The Tupelo journal., 1908-04-03
THE u
ATHLETES START


midable. So the trained athlete is
easily the master of the longshoreman
or street tough.
Many boys will object that they are
too busy at school to go in for ath.
letics. This is a mistake.
While you are in school or studying,
Danish every thought of athletics from
your mind and think of nothing but
the book before you. But you will find
you have ample time, outside of study
hours, to become an athlete.
For instance: Your school hours are
probably from 9 to 3. 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 l lay out any course of
exercise for you let me give you one
bit OF warning that applies equally to
the boy of 8 and the boy of IS. 1t is
this:
Never exercise when you are tired.
II o weary of your exercises and
find it an exhausting effort to con
tinue 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 gone through by exhausted mus
cles 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 a 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 a 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 our friend. Unhappily, it is
almost as easy to make it your dan
SefOuS enemy.
In the first place, it is not necessary
to diet as rigidly as if you were going
into a college football game. but you
must, one 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
p%udding); leave pastry alone. 1t is
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
O. 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 a 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 OF in college. For
on stomach and nerves hang all an
athletes chances of success. And the
perfect condition of nerves and stom-
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
would-be athletes, either old or young,
but they are intended especially for
the boy under IA, as coming well
within his scope.
Here is a 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-
peat four times the first morning, not
stopping to rest between times. After
that increase the number Of rises
by n each morning till you can rise