TRAINING.

This is important in relation to various exercises to be described.

The art of training for athletic exercises, or laborious exertions,

consists in purifying the body and strengthening its powers, by certain

processes, which are now to be described. The advantages of it,

however, are not confined to pedestrians, wrestlers, or pugilists;

they extend to every one: for, were training generally introduced,

instead of medicine, for the prevention and cure of diseases, its

beneficial consequences would assuredly prolong life, and promote its

happiness. Every physiologist knows that all the parts which compose

the human body--solids as well as liquids--are successively absorbed

and deposited. Hence ensues a perpetual renovation of them, regulated

by the nature of our food and general habits. The health of all the

parts, and the soundness of their structure, depend on this perpetual

absorption and renovation. Now, nothing so effectually as exercise

excites at once absorption and secretion. It accordingly promotes all

the vital functions without hurrying them, renovates all the parts, and

preserves them apt and fit for their offices.

It follows, then, that health, vigour, and activity, chiefly depend

upon exercise and regimen; or, in other words, upon the observance of

those rules which constitute the theory of training. The effect has

accordingly corresponded with the cause assigned in this view of the

subject, in every instance where it has been adopted; and, although

not commonly resorted to as the means of restoring invalids to health,

there is every reason to believe that it would prove effectual in

curing many obstinate diseases, such as bilious complaints, obesity,

gout, and rheumatism.

The Ancients entertained this opinion. They were, says a popular writer

on medicine, by no means unacquainted with or inattentive to these

instruments of medicine, although modern practitioners appear to have

no idea of removing disease, or restoring health, but by pouring drugs

into the stomach. Heroditus is said to have been the first who applied

the exercises and regimen of the Gymnasium to the removal of disease,

or the maintenance of health. Among the Romans, Asclepiades carried

this so far, that he is said, by Celsus, almost to have banished the

use of internal remedies from his practice. He was the inventor of

various modes of exercise and gestation, in Rome. In his own person,

he afforded an excellent example of the wisdom of his rules, and the

propriety of his regimen. Pliny tells us that, in early life, he made

a public profession, that he would agree to forfeit all pretensions to

the name of a physician, should he ever suffer from sickness, or die

but of old age; and, what is extraordinary, he fulfilled his promise,

for he lived upwards of a century, and at last was killed by a fall

down stairs.

As to the locomotive system, modern experience sufficiently proves that

exercise is the most powerful strengthener of the muscles, and of every

part on which activity depends. In its operation on the vital system,

training always appears to benefit the state of the lungs. Indeed,

one of its most striking effects is to improve the wind: that is, to

enable a man to draw a larger inspiration, and to hold his breath

longer. As to the intellectual system, Sir J. Sinclair observes, that,

by training, the mental faculties are also improved; the attention

being more ready, and the perception more acute, owing probably to the

clearness of the stomach, and better digestion.

It must, therefore, be admitted, that the most beneficial consequences

to general health arise from training. The simplicity of the rules for

it is assuredly a great recommendation to a trial of the experiment.

The whole process may be resolved into the following principles:--1st,

the evacuating, which cleanses the stomach and intestines; 2nd, the

sweating, which takes off the superfluities of fat and humours; 3rd,

the daily course of exercise, which improves the wind and strengthens

the muscles; and, lastly, the regimen, which nourishes and invigorates

the body. To those who are to engage in corporeal exercises beyond

their ordinary powers, it is indispensably necessary. Pedestrians,

therefore, who are matched either against others or against time, and

pugilists who engage to fight, must undergo the training process before

they contend. The issue of the contest, if their powers be nearly

equal, will, in a great measure, depend upon their relative condition,

as effected by training, at the hour of trial.

Training was known to the ancients, who paid much attention to the

means of augmenting corporeal vigour and activity. Accordingly, among

the Greeks and Romans, certain rules of exercise and regimen were

prescribed to the candidates for gymnastic celebrity. We are assured,

that, among the Greeks, previously to the solemn contests at the public

games, the strictest temperance, sobriety, and regularity in living,

were indispensably requisite. The candidates were, at the same time,

subjected to daily exercise in the Gymnasium, which continued during

ten months, and which, with the prescribed regimen, constituted the

preparatory training adopted by the athletæ of Greece. Among the

Romans, the exercises of the palæstra degenerated from the rank of a

liberal art, and became a profession, which was embraced only by the

lowest of mankind; the exhibitions of the gladiators being bloody and

ferocious spectacles, which evinced the barbarous taste of the people.

