Why? The Science of Athletics

HEALTH ASPECTS AND HEALTH TRAINING 35 A man coming off a long train journey, and even more' so, after a long motor drive, will need to stretch his legs to get the stiffness out of his muscles ; he will need a wash, or preferably a shower bath, to freshen him up. This is part of his relaxation before competition. Should he be of that equable temperament that can adapt itself readily to circumstances he may then sleep for an hour. The man who can do this gains an immeasurable advantage over others who cannot, and, really, it is not such a very hard habit to cultivate. All animals go to sleep when they have nothing else to do, and during the war most of us who were on active service soon dis– covered that we could sleep anywhere, anyhow and at any time-when the opportunity occurred. The man who can snatch an hour of complete oblivion before a big contest scores every time. The Finns, who know a great deal more about athletic science than most people give them credit for, believe in actually putting a man to bed and to sleep between contests, providing the interval is not too short. Where Decathlon contests are concerned, with sessions of corn-· petition both morning and afternoon, any Finnish athlete taking part goes to bed at midday. That is to say, he undresses, gets right into bed and goes to sleep for an hour or more, but gets up in time to be fresh for the first events on the afternoon programme. The Finns, however, are peculiarly placid people and their scheme might well not suit, say, a Frenchman. Relaxation during training is an essential part of any sane system, but the proper proportion and type of relaxation is not always easy to hit upon. It is simple enough to tell the athlete to put up his legs and rest, but you have got to see that he neither works nor rests too long. In other words, his programme must be properly balanced. It is not, however, on the physical side that the difficulty crops up, it is the providing of mental relaxation that usually puzzles the coach. What you aim at is to take the minds of your charges