The moment, also, that walking comes to be _uphill_, fatigue is
sensibly increased. The center of gravity of the body is changed, and the
muscular force necessary to provide for the change causes the fixing of
the diaphragm, and a rigid condition of many muscles. Respiration is
interfered with, owing to the fixing of the diaphragm, and the heart
becomes affected thereby. A person with a sensitive or diseased heart can,
during a walk, tell when the slightest rise in the ground occurs. We make
climbing more exhausting from the habit we have of suspending the breath.
Let the reader _hold his breath_ and run up twenty-four steps of a
stair, and then perform the same act _breathing freely_ and deeply.
It will be found that by the first act marked breathlessness will be
induced, whereas by the latter the effect is much less. This management of
the breath constitutes the difference between the beginner and the
experienced athlete. The enormous increase of the quantity of air consumed
during exercise will at once bring home a number of lessons. One is, that
exercise is best taken in the open air, and not in gymnasia; another, that
free play to act for the regions of the chest and abdomen must be given.
On no account must a tight belt be worn around the soft-walled abdomen. If
a belt is preferred to braces, let it be applied below the top of the
haunch bone, where the bones can resist the pressure.
Whatever may be the pastimes indulged in by young men, walking should
never be neglected. The oarsman will become "stale" unless the method of
exercise is varied; the gymnast will develop the upper part of his body,
while his lower extremities will remain spindleshanks. So with all other
forms of exercise; success, in any form of game, sport, or gymnastic
training, can not be attained unless walking be freely taken.
_Skating_ is simply an exaggerated swinging walk, with this
difference, that the foot on which one rests is not stationary, but moves
along at a rapid rate. The benefit to the circulation, respiration, and
digestion is even greater in skating than in walking. The dangers from
skating are:
1. The giving way of the ice. Great caution should be used in regard to
the safety of a frozen pond or river.
2. Taking cold from becoming overheated, and from subsequent inactive
exposure. Physiological knowledge will teach people that, when they begin
to skate, outer wraps should be laid aside, and again put on when skating
is finished.
3. Sprains, especially of the ankle, and other minor accidents arising
from falls. Ankle boots with strong uppers should be worn during skating.
Those who have weak ankles ought to wear skates with ankle straps and
buckles, acme skates being relegated to those who are not afraid of going
"over their foot."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account