The combatants, however, were regularly trained by proper exercise, and

a strict observance of regimen. Pure and salubrious air was deemed a

chief requisite. Accordingly, the principal schools of their athletæ

were established at Capua and Ravenna, the most healthy places in

Italy; and previous to entering on this regimen, the men were subjected

to the evacuating process, by means of emetics, which they preferred to

purgatives.

In the more early stages of training, their diet consisted of dried

figs, new cheese, and boiled grain. Afterwards animal food was

introduced as a part of the athletic regimen, and pork was preferred

to any other. Galen, indeed, asserts, that pork contains more real

nutriment than flesh of any other kind, which is used as food by man.

This fact, he adds, is decidedly proved by the example of the athletæ,

who, if they live but for one day on any other kind of food, find

their vigour manifestly impaired the next. The preference given to

pork by the ancients, however, does not correspond with the practice

of modern trainers, who entirely reject it; but in the manner of

preparing the food, they exactly agree--roasting or broiling being by

both preferred to boiling, and bread unfermented to that prepared by

leaven. A very small quantity of liquid was allowed to the athletæ, and

this was principally water. They exercised in the open air, and became

familiarized by habit to every change of the weather, the vicissitudes

of which soon ceased to affect them.

To exercise their patience, and accustom them to bear pain without

flinching, they were occasionally flogged on the back with the branches

of a kind of rhododendron, till the blood flowed. By diminishing the

quantity of the circulating liquid, this rough kind of cupping was

also considered salutary! as obviating the tendency to plethora or

redundancy of blood, to which they were peculiarly liable--a proof, if

true, of the nourishing qualities of their food.

When the daily exercises of the athletæ were finished, they were

refreshed by immersion in a tepid bath, where the perspiration and

sordes--scurf, pustules, or filthy adhesions--were carefully removed

from the surface of the body by the use of the strygil.[1] The skin

was then diligently rubbed dry, and again anointed with oil. If

thirsty, they were permitted to drink a small quantity of warm water.

They then took their principal repast, after which they used no more

exercise that day. They occasionally also went into the cold bath in

the morning. They were permitted to sleep as many hours as they chose;

and great increase of vigour, as well as of bulk, was supposed to be

derived from long-continued and sound repose.[2] The sexual intercourse

was strictly prohibited.

[1] For this instrument, rough coarse cloths are adopted, but not

with advantage.

[2] Little sleep is now prescribed; but its quantity should depend

upon circumstances of fatigue, &c.

The manner of training among the ancients bears some resemblance to

that practised by the moderns. Perhaps it is because their mode of

living and general habits were somewhat different from those of the

present age, that a difference of treatment is now required to produce

the same effects. The great object of training for running or boxing

matches, is to increase the muscular strength, and to improve the

free action of the lungs, or wind, of the person subjected to the

process. Seeing that the human body is so capable of being altered

and renovated, it is not surprising that the art of training should

be carried to a degree of perfection almost incredible; and that, by

certain processes, the muscular power, the breath (or wind), and the

courage of man, should be so greatly improved as to enable him to

perform the most severe or laborious undertakings.

That such effects have been produced is unquestionable: they are

fully exemplified in the astonishing exploits of our most celebrated

pedestrians and pugilists, which are the infallible results of such

preparatory discipline. The skilful trainer attends to the state of

the bowels, the lungs, and the skin; and he uses such means as will

reduce the fat, and at the same time invigorate the muscular fibre.

The patient is purged by drastic medicines; he is sweated by walking

under a load of clothes, and by lying between feather beds; and his

limbs are roughly rubbed. His diet is beef or mutton: his drink strong

ale. He is gradually inured to exercise, by repeated trials in walking

and running. By extenuating the fat, emptying the cellular substance,

hardening the muscular fibre, and improving the breath, a man of the

ordinary frame may be made to fight for one hour, with the utmost

exertion of strength and courage, or to go over one hundred miles in

twenty-four hours.

