Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-13
NEW IDEAS FOR ATHLETES
Olympic Champion Has Novel Ideas
on Eating.
THEORIES ON THE PROPER DIET
VoiEt, Five-Mne Hammer, says II II
Better 60 Overeat Than Under-
eat-stImuIants Arc Good
in some Cases,

INNS ~ AHN aAAAA0NAA AAAt a AAt1AH~- 49,
diet, stimulates and massage for athletes
They come from a vegetarian. an olympic
champion and record holder TO boot. The
author OF the latest wrinkle Is Emil r
voigt, who won the five-mile run at the
London Olympic games, beating the best
men in the world, and who made a new
Olympic record by running the distance In
Is minutes 11b seconds VoiGt never tasted
a mouthful Of animal food in his life, yet
he is sensible to leave out his views as to
whether the plan is a good or bad one gen
orally, but he has really original ideas with
regard to the quality TO be eaten. His
advice Is that a mar should always be
careful to eat enough, and particular stress
is laid on the point that 1t is better to
overeat than to undereat.
Heretofore the trainers Of athletes and
the general run OF physical mentors
chimed an unvarying cry that to get the
benefit OF his food a man should partially
stint himself. and some went so far as to
advocate periodical spells OF semi-starva-
ton. 1t IL a little wonder then that a man
who says always be sure and eat enough
and you will never grow stale should
create some sensation. The old trainers
tabooed stimulants, but, according to
Voigt, II a man can stand It he will find
some good from a min Of brandy at the end
Of a long race like a Marathon, and he
cites a case where a man had collapsed
near the end OF n race, but who got up and
finished after he took a little brandy.
To the massaging feature of training
Voigt attaches a lot Of Importance, and he
is Of the opinion that the scientific working
Of the muscles Is very advantageous. The
primary objects Of massage applied to the
athlete means the elimination Of waste
matter from between the muscles, to
loosen the muscles from the bone and to
Increase the elasticity OF the muscles and
to strengthen the tendons. In q general
synopsis Voigt says: "As to the question
OF diet, the well worn phrase, What is
one mans food is another mans poison,
only IN exceptioned cases is applicable to
the athlete. AS a rule what suits one
healthy person suits another, though occu-
patton may demand a slight variation in
quantity. Training dietary simply means
healthy food and drink-not mystic prep
a~rations and elixirs. Thu best way to
a reform in food Is TO strike
out or reduce In quantity those obviously
harmful articles such as rich pastry, con-
diments, new bread, sloppy and pultaceous
foods.
1 nave my own particular luedb ABOUT
animal food and will not seek TO introduce
such controversial views here, but would
recommend to the athlete that his food
contain a minimum quantity of waste mat
ter, which is one Of the greatest factors in
the causation of fatigue. In this respect
II might be we'll to mention specially liver,
kidneys and pig meat. The function OF the
liver is to separate the poisons from the
food eaten: therefore an extra amount of
waste means extra duty for that organ
The undesirability Of taking such foods
will be at once apparent. On the other
hand. bread biscuits. cheese, eggs, boiled
buildings and dried fruit form the basis
uf the ideal diet in training
Eat Plenty.
"It should Always be borne In mind that
It is distinctly preferable to over-eat than
to under-eat Too little nourishment is
frequently the cause Of breakdowns in
training, and feel convinced that most
Of the cases Of staleness are really due to
over-strain caused by insufficient nourish-
ment in the blood during strenuous exer-
else.
"As regards drinking, It Is advisable to
drink only when thirsty, as the blood is
then in a concentrated condition and In
need Of fluid. Too much fluid or fluid
taken apart from thirst is injurious. Slim
uIants come under the same head and they
deserve mention. 1t is a fact that some
athletes have constitutions so strong as
to withstand the habitual consumption of
| alcoholic liquors while In training. II must
be confessed also that they do not appear
TO be any worse for their indulgence. TINS
however, does not apply TO the majority OF
runners. Stimulants are particularly harm
ful 10 those engaged In sedentary occupa-
tions, with little or no manual work. Al
cohol contains no nutriment. The question
naturally arises whence comes that tenn
uorary additional strength which follows
the taking Of stimulating drinks?
in a recent Marathon race l had the
opportunity Of watching a runner who
about three miles from the finish had SUI
fered so much from the gruelling race tina
II was apparently impossible for MIN u
run another mile without assistance Al
intervals. however, brandy was given e
him and he ran the distance through II
exclamation 1t might be pointed out tina
the action OF alcohol on the system Is u
quickly turn the reserves Of albumen II
the blood and tissues into energy, Aftei
expanding this energy the body is of course
IN a much more Impoverished state than !
would otherwise have been and is ther
open to permanent injury through over
strain. Consequently there is then a cal
for a greater QuantityNo of nourishment thai
usual in order to make up for this de
f~iciency. II extra n~ourishment is not takeI
after such stimulation the constitution 1
weakened. It is desirable therefore TO re
duce stlmulants to a minimum durini
training.
Apart from the narcotic and stimulat
ing effects of smoking a surface breath
ing Is thereby induced which Is particu
larry detrimental to the long distance run
ner. Habitual smoking tends to induce
HRht respiration. On the other hand.
should be the athletes endeavor TO cult
yate deep breathing and thereb
strengthen the lungs so that they ma
work TO the best advantage under the un
usual strain which they may subsequent
undergo in racing.
The path practice which an athlete
10 take varies considerably, according I
the distance for which he is to train. Fl
distances from a quarter Of a mile TO on
mile It is not too much. generally speak
I ing. to have path practice every day. FroI
to Z O'Clock in the evening Is the bes
time 10 train. BY this time the midda
--aa l.. -..lI a4w.utaa ana tina mir