example by running, then fatigue manifests itself very quickly. If little or no work be done by these organs more benefit results by changing from one kind of exercise to another than by continuing to use one group of muscles, and fatigue is less apt to be felt.

After exercising there is need for repose, to ena¬ ble the body to reconstruct the parts that have been used. Many persons make the mistake of eating immediately after exercising, but in doing this there is danger of drawing too much blood from the muscles to the digestive organs. The muscles will not be thor¬ oughly reconstructed if too much blood be taken from them for the purpose of digesting food. At least an hour should intervene before any food is taken, and there is absolutely no need for taking food then, unless the exercise has been one requiring a great deal of endurance.

Exercise in General.

X 9

If the period of rest be too short, the repair of the tissues will suffer greatly, and there will be too great retention of waste materials. For the hygienic care of the body the person who takes exercise should be very careful to adjust his time for exercise and rest, so that he may avoid all dangers brought about by insufficient repair and incomplete digestion. The amount of rest one should take after exercising is variable, and must be regulated by the effects it has upon the different parts of the body. If the exercise be gentle, then the period of rest will be short, because the neces¬ sary amount of repair is small; but when the exercise is violent or prolonged, the period of rest must be lengthened according to the severity of the exercise and its duration. Rest is very essential where a great abundance of waste materials is produced, especially so since these cause a great deal of pain to one unaccus¬ tomed to physical work. Pain will disappear very quickly when rest is taken ; this is very easily accounted for by the fact that, having ceased to exercise, the waste products are not produced in sufficient quantities to cause more pain.

Rest is also very essential for the nerves throughout the body. They are subjected to a great deal of work during exercise, their fibres receive shocks, and there must be enough time intervening to allow the nervous tissue to repair itself just as muscular tissue is repaired. Rest also allows one to re-accumulate the energy which has been expended during the periods of exercise. The

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most perfect rest is sound sleep. Lying upon one’s back for a time will be sufficient for most cases, and in a great many instances sitting upon a chair, bench or stool will suffice.

Persons who exercise violently, frequently begin another exercise before allowing sufficient time for rest, and are compelled to cease during this second period because they learn that their judgment has been at fault. A good rule to be guided by, in all exercises which call for great endurance, such as running a mile or two very rapidly, or where the exercise is very vio¬ lent, is to allow at least an interval of a half to three-quarters of an hour after the heart-beats and respira¬ tions have returned to the normal. The time it will take these organs to return to the normal cannot be defined, for it varies greatly in different persons. One may usually allow from ten to twenty minutes.

Where an exercise necessitates an extremely violent effort it is well to remember that the expenditure of energy takes place rapidly, and the effect cannot be sustained very long; therefore it is best to learn the art of concentrating all of the bodily powers so as to make them work as a unit in order that the best results may be attained. Good examples of the foregoing may be seen in athletes who wrestle, play football, row, box, run and walk.

Persons who exercise regularly do not get tired easily, and they can stand a great amount of work be¬ fore fatigue overtakes them. The greatest predisposing

Exercise in General.

cause of fatigue is inactivity. Too much rest makes men lazy ; they grow fat and are easily exhausted by exercise. The slightest exertion makes them so stiff that they can scarcely get out of bed the next morning. Frequently they are overtaken with a slight fever after exercising, which resembles either typhoid in its very early stage, or intermittent. The symptoms they have are as follows : appetite impaired or lost, irregu¬ lar impulse of heart, pallor of skin, headache, nerv¬ ousness, causing sleeplessness and slight fever; and if the exercise has been so violent that it has produced exhaustion, the throat becomes dry. Frequently there will be a slight cough which leads to bronchial or pul¬ monary complaint. If exercise be taken as it should, the following conditions will result : there will be in¬ crease in appetite, regularity of heart-impulse, increased pulmonary capacity, bright color of skin, increase in size and tone of muscles, increase in bodily weight, and sound sleep.

