Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-09-24
DANGERS OF ATHLETICS.

bad Results Invariably Follow Excessive
Physical Training.
A proposition is always best demon
strated by example No better proof
can be furnished of the statement that
ordinary physical training" has an ex-
ceedingly deleterious effect upon the
human constitution than the numerous
instances daily brought to light where
men have died of organic ailments di-
rectly induced by the caiisthenic
practices of both professional and anna
teur athletes
In speaking of training" the word
Is put in quotation marks to designate
more particularly that course of disci-
pline to which the pugilist is subjected
just previous to fight. an oarsman to
a rowing match, or pedestrian before
a six days walk It Is not intended to
depreciate the value of physical eXer-
else or the benefit to be derived from
ordinary caliSthenics- But look for a
moment at what the athlete has to
undergo to fit himself, according to the
orthodox trainer. for what is in reality
an abnormal test of muscular strength
and nerve endurance
First of all, he is dieted in a way that
is certainly not physically conducive
His regimen consists mainly of flesh
lean meat at that Every particle Of fat
is carefully removed from his steak.
Vegetables he does not eat, or at most
very sparingly. As a matter of fact,
were an attempt made to bring a man
up on food OF that description from
! early childhood it is doubtful whether
he would live to within ten years of
what is called middle age.
Man is an omniverous animal.
To live normally, as he has
been intended by nature to live, he
must eat meat, vegetables and grain.
The very fat that he avoids is needed
by the liver to perform its functions of
| turning oleaginous matter into soap.
The length of the human intestines and
the slow process of digestion demand
other food than that of half-cooked lean
| meat w hich is almost entirely digeSted
by the time it leaves the stomach.
But the most violent injury the ath-
lete does himself when pursuing his
conservative method of preparing for
the arena is in the process known as
sweating down" to required weight
He is compelled to load himself with
about five times the amount of ex-
traneous clothing that nature calls for,
| and then by vigorous and sudden exer-
else superinduce sweating until his
weight is reduced in many cases many
pounds below the standard required by
his frame and the work done by the
principal organs of the body. In this
sweating process it is seldom that the
| pores of the skin are equal to the de-
mand made by the copious emulation
| of moisture from the body; the conse-
| quence is an extra strain upon the kid
neys. In addition to which, although
a man may by this method reduce the
muscular and destroy the adiopose it's
sue, it is impossible for him to lessen
the size of the heart, liver or any other
organ of the booy in the same way.
In a healthy man there is a gradual
and normal increase of the body's bulk.
nature provides a pro rata increase In
the size and strength of the thorac and
abdominal viseera- If the mans total
weight be suddenly and unnaturally
lowered, the heart and other organs,
| remaining the same, are in consequence
doing more work than necessary
Herein lies the cause of consumption
enlargement of the heart and Bright:
disease. that frequently are the causes OF
death in the pugilist. the oarsman and
the pedestrian.
Paradoxically speaking, civilized man
is the only animal whose normal condi
| ton is one of disease. For centuries
he has lived improperly and seldom
dies simply because he cannot live any
| longer. 1t is on this account that the
regular process of training is always
injurious and often fatal to him. Were
he in the physical condition which, pre-
sumably, the primitive forerunners OF
his race enjoyed he would scarcely
need it
A young Zulu, straight from his ma
tive wilds, whose father and whose
fathers forefathers died from an asse
gal or from sheer old age. might be q
fit subject for the sweating system OF
training, even if it would benefit him,
which is doubtful; but a nineteenth
century son of civilization, whose
father died perhaps of apoplexy
brought on by pate de foie gras and
whose ancestors were probably con
noisseurs in port wine, is scarcely pre-
pared by physical Inheritance for such
a suicidal strain upon his system
1t is comforting to learn that a few
of the more enlightened professional
trainers and athletes of to-day-and, be
it added, not the least successful-have
so far needed the warnings held out te
them as to adopt a more modified sys
tenn of training. 1t is a good step in
the right direction In a few years
perhaps, the fast-increasing dissemina
ton of knowledge and the constant in
stances of evil results from present
methods ombined, will bring about a
much needed reformation in this re
spect and physical culture will be
sought by means less barbarous. les:
injurious and without lowering the
present athletic standard IN. Y
World.
| The Advent of . Reformer.
Waiter, will You please bring me &
hammerT'
The loud, imperious voice rang sharp
~ through the gilded dining hall A
hundred pairs of eyes looked up in
establishment The rattle of knives
forks and SDoons ceased The hmm az