pace that kills,” and that slow walking never made a fast race or fast
man; let him practice at his best pace, which will daily improve. The
commencement of fast work will most likely bring on pain of the shins,
which will be sore after the exertion has been discontinued, as well as
other portions of the frame being in the same predicament. Hand-rubbing
with a stimulating embrocation (of which the recipe is appended) before
a good fire will in most instances be all that is required; but if
obstinate, a hot bath will insure the removal of all the obstinate
twitches, etc. The shoes for match-walking should be of the lightest
description commensurate with strength for the distance required.
They should be of sufficient width and length to give the muscles and
tendons of the foot full play, without being in the slightest degree
cramped. They should be laced up the front, and care taken that the
lace is sound and new. So much importance is attached to this, that
stout wax-ends are now invariably in use. Some advocate the use of
boots; but, although stated to be useful if there is any weakness of
the ankle--a pedestrian with weak ankles!--is there no cold water?--the
heat generated by them would certainly counterbalance the supposed
benefit; and there is the difference in the weight, which would tell at
the finish of a long match.
HIGH JUMPING.
Begin by gentle runs of about three hundred yards, with a few low
jumps, say ten, about three feet high. Practice over these jumps for
a few days until the stiffness of the muscles wears off, and then
gradually raise them to four feet or four feet six inches. If this
height cannot be cleared easily, place the jumps at the most suitable
height. Care must be taken to do them quickly and neatly. The run
between may be slow, but the jumps should always be taken with a quick
spring, landing on both feet every time. If this _modus operandi_ is
paid attention to, the muscles will soon become accustomed to the sharp
contraction required, and the legs will, by keeping them well together
over low jumps and alighting on both feet, lose their tendency to
straddle when a higher jump than usual is attempted.
Some, when in practice for high jumps, strengthen their muscles by
standing on one leg and lowering the body down until the hams touch the
heels, and then raising themselves up gradually again. This action,
however much it may be beneficial to the sinews, cannot but give them
a tendency to be slow, which should be avoided as much as possible. A
heavy coat, with a weight in both pockets, is of some service to those
athletes stripped and ready to compete, as a great sense of lightness
and elasticity is imparted to the frame on its removal. The heavy coat
should never be worn except in the few minutes preceding the trial, as
by constant use the good effects wear off. Always have a soft place
to alight upon, as it not only eases the jar of the jump, but gives
a jumper more confidence when he feels secure from the chances of a
twist of the ankles on touching the ground. Hard turf, with very fine
ashes rolled in until the surface is quite level, makes the best fair
taking-off place both for high and broad jumping.
BROAD JUMPING.
Begin with a few jumps about twelve feet or so, taking your run for
them slowly, starting about twenty yards off and quickening in the last
few strides. The great object to be guarded against is taking off to
far from the mark, or getting out of step in the run; this can only be
obviated by practicing at a certain distance until the necessary swing
of the last few strides is acquired. The run to the jump cannot be too
fast; in the air the legs should be raised as in going over a high
jump, and thrown as far forward on landing as can be done with both
heels close together. No fear need be entertained of falling back on
alighting if the run is sufficiently fast and the landing place level
and soft; the impetus derived from the run gives the heaviest part of
the jumper, the trunk, sufficient momentum to carry itself forward
when the progress of the feet and legs is arrested. The landing
place should be soft to the depth of eight inches, and sufficiently
binding to show the marks of the heels clearly on alighting; clay and
mould mixed make the best landing ground. A soft place to jump on will
prevent any jar to the knees, and will give the jumper more confidence.
The concussion caused by landing on hard ground may sometimes cause a
serious accident.
[Illustration: SIX-DAY PEDESTRIANS.
1. J. Dobler, 2. S. Merritt, 3. Geo. Hazael,
4. F. Khrone, 5. P. J. Panchott, 6. Wm. Dutcher,
7. Nick Murphy, 8. Norman Taylor, 9. George Guyon.]
[Illustration: W. GIBB, Who ran ten miles in 54min, 49sec., London,
England.]
HAMMER THROWING.
