The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

TRAINING. 129 CHAPTER XV. TRAINING. THE following notes are not meant for the guidance of those who are put under a professional trainer, or who are able to engage one. The classof athletes kept by the betting fraternity —cats' pawsfor pulling thechestnuts out of the fire—who run, row, or fight to win or lose according to orders, and the pot hunters sent the round by speculators in gate-money, we have little sympathy with, or respect for. These notes aremeant for the great mass ofScottish athleteswho practise athletic sports as a pastime in private, and who compete more for honour and fame than for prize-money in public. If there are a few who take more than an occasional holiday, they almost in every in­ stance the writer can remember, made themselves fitto do so, by spending the evenings of spring and summer in practising athletic feats, after the ordinarylabour of the day was finished. The main principles of athletic training are, temperance in eating anddrinking, especially the latter; regular practice athe feat or feats the athlete wishes to excel in, and regular walking exercise. The old-timeidea that a man could be made fit only by a prolonged course ofheavy doses of physic, anda diet res­ tricted to a certain stereotyped bill of fare, is exploded. To pour doses ofphysic into the sounddigestive organs of a healthy man is as foolish as to apply whip and spur to a willing horse, instead of getting more work from either of them, you merely irritate and weaken them, and probably irretrievably damage them. The manwho eatsand drinks moderately of wholesome food and drink which agrees with him, and takes sufficient regular exercise, and still needs doses of medicine, is not a fit subject for training for athletic feats. While ofopinion that a hard and fastline is unnecessary as to eating anddrinking, there are certain facts that merit attention.