Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-15
A Training Expert Discusses the
Athlete and Alcohol,
HARMS GENERALLY In THE LONG RUN
Still Undoubtedly Useful il
Emergencies.
PROTEID DIET SUGGESTED


Copyright. 1901, 10y F. II. Milesl
Written for The Evening Star by Eustace II. Miles:
amateur racquet and court tennis champion OF
the world.
As general rule l do not recommend
alcohol to any one, either for the body
or for the brain, especially if no partic-
ular exertion be needed at the particular
time, and If other remedies be possible;
fo- example, the stimulating effect OF cold
water poured down the spine. Yet alco-
hol does seem to have certain advantages
for modern athletic conditions. / think
the tendency will be for something else to
take its place, or, rather, for people to
avoid the conditions which make alcohol
necessary. AT present 1t is most useful
for emergencies. A man is playing a match
at lawn tennis; he feels utterly tired; If
he can keep up for ten minutes longer he
will win. He takes a glass of brandy: he
keeps up for ten minutes longer; he wins.
This value of alcohol has been proved so
many times that those so-called scientific
men, who deny the truth of it, lose all hold
on the popular faith People see the man
worn out, and then revived, If only for a
time. The fact is undoubted, whatever the
ultimate results may be.
And so it may be with brain work. A
man may be utterly faded. and a glass
of some Stimulant will give him energy
to work, at least for half an hour; that
half hour may be vital to him, The al
cohol probab bly,, among other good effects,
clears the blood of it's poisons for the
immediate present, and that seems to me
the best thing that 1t does. 1t is not so
much the heat that 1t produces at the
time, nor yet the quickening of the heart.
as the clearing of the blood temporarily of
it's uric acid, &c.
Even though the most sensible people
will see that the best plan is to keep the
blood so pure and strong that there will
not be any need for stimulants. that the
body and brain will work better without
stimulants, yet SO long as alcohol does
give entry for while, whether we take
1T or not will usually depend on whether
1t be worth while or not. We injure our
selves by violent run after dinner to
catch a train. Yet this may be quite
worth while; so much may depend on
catching that train that We are content to
sacrifice certain amount of health.
1t is all very well to say that It is not
worth while to take alcohol; II is worth
while in certain cases. Temperance fam
atics compare it with drawing on ones
capital. They forget that it is sometimes
good to draw on cnes capital. But they
make their greatest mistake in false
statements, which the experience of mill
lions refutes. When they say that alco-
hol does not really produce heat, but only
seems to, certain men have perfect right
to deny their conclusion. Only the other
day a man told me that claret always
made him feel hot for many hours after
ward. If | had said TO him: You are not
really hot" the man would have replied:
II don't care a bit about that; L feel hot.
and that's all that matters to me. So
far as all practical purposes are concerned
/ am hot
And when some theorists tell US that al
cohol does not produce energy, they again
lay themselves open to the answers that 1t
does produce energy; 1t may be only call
ing out energy that already exists in the
body, but, anyhow, without the alcohol
the energy would not be called out at all
The directors may say that the effect is
only the immediate effect, but the defen-
ders of alcohol viii reply: That is all we
care for; We refuse to listen to you. You
must concede what we know to be true
The Cambridge rowing crews, in Eng
land, are often allowed a glass of port in
the evening, and some of the men are al
lowed a glass of beer In the middle of the
day. Lehman, the well-known coach, adj
vises an occasional breaking Of the train
ing, If the men get too stale" In fact.
1T seems to be a common opinion that it is
better for the athlete to have a thorough
break. and a fairly large, ordinary dinner
with wine. etc. occasionally, than a steady
amount Of alcohol every day. Personally,
1 think diet which makes people stale
has something wrong at the root Of 1t. 1t
seems to ne that English athletes, who are
less strict about alcohol Especially foot
ballers) are less liable to staleness than
American athletes.
Undoubtedly the effect Of alcohol differs
with its different forms. 1t is not always
IL.
There is certain Cyprus red wine which
has next to no alcohol in It, and yet will
make Tommy Atkins quite weak in the
head, even though he has been used to
plenty or whisky. On the whole, perhaps,
good old whisky, II you can get that kind,
and If you can take it weak, is the safest
drink tor the average athlete, If he must
take alcohol at all. But individuals differ
here perhaps more than in any other re-
spect. One OF the best and hardest gen.
eral athletes of my acquaintance has a rule
never to drink any alcohol except old
whisky, and never to take that unless he is
going to work 1t off by exercise very soon
afterward.
In my own case, alcohol has little or no
appreciable effect on my games. Nor does it
make any great difference In my standard OF
endurance. In between games L sometimes
take 1t and sometimes not. l have found
that 1t makes very little difference one
way or the other l am convinced that in
the end the frequent use of alcohol does
great deal of harm but 1 am also con-
WINGED that it clears the blood for the time
being If the blood be impure, and to clear
the blood for the time being is often in
valuable for athletes. l remember a cele-
brated cricketer who used to get In a terri
BILE condition after dinner and then, be-
fore he went in to bat, would drink a
quantity of liquor, and then make large
scores. l remember, also, two Cambridge
(English) all-round athletes, who used to
play beautifully the next morning after
heavy drinking the night before, followed
by drinking in the morning. Evidently
their eyes We're cleared for the time being
by the alcohol; but the after results are
usually bad. These two athletes who
should have been vigorous till thirty-fve
or forty, fell off conspicuously after the
age of twenty-five. Professor Michael Fos-
ter told me that We must not judge of the
effects of such excuses until after the age
of twenty-five, or even after the age of
thirty. Moreover, these two athletes, and
others, have never yet found alcohol re-
liable. One day it might clear the eye and
produce wonderful success: another day
the effect might be absolutely the reverse
That is the worst Of alcohol for training
1t Is unreliable.
Alcohol seems to fight against the power
of long endurance 1t may produce a flash
for time, but will be against steady and
persistent work with the body or brain On
one occasion 1t produces brilliancy; on an