The muscles of the loins and back are the ones principally brought
into play in hammer throwing, and by their development they become
extremely serviceable in assisting the spine to bear the upper portions
of the body. The practice of this kind of exercise must, therefore, be
beneficial to those whose lungs and heart are too delicate to stand any
of those sports, such as rowing, running, etc., which so particularly
tax their working powers. Commence practicing with a hammer about 7lb.,
until the art of swinging while running is acquired; to learn this the
run should be taken at first only six or seven yards from the scratch;
before the run swing the hammer well, like a pendulum, in the direction
of the mark two or three times, until it has acquired a good momentum,
and then start, taking, at the first few attempts, one turn only in
the run; afterwards, as the practice becomes easier, two turns can be
made, and the runs lengthened in proportion. Some athletes, however,
take three or four turns, but, as a rule, two will be found sufficient.
Between the turns, run as far towards the scratch as possible, taking
long, even strides to acquire a good impetus, and keeping up the
centrifugal force of the hammer by swinging it well round low, and in
a plane at right angles to the body. The arms should be kept quite
straight the whole time, merely acting as if they were a prolongation
of the handle. The work is done by the muscles of the back and loins,
and in delivering the hammer at the scratch the athlete should, above
all things, bear in mind that he does not lift it as if lifting to leg.
The “devil” must be put into the swing as the hammer descends in the
last half of the turn, so that the force has culminated by the time the
hammer is crossing the line parallel to the scratch, where it must be
let go, the body at the same moment being thrown back to counteract the
impetus of the swing. The hammer should describe a curve at its highest
point of not more than 11 or 12 feet from the ground. Avoid pulling
at the handle in the run, and increase the pace and swing at each
successive turn. The farthest throw of the 11lb. hammer, 3 feet handle,
on record, is 176 feet. The 22lb. hammer has been thrown over 94 feet.
PUTTING THE STONE.
Balance the body on the right leg, the left side turned towards the
scratch, the right foot being placed as near the seven-foot mark as
possible, and the right hand balancing the weight, with the knuckles
close to the shoulder; raise the weight up to the full stretch of
the arm two or three times, till the muscles get into play, still
keeping the weight of the body thrown on to the right leg, the left
foot touching the ground slightly; when the balance of the body is
obtained, hop three feet towards the mark, and then spring up sharply
to the scratch line, throwing the weight away at the same moment, and
bringing the right leg down, with the toe touching the scratch line
and the right side of the body to the mark. By this means the follow
of the body after the weight is prevented, and, by bringing the right
leg forward at the moment of throwing, the whole force of the thighs
are brought into play, and the muscles of the loins assist in the
sudden turn of the body from left to right. The weight must be held on
the lowest joints of the fingers and the palm of the hand, the wrist
being kept as stiff as possible, and all tendency to throw it as a ball
avoided. A heave is not so effective as a quick jump, with the muscles
concentrated at the same moment. The quicker the hop and the throw are
made, the further the distance put, provided that the balance is not
lost. Any delay between the first hop and the final spring is fatal.
In delivering the weight, let it be put upwards--that is to say, aim
to hit an object about fourteen feet above the spot where the weight
will pitch. The further the weight has to be put, the higher must be
the elevation. No exercise is a greater proof of strength than this.
Very little skill is required; and when once the way of putting is
learnt, it seldom happens that a strong man gets beaten by the knack of
a weaker antagonist.
The ankle is the part most likely to suffer, from the fact of having to
spring with the whole of the body, and the addition of the weight. To
practice, a cricket ball may be used instead of a heavy weight, and the
spring made as before, with the delivery of the ball. After a little
practice, a heavier weight may be tried until the one required can be
put properly. The best “puts” on record are for the 22lb. weight over
36 feet, and for the 16lb. over 41 feet.
TRAINING FOR ROWING, ETC.
