Why? The Science of Athletics

ATHLETIC PSYCHOLOGY 355 (B) AVERAGE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT (A) of Boys of all Classes. (B) of English Public School Boys Age I Height Height Weight Weight A B A B - ' ft. ins. ft. ins. lbs. lbs. 7 3 IO 49t 8 3 I I~ 54t 9 4 I£ 59! IO 4 3! 66t II 4 5~ 7I I2 4 7 76! I3 4 9 4 IOt 83! 84t I4 4 IIt 5 of; 93t 93 IS 5 2~ 5 3 IOS I03t I6 5 4! 5 5 I20 II6t I7 5 6t 5 7 I29 I28~ i8 5 6! 5 8 I35 I37 i'l The weight varies also with the condition of the athlete, and that is the important point in relation to matters at present under discussion. As a general rule, one finds that a man is a bit over-weight when he first goes into training, but in the first week he will sweat off some of his superfluous flesh. In the ensuing weeks the regularity of life in exercise, rest, sleep and food will probably bring his weight back to about what it was at the beginning of training; but now it will no longer be over-weight, for muscle is beginning to take the place of superfluous fat. None the less, an athlete of average size, that is to say, a man weighing somewhere about I45 to I 50 lbs., -is likely to lose anything up to 3 lbs. as his further training progresses, but that is not a matter to worry about. On the other hand> a loss of that amount of weight when a man is approaching the stage of being fully trained should give his coach cause to consider the amount of work that man is doing, with a view to the quite possibly necessary revision of his training schedule. If the man continues to lose weight, even though he be but half-way through his training period, there need be no doubt about the necessity for cutting down his training activities. Weight is the best guide to the fitness, or otherwise, of