The most effectual process for training appears to be that practised

by Captain Barclay, which has not only been sanctioned by professional

men, but has met with the unqualified approbation of amateurs. We are

here, therefore, almost entirely indebted to it for details. According

to this method, the pedestrian, who may be supposed in tolerable

condition, enters upon his training with a regular course of physic,

which consists of three doses. Glauber’s salts are generally preferred;

and from one ounce and a half to two ounces are taken each time, with

an interval of four days between each dose. After having gone through

the course of physic, he commences his regular exercise, which is

gradually increased as he proceeds in the training.

When the object in view is the accomplishment of a pedestrian match,

his regular exercise may be from twenty to twenty-four miles a day.

He must rise at five in the morning, run half a mile at the top of

his speed up-hill, and then walk six miles at a moderate pace, coming

in about seven to breakfast, which should consist of beef-steaks

or mutton-chops under-done, with stale bread and old beer. After

breakfast, he must again walk six miles at a moderate pace, and at

twelve lie down in bed, without his clothes, for half an hour. On

getting up, he must walk four miles, and return by four to dinner,

which should also be beef-steaks or mutton-chops, with bread and beer,

as at breakfast. Immediately after dinner, he must resume his exercise,

by running half a mile at the top of his speed, and walking six miles

at a moderate pace. He takes no more exercise for that day, but retires

to bed about eight; and next morning he proceeds in the same manner.

Animal diet, it will be observed, is, according to this system, alone

prescribed, and beef and mutton are preferred. All fat and greasy

substances are prohibited, as they induce bile, and consequently

injure the stomach. The lean of meat contains more nourishment than

the fat; and, in every case, the most substantial food is preferable

to any other kind. Fresh meat is the most wholesome and nourishing.

Salt, spiceries, and all kinds of seasonings, with the exception of

vinegar, are prohibited. The lean, then, of fat beef cooked in steaks,

with very little salt, is the best; and it should be rather under-done

than otherwise. Mutton, being reckoned easy of digestion, may be

occasionally given, to vary the diet and gratify the taste. The legs of

fowls are also esteemed.

It is preferable to have the meat broiled, as much of its nutritive

quality is lost by roasting or boiling. It ought to be dressed so as

to remain tender and juicy; for it is by these means that it will be

easily digested, and afford most nourishment. Biscuit and stale bread

are the only preparations of vegetable matter which are permitted to be

given; and every thing inducing flatulency must be carefully avoided.

In general, the quantity of aliment is not limited by the trainer,

but left entirely to the discretion of the pedestrian, whose appetite

should regulate him in this respect.

With respect to liquors, they must be always taken cold; and

home-brewed beer, old, but not bottled, is the best. A little red wine,

however, may be given to those who are not fond of malt liquor; but

never more than half a pint after dinner. It is an established rule to

avoid liquids as much as possible; and no more liquor of any kind is

allowed to be taken than is requisite to quench the thirst.

After having gone on in this regular course for three or four weeks,

the pedestrian must take a four-mile sweat, which is produced by

running four miles in flannel, at the top of his speed. Immediately

on returning, a hot liquor is prescribed, in order to promote the

perspiration; and of this he must drink one English pint. It is termed

the sweating liquor, and is composed of one ounce of carraway seed,

half an ounce of coriander seed, one ounce of root-liquorice, and

half an ounce of sugar-candy, mixed with two bottles of cyder, and

boiled down to one-half. He is then put to bed in his flannels, and,

being covered with six or eight pair of blankets, and a feather bed,

must remain in this state from twenty-five to thirty minutes, when

he is taken out, and rubbed perfectly dry. Being then well wrapt in

his great coat, he walks out gently for two miles, and returns to

breakfast, which, on such occasions, should consist of a roasted fowl.

He afterwards proceeds with his usual exercise.

These sweats are continued weekly, till within a few days of the

performance of the match; or, in other words, he must undergo three or

four of these operations. If the stomach of the pedestrian be foul, an

emetic or two must be given about a week before the conclusion of the

training. He is now supposed to be in the highest condition.