The present work is not intended for the guidance of professional
oarsmen, or those who may row for large stakes, and who, when matched,
leave their usual occupations and devote their energies to the better
observance of the stricter rules of training. Such men invariably have
a mentor worthy of following, and whose knowledge of right and wrong
will lead them to success or otherwise, as the fates may dispose. The
amateur, however, must be treated more gently and with more attention
than the sturdier and hardier professional, or those who may have made
the river and adjuncts their capital in their struggle through the
world for a subsistence. The amateur, when he has an engagement before
him, should take into consideration the time he has allowed him to
train, and the mode of proceeding will depend in a great measure on the
condition and previous habits of the man engaged. If a man is fleshy
and of a full habit of body, a dose or two of mild purgative medicine
should be taken, and slow walking exercise only taken on the day the
doses have been administered. After the medicine has done its duty, if
the amateur is very fleshy, a Turkish bath or two may be taken with
advantage, the usual precautions against cold being used. The subject,
after one or two of these sweats, is prepared for more arduous work,
which may be taken at a fair pace in the form of good sharp runs and
fast walks, which, like all other trainings, will become easier of
accomplishment at each repetition.
The above work, with rowing exercise, will infallibly bring the
practitioner, if continued for any time, into a proper condition to
contend with confidence and success in any rowing contest.
He must rise at five in the summer, and after his bath (cold), and
having been well rubbed down, a good sharp walk of about a mile out and
a rattling spin taken by running home, when another good rub will be
rendered imperative Should the run not be taken, a row of a couple of
miles at three parts speed must be accomplished. When thoroughly cooled
down, breakfast should be taken, which should consist of good wholesome
meat (either broiled mutton-chops or steak, with no seasoning), stale
bread or toast, and tea. When dinner can be taken at mid-day, say about
one P. M., it is better, and should consist, like the breakfast, of
good wholesome roast meat, with no vegetable except a mealy potato,
stale bread, and not more than a pint of really good sound ale (old, if
palatable to the drinker, the best); some prefer sherry, but, although
agreeing with a few, the ale, as a rule, is more strengthening and
wholesome. The row should be taken before tea, which should then be
of the same viands and liquids as the breakfast. The above rules, of
course, are open to alteration, according to circumstances, and the
diet varied successfully by the introduction of fowls, either roast
or boiled--the latter preferred--and when there is any indication of
training off, a small portion of green-meat, in the shape of sound
cabbage or any fresh vegetable in season. The last food before retiring
to rest should be either about half a-pint of thin gruel or a glass of
ale with dry toast. The other portion of the day’s training must be
left to circumstances; but it must never be lost sight of that sharp
work, regularity and cleanliness are the chief if not the only rules
to be followed to produce thorough good condition. The use of the bath
should never by any chance be missed. Nothing is more injurious to the
wind, etc., than hard rowing on a full stomach, the ill effects of
which, although scarcely felt at the time, have at a more remote time,
in many instances, proved to be the germ of serious disorders.
In rowing, the legs, loins, trunk, arms, hands, the digestive organs
and the lungs are made to perform their regular and legitimate
functions simultaneously, and the danger of building up one part of
the system at the expense of another thereby avoided, and to the
recognition of these facts is ascribed the popularity of aquatic sports
here and abroad. But it is not always convenient for large numbers of
our people to indulge in this healthful pastime; the expense of owning
and keeping a boat, the difficulty of reaching an acceptable place for
rowing, no less than the dangers incident to inexperienced oarsmen upon
the water, are drawbacks which can only be met by the substitution of a
machine giving all the advantages without the disagreeable accessories;
to this end several machines have been introduced to public notice,
but none have filled all the requirements until by careful observation
of the defects of former attempts the Eureka Parlor Rowing Machine was
introduced, which gives an exact and perfect imitation of rowing. It
teaches to feather the oar correctly, it gives the dip of the oar, it
has the sliding seat, it can be regulated for heavy or light, short
or long stroke, and is manufactured for either open or cross-handed
rowing, and the pressure can be changed to suit the weak or the strong.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRAINING FOR ROWING.
For the further information of those who cannot have too much of a good
thing as to the preparation for rowing a race, we subjoin the latest
ideas of modern authorities upon the subject.
JOSH WARD’S SYSTEM OF TRAINING.
The following rules, from the pen of Josh Ward, ex-champion sculler and
captain of the Ward crew, which among their other achievements won the
International four-oared race at Saratoga in 1871, will be first-class
authority:
First, be sure that the men are in perfect health, so that they will be
able to stand the work which they are about to commence.
