THREE HUNDRED THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO
CHAPTER I.
IN TRAINING
There are few things about which so many mistaken notions exist as about training. There are several reasons for this, but most of the erroneous ideas may be traced back to the days when professional pugilists and runners were the only men who ever entered on any athletic exercise with any sort of organised preparation. For them a severe course of training was possibly a necessity. They were for the most part men well advanced in years and naturally fleshy; and to achieve the feats which they accomplished they no doubt found it necessary to reduce their weight, and for this purpose to take a great deal of exercise and to avoid all food tending to the formation of flesh; but for the average school-boy who plays football or fives, or goes paper-chasing, or, in fact, takes the ordinary amount of boy’s exercise, training, as it is generally misunderstood, is quite unnecessary, even if not harmful. He has no superfluous fat of which to rid himself, so any sweating which he may do only weakens him and renders him liable to cold. His lungs are in proper order and therefore his wind is good, and so there is no need for him to deprive himself of vegetables or his favourite pies or puddings. All he wants is to lead a healthy active life, and to do a fair amount of practice in the particular branch of athletics in which he hopes to excel.
If a boy be accustomed to walk to and from school, or even a part of the way, or to take his place regularly in the school games, he will already be in proper condition of wind and limb. He will now only require to develop the muscles which, in his contests, he will find it most necessary to use. These vary in nearly every branch of athletics; so his practice must be specially directed to the races or events in which he intends to take part. Now this practice is often as much overdone as in the old days the dieting and sweating used to be. I remember that when I was at school and training for a mile race, I was seldom content unless I had run two or three miles each day. Since then I have found out the error of my ways. The result of my long practice run was that when the day came for the sports I was much over-trained, and in the state usually described as “stale.” I could have pounded along for miles, but I was as slow as the proverbial cart-horse, and when it came to hard racing I was beaten by boys who had practised less persistently than I had, and whose limbs and muscles were therefore lissom and pliant.
The exact amount of practice required depends a good deal on the stamina and build of each particular boy. Big, muscular boys can undergo far more work than lightly-strung ones of less robust constitution; but it may be taken for granted as a general rule that it is better to do too little than too much. Practice should never be continued after one begins to feel tired; and if one is still feeling the effects of the previous day’s practice, it is always a good thing to rest for a day from active work, and instead to take a good sharp walk of four or five miles. When your muscles are stiff, as they are bound to be at the beginning, never force them. Get them gradually into working order, and never hesitate to rest entirely if you feel disinclined for exercise.
Rest, in moderation, is always good, and for this reason I advise boys of all ages who may be training, to make a point of going to bed early. To get up early is another aid to leading a healthy life, but I would especially warn my readers against taking any violent exercise before breakfast. Have your bath, followed by a brisk rub down with a rough towel; dress quickly, and then, if you like and can manage it, go out into the open air for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. Put on plenty of clothes, and eat either a biscuit or a piece of bread and walk quietly about, breathing freely. In the same way never do any practising immediately after a heavy meal. An interval of at least two hours should elapse to allow of the digestion of food.
Remember that your one object in training is not to force your powers, but to so increase and nurse them, that when the day for the sports comes you will be able to do your very best without fear of hurting or over-straining yourself.
Before entering for his school sports a boy must realise the important fact that it is given only to a few to excel at everything. The majority must be content to discover the branch of sport for which, by their natural abilities, they are most suited, and then to practise quietly and persistently so as to gain the best possible results.