Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

T H E R U N N I N G H I G H J U M P I T may well be set down as an absolute rule that no one should attempt to start in to train seriously for the running high jump until after he is eleven or twelve years old. In fact, it is safe to say that no one under that age should ever go into any kind of systematic athletic vyork, for am­ bition is liable to lead the aspiring athlete into injurious over-exertion. If you want to take up high jumping as a spe­ cialty, spend the winter, or the indoor season, in pulling weights, so as to strengthen the back and chest, and in going through leg motions to fortify the limbs. No one can ever succeed as a high jumper unless he has a well-developed chest and back, for the strain on the dorsal muscles is prac­ tically what lifts the man over the bar. I his sounds very much like lifting one's self up by the boot-straps, but it is nevertheless correct. I he leg exercises are simple. There are two kinds. One is to lift yourself up on your toes. Start in by doing it about twenty-five times every day for a week; then increase the number until you get