A mild medicine is usually required to cleanse the blood, as, unless
the blood is in good order, and in very many cases it is in any other
condition than a good one, the food taken will not digest well.
Upon getting up in the morning take a sponge bath, dry well with a
coarse towel, after which walk about two miles before breakfast.
Breakfast should consist of a good tender porterhouse steak, broiled
rare, and thoroughly masticated before swallowing. As a drink, a cup of
black tea. Drink no more than absolutely necessary either at meals or
any other time.
After breakfast, eaten slowly, no exercise should be taken for about an
hour; at the expiration of which time, the crew can get in the boat and
row the same distance expected to be rowed in the race, and at a good
pace.
After returning from the row, a rub down and then a moderate walk,
until shortly before dinnertime. Dinner should consist of roast beef or
broiled chicken, with soft boiled eggs, etc.
If any drink is taken, tea or water, in moderate quantity, should be
used. After dinner no exercise for about two hours, when the crew take
the afternoon pull, which should be over about the same distance and at
the same pace as that of the morning.
After coming ashore, rub down as in the morning, with a coarse towel,
and then take a moderate walk, returning home about an hour before
supper, which, when eaten at all, should be a light one, composed of a
little broiled meat, with a piece of dry toast and a cup of tea.
Two meals, at the least, should always be taken; and where only two
are taken, they should, in all cases, be what is known as breakfast
and dinner, as both these meals, or rather either of them, are more
essential to the man in training than supper, particularly if he, as I
would advise him to do, rises with the sun and retires at about nine
o’clock, or half-past, in the evening.
After a night’s sleep, and after having left the bed at five in the
morning and walked or ran two, three or four miles, as well as taking a
bath, the system is generally quite importunate for sustenance by seven
o’clock or half-past.
This is not always the case, however, in regard to supper; as, after
having eaten a hearty dinner, at 1 o’clock, without any other exercise
thereafter than the afternoon row, a man with very little practice
can accustom himself to doing without more food until the following
morning, if he retire at about nine o’clock.
Up with the sun in the morning and pursue the regular plan of bath,
walk, etc., unless stormy, in which case exercise indoors should be
substituted for the walk.
The dumbells and clubs are proper implements to use for this purpose,
and every man in training, whether amateur or professional, should have
one or other, or both.
The man in training should always have plenty of exercise given him at
regular and proper intervals. By plenty of exercise I mean just enough,
neither too much nor too little; and to be able to tell just when a
man has just enough belongs only to those who have had an extensive
experience in preparing men for aquatic or other contests.
His habits must, of necessity, be very regular, otherwise the course
which he is pursuing will result in very little good.
[Illustration: CELEBRATED FEMALE PEDESTRIANS.
1. Cora Cushing. 2. Mary Marshall. 3. Exilda La Chapelle.
4. Fanny Edwards. 5. Bertha Von Berg. 6. Fanny Rich.
7. Bella Kilbury. 8. Madame Tobias. 9. Madame Franklin.]
[Illustration: MADAME ANDERSON, the great 2,700 Quarter-mile Walker.]
In regard to the oars which myself and brothers--the Ward
crew--generally use, they are sweeps, about twelve feet long and five
inches wide. A boat for our crew of four would be forty-six feet long
and twenty inches wide. In pulling we use the legs, and in a four or
six-oared boat pull forty and forty-two strokes per minute. In pulling
a pair of sculls, I pull about thirty-eight strokes to the minute, and
use the legs.
We used spoon oars, and our boats were constructed with the stroke on
the starboard side.
In sculling, I have always pulled open-handed, but I think cross-handed
is the better style.
To make a successful rower great practice will be required, although in
this, as in everything else, some learn much more rapidly than others.
* * * * *
Benjamin F. Brady, ex-president of the Amateur Rowing Association,
furnishes the subjoined:
Coxswains are carried in the gigs and barges only; all the shells being
constructed to dispense with them, and it is safe to predict that they
will soon come to be a thing of the past in all American shell races.
