Athletic Training

154 ATHLETIC TRAINING in which an athlete who had a good heart when he was actively competing, and who lived a clean and sensible life after giving up his athletics, had the slightest complaint l._ to make of trouble with his heart. But I have met scores and scores of athletes who said that they owed the healthy condition . of their bodies to the athletic life they lived in school, college, or club, and the lessons they learned from it. The principal danger an athlete must avoid is that of giving up his athletics too suddenly, living an indoor and sedentary life without taking the proper amount of exercise. Every man, whether he has been an athlete or not, ought to take a reasonable amount of exercise. I have always advised my athletes not to give up their athletics immediately, but to indulge moderately in the same or a similar kind of exercise to which they have been accustomed. This brings me to a discussion of the per– sonal habits which athletes should have. In order to win success on the athletic field and to lay a foundation for a good constitution, there are two important rules which should be observed: