The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1908-04-03
THE YOUNG
ATHLETES START

| For instance. lOur SCnOOl uouI0 o'S
probably from to 8. You devote a
good part of the evening to study
That leaves you the best part of the
afternoon and an hour in the morning
! for athletics. 1t is really much more
time than You need.
| Now, before lay out any course of
! exercise for YOU let me give You one
bit Of warning that applies equally 10
the boy of and the boy of IS. 1t IS
| this
Never exercise when You are tired.
If you weary of your exercises and
| find it an eXhausting effort to con
TRUE them, stop for the day. Each
day you will find you can exercise a
/ little longer and a little harder than
you could the day before. But eXer-
Cises some through by exhausted mus
cies can do nothing but harm.
Stomach Must Be Right.
To become an athlete you must first
gain the consent of your stomach.
This is not meant for a joke. 1t is
the sterneSt sort Of fact, as many
persons have learned who have neg
| leCted to obtain that consent, On the
condition of the stomach depends all
the working of both body and mind.
A weak or disturbed stomach utterly
units man or boy to do his best
work. Therefore, to become an ath-
lete first build up the stomach. get
ting it into strong, healthy condition.
That is half the battle for athletic
prowess. 1t is easy to make the
stomach your friend Tnhappily, it is
almost as easy to make it your dan
gerOus enemy.
In the first place, it is not necessary
to diet as rigidly as if you We're going
into a college football game. but you
must, none the less, be careful what
you eat. Don't eat sweets between
meals; don't eat much dessert (unless
it is something like rice or tapioca
y
too much, in winter, to expect any
boy wholly to give up buckwheat
cakes; but they are not good for you.
If you must eat them do so in mOdera-
ton. Leave sausage alone, too; and
other highly spiCed foods. Neither tea
nor coffee should be drunk by any
growing boy; least of all by an ath-
lete- Fried foods of all sorts are bad
for YOU Now, at first glance you may
fancy these restrictions cut out the
best things of life. But they do not.
They cut out only the worst things.
Do not eat when you are tired out.
Rest few minutes in such a case be-
fore eating. Take no violent exercise
for at least half an hour after eating.
Smoking Not Allowable.
Don't smoke. That is bad for both
stomach and nerves, and no normal
boy gets any real pleasure from doing
it. Leave beer and liquor to older
people who are foolish enough to
spend money that way for the priv.
ilege of wrecking their constitutions.
Get at least nine hours sleep every
night.
The foregoing instructions must be
vigorously followed by every boy who
desires to be an athlete, whether he be
in primary school or in college. For
on stomach and nerves hang all an
athletes chances of success. And the
perfect condition of nerves and stom-
ach depends on the strict observance
of these rules.
The course Of exercises to follow is
intended for boys under IA. Up to
the age of IA no boy should take up
seriously any of thoes more strenuous
sports. They are apt to injure frames
not yet hardened enough for such work.
The exercises prescribe to-day are
beneficial and even necessary for all
Iould-be athletes, either old or young,
but they are intended especially for
the boy under II, as coming we'll
within his scope.
Here is good daily routine to start
on:
First Morning Exercise.
Get up at seven o'clock
Before bathing or beginning to dress
lie fiat on the floor, on your back.
Fold the arms across the chest. Now
rise toward a sitting posture, without
moving the legs and without uncross-
ing or moving the arms. Do not rise
entirely to a sitting posture, but only
about three-Quarters of the distance.
Then sink back again into your former
position and repeat the process of ris-
ing. Be sure to keep the legs rigid
and unmoved while doing this. Re-