The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-08-11
Muscular Education.

THE rationale of training Is to nourish
the body as rapidly as possible, and at the
same time get rid of the waste material.
1t might be compared, for Illustration, to
the rapid consumption OF fuel in locomo-
tive engines, by quick draught of air,
and the production of steam from an inn
mense extent of heated surface, obtained
By exposing to the fire many tubes filled
with water The best of fuel is supplied
to the man IL training in the shape of his
meat, bread and water; bis smoke and
cinders must be got rid of rapidly, so as
to excite the fierce combustion demanded
for the pace he has to go, and the long
continued efforts he has to make. To ac-
complish this, the fire crate and chimneys
of the human engine must be kept clear
snd in perfect working order. The skin,
which lets off the waste steam and smoke
at millions Of pores-Or say twenty-eight
miles of tubing, for this has been calcu
lated lis of the first Importance; hence,
by long experience, from the Greeks
and Romans to our day, trainers, who
are no great Psychologists, have paid
the closest attention to the skin, whether
in training horses or men. The
Greeks used scrSper called q strtGil, and
they sometimes rolled in the dust of the
stadium after amounting, all Of which COM
PEELED them to use great amount Of fric-
ton in merely cleansing the skin. Perspi-
ration is excited and kept up at regular
intervals; and the pores are cleansed
by rubbing with hard brushes and
towels. with occasional sponging,
though the bath is used sparingly.
By this means also the circulation Of the
blood in the minute network of vessels all
haIxy ;o occicfaI Mo~ -, IL
nary health get rid of about three pounds
of water alone from their skin daily, but
in training it must be more than this.
Then the lungs, being nearer to the CEN
trail furnace of the body, are of even more
Importance TO be kept at work than the
skin for from them the chief part OF tie
smoke must be got rid of, besides a good
deal of steam, or, in other words, car
| bonic acid gas ard watery vapor. In or
| binary good health man expires about
twenty-one ounces Of steam daily; Of
course a man undergoing great exertiOn
breathes Of much more than this Then
the light, fresh air is exchanged in breath
ing for the heavy csrbonic gas, ammonia,
hydrogen gas, and volatile animal sub
stances, making altogether from six to
eight per cent of effete material got rid of
| by tie lungs. Now W. can see the me-
cessity for man having what is called
"good wind )" his lungs must be able to
bear the constant and rapid contraction
and expansion, and the strong action of
the heart in driving on the vital stream,
without distress. Hence no one with the
slightest weakness Of the chest should
ever attempt to train, though the regi-
men, very moderately and gradually ap-
pied, would be beneficial; for it may then
simply embrace the well known precepts
Of fresh air, exercise, simple food, no ex-
cesses, and early hours.
The dietary Of the trainers is open to
criticism upon some points. They pre-
scribe dry meat diet, on the suppOsition
that it makes the flesh firm and keeps the
blood from being watery. This is quite
an error for we know that the strongest
men are composed of as p-ch water as
other men, and that this apparently idle
and harmless fluid is most vital one, for
it forms no less than seventy per cent. of
the whole body. The muscles would be
mere shreds if deprived of their water I;
and the singular thing is, that this is not
easy to accomplish even in dead muscle,
for the water is not contained as if by a
| sponge, it can not be press out of the
flesh except by weight which destroys
the fibre; therefore 1t is considered that
water is an essential constituent of muse
Gle. The nerves, which are really the
| source OF al muscular energy, actually
CONSIST Of 500 parts water in 600. Old
Thsles was not far out when he taught
his pupils that water was the life of all
creation Il is possible to live on water
alone for some time, but entirely depriv
cd of it, death results in less than q week.
The trainers are right, however, "a to not
taking liquids in large drsughts; this is
prejudicil to digestion, and is liable to
prozuce chill or shock OF dangerous
kind. 1t il not advantageous that thirst,
which arises from all violent exercises,
should not be Quepched; but this should
be done by small quantities taken while
the system is heated, and not in large
draughts Immediately after the ex-
ertion is over. Il will be found
eragc to be drunk during any strong ex-
erclse, as in long walks over hilly ground
in hot weather, and in any of the more
arduous fcats of running and walking.
Tea, if taken cool, is, however, q very
light and stimulating drink; but beer,
most wines, and spirits are fatal to all
great efforts. A diet of lean meat and
bread, with scanty vegetables, is decided
ly not favorable to robust health expert
encc has long taught US to follow the ia
clination for varieties of many kinds; and
perfect condition, even to efficient train
ing, may be kept up by partgking of these
always excepting young meats and veal,
which is not only immature but half dis.
eascd, from the process of daily bleeding
which is adopted to produce the appear
ance of delicacy. A diet in which flesh
is the chief article is indispensable to our
climate and our habits.
1t can rot be too strongly enforced that
no matter how intellectual the calibre, OIL
how sensitive the fibre, material health
lies at the foot of all. The brain must
have its fat and its phosphorus, the heart
must be touched with the bright and pure
life-stream, or the pace begins to slacken
and the machinery yields TO the sis insr
ti0 of earth, till it stops dead. 1t is not
too much to say that the greatest achieve
ments await those who, having pursuits
not necessarily favorable to health, never
theless make 1t of the first consideration
to attend to the culture of the body
Good eating and driEking, as it il
called, is far too much relied upon
in fact, it is this that in towns leaC
universally to disease and short lives
it is absolutely necessary to combine good
| iOSA "Ash tbpAoeAi4Ss oAO ASil So4iHS CA
ercises, and If the more violent can b.
borne, go much the better If gymastcl
, were esteemed with us as important a.
they were with the ancient Greeks anC
, Romans, and practiced habitually by
them, there is no doubt that the public
health would be raised, and new fields o
enjoyment would open out to the multi
! tude, who are always wondering wha
ails them, or what on earth they can fnt
/ to do. Among the Greeks, it wa
thought impossible for the mind to b,
in vigorous state uless the body was
Philosopher, physician, and gymnas
. were united in one person-Galen dis
located bis shoulder, when wrestling
in his thirty first year. The alipte, VIII,
/, superintended the diet and training, be
came reputed physicians; and their cur
of diseases consisted almost entirely il
adapting some of the processes oftrainin
I'll