Ed. James

“ The continued use of meat and bread, unless the man has a wonderful appetite and constitution, will once, if not more, in almost every man’s training, pall upon his palate, when the trainer should at once try the effect of poultry 13 or game, if possible; but, at any rate, not give the trained man an opportunity of strengthening his partial dislike to his previous fare. In cases like these, the only wrong thing is to persevere in the previous diet; for if a man cannot tackle his food with a healthy appetite, how is it possible that he can take his proper share of work? ”

“ To sum up in a few words, training is a complete system of diet and exercise duly carried out and strenuously adhered to. From the mode of life which almost all lead, the health becomes impaired, and the only remedy will be discovered by him who follows the principle of training in some form or other, the more simple the better. ”

“ After a thorough rest of an hour’s duration, the pedestrian should stroll about for an hour or two, and then, divesting himself of his ordinary attire, don his racing gear and shoes, and practice his distance, or, at any rate, some portion of the same, whether he is training either for running or walking. This portion of the day’s work must be regulated by the judgment and advice of the trainer, who of course is the holder of the watch by which the athlete is timed, and is the only person capable of knowing how far towards success the trained man has progressed in his preparation. ”

“ When the shower-bath is used, and a person feels exhilarated from its effects, it is better than the sponge bath; but when it produces a shiver or weakness, it should be discontinued until strong enough to indulge in this great summer luxury.
The mere fact that millions of human beings are strong and healthy upon a purely vegetable diet should of itself suggest that, although animal food, as more concentrated, and yielding more force with less expenditure in its digestion, is superior to vegetable food, yet there is excellent nutriment to be extracted from vegetables. ”

“ Training is the process of getting a man who has to perform any muscular feat from a state of obesity and almost total incapability into a perfect state of health, which is shown by the great increase of strength, activity, wind, and power to continue great exertion and pace to the extent of his endowments. It is this acquired power which enables the pedestrian to persevere in his arduous task, apparently in despite of nature, which, but for his thorough preparation, would have long before been utterly prostrate. ”

“ The pedestrian alone comprises a class by itself, which is subdivided into as many different ramifications as there are other sports and professions that require severe training; therefore, as pedestrianism is the groundwork of all training and all excellence in athletic games, it is the intention to give the hints requisite for the man who is matched to get himself sufficiently well in bodily health and bodily power to undergo his practice with credit to himself and trainer, and justice to his backers. ”

“ A bad beginning makes a bad end, and nothing is so detrimental to a sprinter as a bad start. He may get shut out, he loses his stride, or perhaps get spiked by the man who has crossed him; and when he does get into proper swing, he is too far behind to be able to make up what was lost at the beginning. Avoid walking long distances; they rather tend to stiffen the muscles and make them slow. Never miss your race; if you can only get one spin daily, make the most of it. Always run in form—that is to say, as you would in the race, on your toes, with an easy, springing action of the thighs. ”

“ Walking is a succession of steps, not leaps, and with one foot always on the ground. The term “fair toe and heel” was meant to infer that, as the foot of the back leg left the ground, and before the toes had been lifted, the heel of the foremost-foot 21 should be on the ground. Even this apparently simple rule is broken almost daily, in consequence of the pedestrian performing with a bent and loose knee, in which case the swing of his whole frame when going at any pace will invariably bring both feet off the ground at the same time ”

“ When training for running a long distance—say from four to ten miles—the man should most decidedly practice daily; for the shorter length going the whole distance, and for the longer vary the distance, according to the state of health on the day, as well as whether the weather be fine or otherwise. For a short race of a hundred or two hundred yards, the pedestrian, after the body is in good health, does not require very much severe work, but the distance must be accomplished at top speed at least once daily, and about the same time of the day that the match will take place, if possible. ”

