The Athlete for 1866

HINTS ON TRAINING. Ill a rest, anda gradual discontinuance of his late regimen. The torn fibre, if care be taken, will reunite inthe ordinary course of nature, and in a short time the internal organs will have accustomed themselves to different food and occu­ pation. Should, however, any excess follow the race, the seeds of some chroni- inalatly may be sown, which will appear on a repetition ofthe exercise. This topic has been producedto some lengtli in an endeavour to show on what grounds the general objectionsto training seemto stand, asno one can be found hardy enough to oppose the principle iu detail, thoughit is rejected in to. It is assumed throughout that the athlete who trains is constitutionally strong enough to undertake the practice required. The weak andsickly who trainmust com­ mence by processes much too gradual to be treated of here. The failure, there­ fore, or injurycaused to any in the weakly category, must not be laid to the door of the scape-goat "Training S ELF-TRAINING. The peculiar position of a person in training renders it desirable that ho should have some knowledge of the structure of his own frame, its internal organization, and the general laws that regulate the well-being of its separate parts. For, as every individual has undoubtedly his own ideal form of health, so will he more speciallybe fitted to realize its perfection by experience, and it is on these grounds more particularly thatwe advocate the systemof each man being as far as practicable his own trainer. The truism ofone man's food being another man's poison is daily shown in a marked manner amongathletes, and the neglect ofthis adage by mentors, trainers, and others, who arrogate to them­ selves an indisputable position in the direction f the trainee's diet and exercise is generally the cause of inexplicable failure. In their eagerness to win their point, they disregard the persistent warnings that n ure when abused invariably gives, and they overstepthe limits of endurance in farthering a darling object, until a sudden relapse, or what is better known as a break-down, puts an end to their theories as well as their practice. Only very few ofthose who profess to instruct the novice in " the way he should run" are cognizant of even the most rudimentary principles of the human frame, or the form and working of those most delicate organs which play such a prominent part in the wellbeing and proper development of the youthful athlete. Each district has its peculiar oracle, and a practical one, no doubt, but one who holds through thick and thin to the dogmas of his ancestors, flavoured by slight addenda of his own to suit the varied cases brought under his view for adjudication. His guide in " suiting physic to his patients' taste " is taken from stereotyped rules without regard to the age, disposition, or natural qualification of his subject. Should nature rebel or endurance fail, the cause in his mind is traced to a non-compliance with the programme issued. Should chance make the proposed system palatable, he takes to himself the praise forsuccessful construction which fortuitous circumstances alone can take credit for.To such rule-of-thumb preceptors as these, then, is the tender novice handed over, and the wonder is that so many come out but slightly singedin this fiery ordeal. We would suggest to those about to com­ mence practice (this caution will apply toanykind of exercise) on noaccount to give themselves up to the tender mercies of any self-styled trainer, but merely to consult his knowledge on those pointswhich to the traineeseem not clearly intelligible, orare evidently capableof improvement. There are many things worth knowing thatare obtained only by continual scrutiny ofmen competing under different aspects. These,therefore, can be learnt fromthe practical trainer only, as they are to him more the promptings of instinct resulting from experi­ ence than the well-weighed deductions from varietyin actual iacts. Beyond