All persons, when exercising, should remember that every movement of the body is simply a physical expres¬ sion of a nervous impression produced either by the brain or spinal cord, and in all voluntary movements the pri¬ mary impulse starts from the brain ; hence, movements develop not only physical but cerebral powers. If a person wishes to arrive at a healthful development of his body, he must begin with the primitive type of exer¬ cises and gradually advance in alphabetical order, just as a child does when it is taught to read.

Practical Training.

A proper coordination of any movement depends upon a proper state of the mind ; hence, we see that if the mental faculties are not in a condition of stability, the body, as a whole, is not in harmonious accord with the mind. If an exercise is to be correctly performed, it must be based upon the temperament and charac¬ ter of the person who is about to perform it, so that all departments of his being will work in harmony. It is in this way alone that the human organism will become capable of perfect development, thus bringing its several parts into perfect harmony.

There is a limit to the powers of every being upon earth, and with man it will be found that this limit is fixed by his bodily powers, as well as by his mental fac¬ ulties. If a movement be applied incorrectly, the fac¬ ulty of an individual will not infrequently be perverted, and therefore such a movement is injurious and detri¬ mental to symmetrical development. Healthful power is due to a simultaneous action of all parts of the body. From this we observe that the terms physical force and perfect health are correlative, since both depend upon harmony among all parts of the human organism.

If one will begin with the simplest kind of exercise and gradually advance, in regular progression, he will be able, in due time, to accomplish feats that were impossible at first, and without danger of injuring his constitution, because he will acquire an instinctive knowledge of what he is capable of doing. Ignorance of this is a frequent cause of disease.

Exercise in General.

If we classify the different phenomena that take place in our bodies, we may put them under three heads— mechanical, chemic and dynamic. The first include cir¬ culation, deglutition, mastication and respiration ; the second, nutrition, sanguification, secretion, excretion and assimilation, and the last are merely evidences of the mind which we see in our intellectual and moral powers. Every vital act, no matter how small or how great, is produced under the combined influence of these proc¬ esses, and it is by their conjoint action that a perfect organization characterizes itself; moreover, when this action is disturbed, an alteration in functions takes place, and this, in nearly every case, is followed by disease.

If the harmony of any one part be deranged it may be re-established by increasing the vital activity of the part, this being accomplished more perfectly by exciting the blood current by exercise, than in any other way, thus supplying a natural means which is physiologic in nature, instead of using drugs that are therapeutic in their nature, and used to change pathologic to physio¬ logic conditions.

Many persons do not care to be shown a series of free movements, because these movements are so simple ; but it is frequently from their simplicity that the good is derived. Exercises can be prescribed which will not only strengthen and develop the weak parts, but which also correct the worst kinds of deformities. Hundreds of persons know how hard the struggle for

Practical Training.

life is, how many hardships, trials, disappointments and a thousand and one other things each individual is con¬ stantly subjected to : hence, what is necessary? Health. This is the key to all success ; and without this, man’s accomplishments are far from what they should be.

As we grow older we find our struggle for knowl¬ edge and existence grows harder and harder, we have to encounter many things that test our brains beyond their limit, we become worried, the stimulation to suc¬ ceed is too great, we are apt to work too long, sleep too little, allow little or no time for our meals, our frames easily become tired, and finally our nervous system, no longer able to supply us with impulses, gives way, and we find disease has overtaken us. Is not the remedy for this very simple, when one realizes that disease could have been avoided by physical exercise properly indulged in ? Exercise seeks to establish a proper balance between mind and body. Exercise is not for the purpose of attaining strength to accomplish great feats, but aims at bringing the whole body into such perfect symmetry and harmony that each person may pursue his calling with pleasure and usefulness to all.

There are thousands of men, uncomplaining, eager, earnest and faithful, who are following their vocation, suffering with low spirits, languor, pain, fatigue, fearing lest their nervous system will give way, and in fact with their whole body impoverished, when good health easily could have been possessed by a little careful and well-regulated exercise.

Exercise in General.

2 5

One must not mistake strength for health ; they are often used as interchangeable terms, yet they are not the same ; a person may be healthy and lack strength, or may be strong and not possess health. Strength may be manifested by one system of the body ; e. g., nervous, muscular, circulatory, digestive or osseous. There are many consumptives who have great muscular strength, yet they do not possess health. Health is freedom from disease, or still better as Dr. Richardson puts it, “ per¬ fect organization in perfect action.”

