New-York tribune., 1899-03-26
EXERCISE And OVEREYERCISE.
INTERFERENCE WITH DIGESTION A PRIN-
CIPAL EFFECT OF THE LATTER.
From The Hospital.


From The Hospital.
If We accent the broad fact that exercise IS
good. and that its effect is 10 increase muscular
strength and bodily development, We have to
ask. Why does still further exercise cease to
he good and what do we mean by OyereXercISc?"
First must draw a broad distinction between
the effect OF constantly maintained eXeruon
which is required in certain trades and the al
ternatng contraction ana relaxation Of all the
muscles of the body which is the characteristic
~ games and athletics Of all kinds. That con-
stantly maintained effort or monotonous repe-
titOn of the same movement tends to eXhaus-
tion rather than nutrition goes without saying;
but taking ordinary so-called healthy exercise.
by what is it's limit set The limit appears -
hc set 10y three factors. % The capacity Of the
digestive organs To keep up the quality OF the
blood. - the capacity II the eXcretory organs
10 get rid Of The waste products which result
from muscular action. and 60 the power OF the
heart To drive constant stream OF blood
through every corner of the organism.
Interference with digestion iS Il by no means
uncommon effect OF excessive exercise. and 80
far as training is concerned it is one Of the
most destructive. The blood cannot iOw in full
stream 10 every part at once As DIT Lauder
Brunton says. Every one knows that Whie
moderate exercise tends to produce appetite. :
long and exhausting exertion tends to destroy
the appetite. ana even TO produce actual sick
ness as one finds in mountain climbing P"O-
pie differ greatly in this respect, but IN soine-
great pJndcrouS men as they may seem lh'
digestion is SO easily upset by muscular eXer-
cise that although they may be giants ior
mOmcutary cXcrti0n. anything Ike sustained e,-
fort disturbs digestion. and cuts at the very root
Of their nutrition. In many cases. however. the
limit To exercise lies in diminished excretion.
Unless the exCretory organs are thoroughly eiii-
cient the tissues become crowded with products
which cannot be got rid Of. the senses become
dimmed. and effort becomes a mere automatlsn,
in consequence of sell-poisOning by the prod
ucts of muscular waste.
So far We have dealt with what may be- my
rafL4
Interference with digestion so lowers nutrition,
the system. that in either case further exerton
becomes impossible-the very will to make it
passes away. But il is different in regard 10
The heart. The heart. although strained. may
vet be- driven on to its own destruction. Every
muscular effort not only demands from the
heart an increased flow OF blood. but also drives
an increased quantity toward it. So long as the
heart can pass this forward all IS well. but when
il fails not merely is the circulation Of the
blood rendered imperfect. but serious damage
is done to the heart itself If when the heart
was overdriven ii merely struck. the cnfeebled
circulation would soon put stop To further
effort The willing heart however. taking al
each beat a wider sweep and driving into the
vessels a larger quantity OF blood. so meets the
call that the athlete struggle on perhaps
to win his race But the strained heart suffers,
the stretched muscle does not quite come back,
the dilated cavity does not quite close at each
and permanent mischief IS set up
-rbus il is that exercise driven to the limit i'm
r,oe.d by the heart is Overexercise in the most
serious sense q the word II ii is the heart that
etous il the chances are that II has already
zone too far.