The Athlete for 1866

120 HINTS ON TKAININGr. denoy to lifting. For walking, shoes with heelshalf an inch thick, and quarter inch soles, are generally used, without spikes, except on grass. The following are the best times of professionals, though in some cases in which they weredone, a firm umpire would havedisqualified the goer:—1 mile, 6min. 35 sec. : 4 miles, 28 min.52 sec. : 7 miles, 50 min. 54 sec. : 14miles,! hour 58 min. 7 sec. : 21 miles in 2 hours 58 min. 26 sec. Seven miles has been fairly walked in 54minutes. The best amateur times are very poor when com­ pared to the foregoing table. One mile in 7 min. 29 sec. : 2 miles in 15 min. 25 sec. : 3 miles in 23 min., and 7 miles in 58 min. 12 sec. Nothing of note has been tlone beyond this, the long distances being of too serious a character for the ambition ofthe amateur walkers ofthe present day. T HE PRRXCIPAL M USCLES USED BY THE A THLETE. As regards the muscles that are used in the various athletic exercises, it may be remarked, th.vt though perhaps in any one exercise nearly all the principal muscles of the body are brought into action, yet there are two or three on which the real strain conies, and on the strength and quickness of which most of the pi oticiency depends. In high jumping, the front muscles ofthe thigh are principallyused. They are aUachtd at one end to the top partof the thigh bone, at the other to the knee cap, •which passes over the knee, and is fixed to the top partof the shin bone. In the act of jumping, these muscles contract violently,and straighten the leg with a jerk, the quickness ofwhich mainly contributes tothe height of the jump. In long jvin] ing, the muscles ofthe back part of tbe thigh are used ;these are pttuchcd to the back part of the shin bone at one end, and to the lower part of the pelvis i,t tlie other, and by contracting, draw the leg backwards onthe tnvnk. 'Jhis action i.- also assisted by the glutceus maximus, which is fixed at one end of the top part of the thigh, at the other to the lowest part ofthe vertebral column. In long distance running, the front and back muscles of the thigh are used in equal proportions; the former in raising the body at everystride, the latter in propelling it forward. But in the case of running on the toes, the calf of the leg will be the weak part ; so much so, that no amount of practice will enable some, especially heavy men, to run any distance on their toes. In Short Distance Kunning,the front muscles of the thigh which lie nearest to the trunk, bring the leg forwardin the rapid repetition of the strides. These are a different set from thosethat straighten the leg, and are used in Long Distance Running, they are attached atone end to tho lower and frontpart of the pelvis, andat the other end to the top part of the thigh bone. The back muscles of the thigh are the same that are used in LongDistance Running for propelling the bodyforwards. A narrow pelvis is a great assistance in this, as indeed in all running ;for on the narrowness of the pelvis facility in repeating the strides principally depends. In Throwing the Hammer, more depends on the swing than on the strength of any particular muscle, though the strain comes more particularly on the small of the back, that is, on the muscles which raise and keep the back erect, and are attached to all thevertebra of the spine. * In Putting the Stone, the muscles called particularly into action are the front part of the deltoid, whichis attached to the top part of the arm, and at the other end to the collar bone, and brings the arm upwards and forwards, the top part of the pectoral muscle, which also runs from the top of the arm to