“ Many men can do without having any nourishment whatever before going for the morning’s walk, but these are exceptions to the rule. Most men who take the hour’s walk before breaking their fast feel faint and weak in their work after breakfast, at the commencement of their training, and the blame is laid on the matutinal walk; when, if a new-laid egg had been beaten in a good cup of tea, and taken previous to going out, no symptom of faintness would have been felt, although it is expected some fatigue would be felt from the unwonted exertion. ”

“ Above all things, remember that in exercise, as in diet, the grand rule is moderation. Avoid fatigue; as you would cease eating when appetite abates, cease muscular activity when the impulse to continue it abates.
In general, the healthy man may eat almost anything in moderation; but it is wiser for all to avoid 46 meat twice cooked, rich gravies and fried dishes. Nature tells us very plainly that that pleasure is a means no less than an end. The exercise which has in it the element of amusement is ten times as beneficial as a listless walk ”

“ Exercise in short-distance running is good, and all exercises which tend to strengthen the muscles of the ankles—such as skating, for instance—help to train a ball player. But what is particularly required in the system of training for professional ball players is that very activity which handball yields. This game strengthens the hands, trains the sight, and especially gives a player endurance in the very fatigue he has to undergo on the ballfield. A skillful handball player, when he be comes accustomed to baseball field work, will always excel in picking up hard-hit ground balls. ”

“ The Honorable John Morrissey, ex-champion pugilist of America, in conversation with us about diet, said:
“Mr. James, you can form no idea of the glorious feeling that a man experiences when he gets himself in perfect condition. Everything in the world looks different to him from what it does when his system is clogged up with bile, and he is carrying a quantity of flesh that is only a burden to him. It is almost impossible to get a man when in such a condition into a bad humor. ”

“ In training a crew for a race, the habits and mode of living of a man are to be consulted more than any set of rules. If he is used to eating meat well cooked, it will not do to give him meat cooked rare, as this is apt to produce a looseness in his bowels. A man must eat according to the state of his system, and if he trains hard, eats meat, and is troubled with loose bowels, he should train light and live on toast, bread, and coffee or tea, for a few days, with puddings, or bread and milk ”

“ HINTS IN, BEFORE, AND AFTER THE RACE.
In sprinting, a good start is of such importance that we would suggest a careful practice in it. It is a curious fact that a novice will invariably start with one foot a yard or so behind the other, either with the body bent down low, or with the body erect, and swinging the arms as if they were the means of propulsion about to be trusted to. In the former case, he runs one yard more than his distance, in the latter he exhausts and unsteadies himself. ”

“ When united to a nervous disposition, they are perhaps the worst class of men for training, though we sometimes find much latent energy in them. To a certain extent, nervousness is overcome by habit; but the nutrition of the nerve power ought to be the main point in the advancement of health. The nerves are the controllers of the actions; they regulate the contraction of muscles in the activity of the body. The work done by the muscles depends on the proper adjustment of the mechanism, their guidance and activity on the energy of the nerves. ”

“ That the same system of training will suit all constitutions, it would be absurd folly to advance; or that the same amount of work and strictness of diet is requisite for a man about to run a race of one hundred and twenty yards, as for a struggle of an hour’s duration, would be equally preposterous. Nevertheless, the groundwork of training arises from the benefits derived from regular diet and steady exercise. ”

“ It is impossible for the pedestrian to judge by his own feelings how he is performing or has performed, in consequence of, perhaps, being stiff from his work, weak from reducing, or jaded from want of rest. The trainer should encourage his man when going through his trial successfully, but stop him when making bad time, if he is assured the tried man is using the proper exertion. The rule of always stopping him when the pedestrian has all his power out, and yet the watch shows the pace is not “up to the mark,” should never be broken ”

“ The rubbing restores the circulation of the small blood-vessels of the skin, and so strong and fresh do the pedestrians feel after this treatment that, when dressed, they all declare they feel no remains of their previous fatigue. Nothing but good has accrued from the treatment, and those who have undergone a trial of the sweat and shower swear by the method.
The Turkish bath is only fit to reduce an infirm and obese man to something like weight to begin work, and can only be looked upon as a luxury, and not an adjunct to training, besides being far from healthy. ”

