Athletic Sports (extract)

The Physical Proportions of the Typical Man stature. Realizing how much depends upon the proportions of the different parts of the body, the comparative sizeof body and limbs, the difference between bone and muscle measurements, etc., I began my observations by an extended series of measurements. My next aim was to test the strength of the most important parts, so far as this was practicable. As a general rule, the girth of the upper arm may be said to represent the potential strength of the biceps and triceps muscles. So, too, the girth of the forearm, thigh, leg, or chest is usually indicative of the latent power of the muscles in that particular region. These facts are familiar to any schoolboy who haslearned from his daily experiences to associate size with strength. There are many exceptions to this rule, however; and the record of the tape-measure often needs to be confirmed by an actual strength test. In order to make these trials, I had recourse to three spring-dynamometers, a spirometer, manometer,a pair of suspended rings, and a set of parallel bars. With these appliances it is possible to test the strength of nearly every part of the body. I lim­ ited these tests to the back, legs, chest, upper arm, and forearm. 18