Why? The Science of Athletics

204 WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATJILETICS track and field events, which it is essential that the athlete should know. Understanding of the Muscles and their Even when the athlete has arrived at a complete understanding of the technique of the event he wishes to take up, he will still master the technique of that event a great Functions is deal more quickly if he has taken the trouble Essential to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the muscular system of the human body. In fact, masseurs who work under me are always told that they are to explain the nature of the muscles they are manipulating to the subject of the treatment, to explain to him the work those muscles do and why certain of them are stiff, sore or tired, as the result of the exercise they have just been given in training. Let us take a concrete case to illustrate the point at issue. . We will suppose that a boy wishes to become a first– class -pole vaulter and his studies of the event, on the lines set out above, have shown him that the correct technique is comprised in the action-sequence given as Fig. 35, A to H, in Plate 8. It will surely be more easy for him to attain to a satisfactory degree of proficiency as a pole vaulter if his knowledge of anatomy enables him to say which muscles are going to do what and the order in which they will be brought into action. He will certainly know which muscles he needs to develop and can choose accordingly the exercises he is going to practise for the achievement of that end. The analysis of the action-sequence shown in Plate 8 would be along the following lines, as regards the muscles principally involved in the feat of pole vaulting. Having -regard to requirements space, we will not concern our– selves with the approach run or the actual take-off, but will confine our attention to the action-sequence subsequent to the take-off. In Fig. C we find the athlete hanging from his hand-grip upon the pole and swinging upwards by the force of his unexpended momentum_ Then (Figs. C and D) the rectus abdominis, which flexes the