Too often men and boys seek to gain strength with¬ out the slightest regard for their health, and in so doing permanently injure their constitutions. Most men seem to think the development of the body in a special way is all that is needed. Frequently we see a man or boy with large arms and chest, while his legs seem scarcely able to support his body, so poorly are they developed. There is a weakness in one part of the body, while in the other there is an excess of strength ; consequently local exercise does not yield health, because it strength¬ ens one part at the expense of another. This teaches us to be general in our exercises, and not to specialize.

The life work of every human being requires that every part of that being should be in the best possible condition. There is no occupation, no state in which one may place himself, no position in life, in which a well-cultivated body will not be of extreme value. Every day men falter, not because they are slaves to their calling, but because they never exercise. Would

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it not have been better to have acquired a little bodily stamina and thus have been able to finish the work they began, than to have left it to another ?

Some argue that a healthy, vigorous body, and an active, bright intellect are incompatible. Such is not the case. Science long ago confirmed the fact that the body assists the brain. “ That the intellect can rarely attain, or if it already possesses, can rarely long retain a commanding height when the bodily functions are im¬ paired ; that the body itself will be at its best and most worthy condition when its claims are most fully shared by mental occupations, and that the healthy condition of the mind, produced by sufficient and natural employ¬ ment, will react most favorably upon the body, can never be doubted for a moment; yet we continually find the one warring upon the other. We shall find the reason for this in the overlooking of the laws which govern both body and mind. The mind acts through a material organ—the brain—upon which it is entirely dependent, and which, in common with the other organs of the body, is subject to constant decay and constant renewal from the same vital fluid; these processes being accelerated and its strength and vigor conse¬ quently augmented in proportion to its activity. But in common with other organs also, if this activity is carried beyond certain limits, its waste exceeds nutri¬ tion, its strength gives place to weakness. The mind then, is dependent upon the blood for its material support, and its healthy action is dependent on its

Exercise in General.

receiving an adequate supply of healthy blood. More¬ over, the organ of the mind being subject to the same laws as other organs, requires similar alterna¬ tions of rest and action to maintain it in its natural state of efficiency ; and if either of these states be defi¬ cient or in excess, the brain, and consequently the mind, will deteriorate. If, therefore, the cultivation or exer¬ cise of the mind be neglected, it will, of necessity, be weakened in precisely the same manner as the other organs are weakened by insufficient use, will deteriorate both in strength and vigor and the power of enduring fatigue. If, on the other hand, the brain’s exercise be excessive, beyond the point where the nutrition equals the waste, it will suffer in the same way and to the same extent that other organs would do.” (MacLaren.)*

The brain should never be overworked, nor should the body be subjected to such an abuse. Strive to seek moderation in all things, at the same time remembering that there is a limit to mental and physical capacity. By keeping within certain limits it is possible to reach a point of activity, vigor and self-application, which will impart to the body the power of enduring work with the greatest ease. Until middle life, the older we grow the greater will be the endurance of the body to withstand physical and mental fatigue, because it will possess a superfluous amount of health and energy.

As long as the mind and body are healthy, just so long will they contribute to the health of each other.

* Archibald MacLaren, Physical Education, (p. 27.)

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The man who possesses the best natural tonic in the world—a clear conscience—never suffers from physical exercise when properly taken. It is the brain worry and dissipation that kill, not the bodily wear.

Persons who have never taken systematic exercise should begin with the simplest kinds of exercise, such as free movements and calisthenics. After following a course in these for about six months, exercising daily (Sunday excepted), they may take up light gymnastics, and follow these for a year or a year and a half, after which heavy gymnastics may be indulged in. Should the strength of constitution not be sufficient to take up some of the more advanced and severe exercises, then it is best never to take any kind of exercise except in a mild form. Keeping within the dictates of reason is a very good rule to go by, especially when an individual is inclined to exercise too severely.