Besides his usual or regular exercise, a person under training ought

to employ himself, in the intervals, in every kind of exertion which

tends to activity, such as golf, cricket, bowls, throwing quoits, &c.,

so that, during the whole day, both body and mind may be constantly

occupied. Although the chief parts of the system depend upon sweating,

exercise, and feeding, yet the object to be obtained by the pedestrian

would be defeated, if these were not adjusted each to the other,

and to his constitution. The trainer, before he proceeds to apply

his theory, should make himself acquainted with the constitution and

habits of his patient, that he maybe able to judge how far he can,

with safety, carry on the different parts of the process. The nature

of the patient’s disposition should also be known, that every cause

of irritation may be avoided; for, as it requires great patience

and perseverance to undergo training, every expedient to sooth and

encourage the mind should be adopted.

The skilful trainer will, moreover, constantly study the progress of

his art, by observing the effect of its processes, separately and

in combination. If a man retain his health and spirits during the

process, improve in wind, and increase in strength, it is certain

that the object aimed at will be obtained; but, if otherwise, it is

to be apprehended that some defect exists, through the unskilfulness

or mismanagement of the trainer, which ought instantly to be remedied

by such alterations as the circumstances of the case may demand. It

is evident, therefore, that in many instances the trainer must be

guided by his judgment, and that no fixed rules of management can, with

absolute certainty, be depended upon, for producing an invariable and

determinate result. In general, however, it may be calculated, that the

known rules are adequate to the purpose, if the pedestrian strictly

adhere to them, and the trainer bestow a moderate degree of attention

to his state and condition during the progress of training.

It is impossible to fix any precise period for the completion of

the training process, as it depends upon the previous condition of

the pedestrian; but from two to three months, in most cases, will

be sufficient, especially if he be in tolerable condition at the

commencement, and possessed of sufficient perseverance and courage to

submit cheerfully to the privations and hardships to which he must

unavoidably be subjected. The criterion by which it may be known

whether a man is in good condition--or, what is the same thing, whether

he has been properly trained--is the state of the skin, which becomes

smooth, elastic, and well-coloured, or transparent. The flesh is also

firm; and the person trained feels himself light, and full of spirits.

In the progress of the training, his condition may also be ascertained

by the effect of the sweats, which cease to reduce his weight; and by

the manner in which he performs one mile at the top of his speed. It

is as difficult to run a mile at the top of one’s speed as to walk a

hundred; and therefore, if he performs this short distance well, it may

be concluded that his condition is perfect, or that he has derived all

the advantages which can possibly result from the training process.

A few words may be here added on the comparative strength of different

races of men. In order to procure some exact results on this point,

Peron took with him on his voyage an instrument called a dynamometer,

so constructed as to indicate on a dial-plate the relative force of

individuals submitted to experiment. He directed his attention to

the strength of the arms and of the loins, making trial with several

individuals of each of the races among whom he then was, viz., twelve

natives of Van Diemen’s Land, seventeen of New Holland, fifty-six of

the Island of Timor, seventeen Frenchmen belonging to the expedition,

and fourteen Englishmen in the colony of New South Wales. The following

numbers express the mean result in each case, but all the details are

given in a tabular form in the original:--

Strength of the Arms. Strength of the Loins.

Kilogrammes. Myriagrammes.

1. Van Diemen’s Land 50.6

2. New Holland 50.8 10.2

3. Timor 58.7 11.6

4. French 69.2 15.2

5. English 71.4 16.3

The highest numbers in the first and second class were, respectively,

60 and 62; the lowest in the English trials 63, and the highest 83,

for the strength of the arms. In the power of the loins, the highest

among the New Hollanders was 13; the lowest of the English 12.7, and

the highest 21.3. “These results,” observes Mr. Lawrence, “offer the

best answer to declamations on the degeneracy of civilized man. The

attribute of superior physical strength, so boldly assumed by the

eulogists of the savage state, has never been questioned or doubted.

Although we have been consoled for this supposed inferiority by an

enumeration of the many precious benefits derived from civilization,

it has always been felt as a somewhat degrading disadvantage. Bodily

strength is a concomitant of good health, which is produced and

supported by a regular supply of wholesome and nutritious food, and by

active occupation. The industrious and well-fed middle classes of a

civilized community may, therefore, be reasonably expected to surpass,

in this endowment, the miserable savages, who are never well-fed, and

too frequently depressed by absolute want and all other privations.