Whether with or without a coxswain is the more practical or scientific,
depends, in a great measure, upon the nature of the course pulled, and
the efficiency of the bow oar; but an experienced crew can well get
along without one. While the fact has been several times proven that a
good coxswain has been the means of winning a race with an acknowledged
inferior crew.
COXSWAIN’S ORDERS
Among the Clubs of the Association, are given as follows:
1st. “Oars.”--The crew raising their oars to an angle of forty-five
degrees and then placing them in the thole pins.
2d. “Out.”--The crew running their oars out to the proper distance for
rowing, the blade being parallel with the gunwale of the boat.
3d. “Give-way.”--At the word “Give” throwing the handle of the oar
forward well over the toes, the blade being at a proper angle to strike
the water; and at the word “Way” dipping the oar in the commencement of
the pull.
4th. “Weigh.”--To stop rowing.
5th. “Weigh-starboard,” or “Weigh-port.” To turn right or left.
6th. “Easy-all.”--To slacken speed.
7th. “Oars-apeak.”--To salute when at rest. The oars to be raised
perpendicularly, the handles resting on the floor, and the blades
running fore and aft.
8th. “Weigh-across,” “Apeak.” To salute when under headway. Running the
oars across both gunwales.
9th. “Let-fall.”--To regain former position. At the word “Let,” raising
the oar about four inches, and at the word “Fall,” throwing it into the
thole-pins, the blade “first” touching the water.
10th. “Across-ship.”--To get the oars in the boat. At the word “Ship,”
raising the oar at a distance to clear the heads of the crew, and
dropping it lightly in the centre of the boat.
11th. “Trail-oars.”--In passing through bridges, culverts, etc.,
unshipping the oar and trailing it at the side of the boat.
12th. “Recover-oars.”--To regain former position.
The number of strokes pulled by the association crews it would be
impossible to designate, with any degree of accuracy, as all rowers
have their own peculiar styles; and in many cases a man, or a crew, may
start at the rate of thirty-six to the minute and increase to forty,
and finish at, or near, thirty-two. In practicing a crew, a “pull,”
and “tire out,” is certainly detrimental to proper training, as a crew
should “never” be over-worked.
The mode of dipping the oar among the association crews is, as a
general rule, to immerse about one-half the blade; row with the back
straight, elbows well at the sides.
STEPHEN ROBERTS’ SYSTEM.
In training a crew for a race, the habits and mode of living of a man
are to be consulted more than any set of rules. If he is used to eating
meat well cooked, it will not do to give him meat cooked rare, as this
is apt to produce a looseness in his bowels. A man must eat according
to the state of his system, and if he trains hard, eats meat, and is
troubled with loose bowels, he should train light and live on toast,
bread, and coffee or tea, for a few days, with puddings, or bread and
milk; and if he is used to drinking, good fresh ale will not hurt
him, but no liquor stronger than porter or ale should be used. On the
other hand, if costiveness is present, no longer than forty-eight
hours should be permitted to elapse without a motion, and this should
be brought about, if possible, by making use of the suitable food and
drink; such, for instance, as the veal steaks cooked rare, with cider
or water as a drink.
The main thing, in training a man or crew, is to give him or them
plenty of the same kind of work performed in the race. Be careful,
however, not to put on too much at first. If a mile race is to be
pulled, twenty days’ training will be required.
The first day, row, say one mile; the second and third day, about the
same, or a little more, not too hard. After this, increase the distance
half a mile every day, until five miles are gone over at each row.
Then, if there are no blisters on the hands, row the whole distance
at racing pace. Every other day, row eight or ten miles, up to within
twenty-four hours of the race. Less rowing than this should not be
taken; more will not hurt.
Clerks, bookkeepers, etc., generally require two weeks more of training
than men who have been always used to heavy lifting; but, when a man
once does get into good training, his race becomes an easy matter for
him.
THE HARVARD SYSTEM.
Broiled steak or chops, potatoes in almost any style, without grease,
bread nearly fresh, tea if desired, water, or milk if preferred,
oatmeal porridge or gruel, and eggs poached or boiled--not very
hard--render the breakfast of a Harvard student in training palatable
and even attractive.