Athletic Sports (extract)

Physical Characteristicsof the Athlete and lung power that usually accompanies this peculiar formationof the body. With­ out this power, greatmuscular strength in body or limbs cannot be depended upon for long-continued exertions. With a good respiratory and circulatory apparatus, an immense amount of work can be accom­ plished by comparatively small muscles. The essential requisites of a long-dis­ tance runner, then, are astrong heart and capacious lungs ina broad, deep, and mo­ bile chest. The reason for this will be apparent to those who understand the phys­ iology ofexercise. To sustain long-contin­ ued exertion, latent energy in the muscles used is necessary, and also a ready means of supplying these muscles with an in­ creased amount ofoxygen while in action, and of carrying away the carbonic acid that results from the combustion in the tissues. Hence the necessity of breathing faster while running than while walking ; and unless this exchange of gases can be carried on with sufficient rapidity, and in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of the organism under these trying cir­ cumstances, there soon comes an end to further muscular activity, though the mus­ cles themselves may be far from exhaus­ tion. 71