“ A heave is not so effective as a quick jump, with the muscles concentrated at the same moment. The quicker the hop and the throw are made, the further the distance put, provided that the balance is not lost. Any delay between the first hop and the final spring is fatal. In delivering the weight, let it be put upwards—that is to say, aim to hit an object about fourteen feet above the spot where the weight will pitch. The further the weight has to be put, the higher must be the elevation. No exercise is a greater proof of strength than this. ”

“ To make good blood we require good food, pure water, pure air, sunlight and exercise. Either foul air or impure water poisons the blood. If you don’t throw off two pounds and three-quarters of effete matter every twenty-four hours through the lungs and two pounds through the pores you must expect sooner or later to fall. Nothing is more essential than pure air. Impure air is the source of our ship fevers.
Cleanliness has been classed as akin to godliness. It certainly takes high rank in equalizing the circulation. ”

“ The calf of the leg has much work to do, even as much as running on the toes. The muscle, however, that suffers most is that which rises on the outside of the shin bone, near the knee, and runs down the leg, crossing the shin near the ankle, to be inserted near the inside of the sole of the foot. This muscle raises the foot, and draws it back towards the leg at the end of the stride, and also points the heel at the commencement; so that in fast walking it has no rest, and consequently becomes very painful. The front and back muscles of the thigh also come in for a large share of work. ”

“ Every race you engage in will increase your experience and give you confidence for the next time. Good time for 100 yards ranges from 11 seconds to 101⁄4, according to the ground, &c. The top speed is seldom obtained until 40 yards are covered. A good sprinter will generally beat two others in 200 yards, each to run 100 yards with him on end. For sprinting, wind is not such a desideratum as elasticity of muscle. The shorter the distance, the greater care and practice should be made in starting; the longer you have to sprint, the greater will be the necessity for working up the muscles. ”

“ The man training for a match should walk some portion of his distance, if weather permits, daily, in his walking-dress, which should consist of a light elastic shirt, short drawers, and light Oxford ties. On starting, he must go off at his very best pace, and continue it for at least three hundred yards or a quarter of a mile, by which time he will have begun to blow very freely, and then, getting into a good, long, regular stride, his principal aim must be to keep his legs well in advance of his body. ”

“ From this point of view the science of walking will be treated in the present work; for whether a man may have entered in an engagement to run, walk, jump, swim, row, or box, no training can be thoroughly accomplished until the athlete has undergone a certain amount of exercise on foot, and reduced his superfluous weight to such an extent that he can follow up his peculiar forte with fair chance of improvement, or at least so that he may not have to stop short from sheer want of wind or strength. ”

“ If neither time nor strength permits our abundant exercise, and if our avocations prevent regularity, what remains but moderation in diet?
The effects of exercise are two-fold: on the one hand a stimulus is given to the action of the heart and lungs, which enables the blood to be more thoroughly oxygenated and more rapidly circulated; on the other hand, there is an expenditure force, accompanying the increased activity of the organic changes. ”

“ After milk, breadstuffs and vegetables are the best diet, and in warm climates fruit. Then meats. Sugar and fat go into the body not so much to nourish it as to be a fuel to give it warmth. Meat contains much nitrogenous matter.
A limited quantity of spirits at the principal meal, especially for persons advanced in life or of weak digestion, may aid in the combustion of the food. Spirits aid digestion in feeble and aged persons; but only the feeble or the aged require such a stimulus. The young and vigorous do not need it, and are better off without it. ”

“ The amateur, when he has an engagement before him, should take into consideration the time he has allowed him to train, and the mode of proceeding will depend in a great measure on the condition and previous habits of the man engaged. If a man is fleshy and of a full habit of body, a dose or two of mild purgative medicine should be taken, and slow walking exercise only taken on the day the doses have been administered. After the medicine has done its duty, if the amateur is very fleshy, a Turkish bath or two may be taken with advantage, the usual precautions against cold being used. ”