As there has been occasion more or less of late to deprecate the holding of so-called "junior" events in track-athletic meetings, it is perhaps an appropriate time to devote some space to the subject of athletics for younger sportsmen, and to try to impress them, if possible, with the fact that any kind of training for boys under sixteen years of age is not only inadvisable but absolutely injurious. If boys of that age wish to take regular exercise—and they all should—there are better things for them to do than to train for contests of speed and endurance. They will do better for themselves if they will restrict their endeavors to a milder form of athletics, to simple body motions or calisthenics. This, of course, is not so interesting, and I know these words will fall upon many deaf ears, but their truth will be recognized none the less by those who have the slightest experience in such matters. It is perhaps natural that young boys who see their older companions constantly at some kind of preparation, or training, for some branch of sport, should wish to imitate their elders, and go in to some similar kind of regular work. The older athletes, and those who look after their development, ought to use all their power to prevent the youngsters from trying to train, instead of encouraging them, as they do, by offering medals as prizes in "junior" events.
The last thing that growing boys should try to accomplish is to get hardened muscles. This sort of thing retards growth and development, thereby defeating the very end that the boys think they are attaining. The best kind of training for the younger lads is to keep regular hours, both for meals and sleep. They will find this more beneficial than to keep a regular hour each day for running or jumping or putting up heavy dumbbells. The boy who gets his breakfast, luncheon, and dinner at a regular hour each day, and who sleeps eight or nine hours each night, and who bathes every morning, will make a much stronger man than the boy who trains for "junior" events.
But, as exercise should form a part of each day's occupation, the sixteen-year-old boy should take his exercise in a way that will do him the most good. He will probably not find it so interesting at first, but he will soon discover that he is becoming a better specimen physically than his fellows who can run a hundred yards or a mile under a certain figure, that really does not mean very much.
FIG. 1.
There are a number of body motions that can be performed at home alone, or in the gymnasium with others, that develop the chest and the arms, the back and the legs, so that when the time comes when it can do no harm for a young man to enter into regular athletic training, his muscles are supple, his skin is clear, his chest is deep, his back is straight, and his legs are firm enough to allow of the natural strain which comes from any kind of training.
FIG. 2.
One of the simplest methods of developing the strength of the legs is to stand erect with the hands on the hips (Fig. 1), and to perform what is called the frog motion.[Pg 346] That is to bend the knees and to squat down, rising at the same time on the toes, and keeping the body erect, from the waist up (Fig. 2). This motion should be continued up and down until you feel tired. Stop at once when the slightest sensation of fatigue is felt. At first a boy will not be able to perform this motion more than ten or a dozen times, but if he keeps it up every morning he will soon find that he does not become tired until he has dropped and risen again some seventy-five or a hundred times. The important point, however, that must be kept in mind all the time is not to overdo.
FIG. 3.
Having gone through the exercise just described, for a few minutes, it is well to try something else that will exercise a different set of muscles. For instance, stand erect and lift the arms high overhead, the palms turned outward, and then bring them rapidly down to the level of the shoulders and up again (Fig. 3). Do this a few times, and then try another arm motion. Stretch the arms forward, the finger-tips touching, and then swing them horizontally back as far as possible, rising on the toes at the same time (Fig. 4). As in the case of any other kind of work, this practice will tire the novice, but at the end of a few weeks it will be surprising to note how long the exercise can be kept up without fatigue.
FIG. 4.
These three exercises will be found sufficient for the first few weeks, but thereafter a greater variety may be adopted. An excellent exercise is to stand erect, with the hands lifted above the head, thumb to thumb, and then to bow over forward, keeping the knees stiff (Fig. 5). At first the hands will not come within eight or ten inches of the floor, but within a week or so it will be an easy matter to touch the carpet with the ends of the fingers.
FIG. 5.
Another movement that will develop the muscles of the waist and back is shown in Fig. 6. Stand erect, with the heels together and the arms akimbo, the hands firmly settled upon the hips. Then move the body about so that the head will describe a circle, the waist forming a pivot about which the upper portion of the body will move. At the start the circle described by the head will be very small, but as the muscles become limbered and the waist becomes supple the body will swing easily about through a much broader area.
FIG. 6.
There is no use denying that all these things are at the start uninteresting, and I know from experience that even with the best intentions there will be a strong temptation at the end of a week to give up the whole business. But here is where the sand and determination of the American boy must prove itself, and the lad who sticks to the monotonous exercise in his own bedroom will be the one in after-years to stand the best chance for a position on his college crew or eleven.
There was a man in my class in college who as a boy lived in a small town where there were no athletic contests. Some one told him that if he wanted to get strong he ought to start in in the morning and dip between two chairs, lacking parallel bars. His adviser told him to dip once the first morning, twice the second morning, three times the third morning, and so on. It is evident that on the last day of the year he would dip 365 times, if he could only keep up this regular increase. He soon found that he was unable to do this, but he was surprised at the end of the year to notice how easily he could dip a number of times between two chairs, whereas his playfellows could barely perform the act three or four times.
When that boy came to college he was the strongest in our class about the chest and arms and back, and could perform wonderful feats of lifting himself and of dipping on the parallel bars in the gym............