Beware Of Pain

Pain should always be regarded as a warning in endurance sports. Pain in the dominant arm of a tennis player forebodes incipient injury. Pain in the hip of a mountain climber, in the calf of a runner, in the knee of a cyclist, or in the wrist of an oarsman may herald unnecessary aggravation if activity is continued. Pay heed! There is always a reason for pain.

If the reason is obvious (abnormal style, poor lubrication, over-exertion, or ill-fitting clothing), stop at once! Correct the error. If the pain does not relate to a moving part and if its origin is obscure, such as a “stitch in the abdomen, taper off at once! Activity can safely be resumed when the pain disappears. How about chest pain? cries the cardiac worry-wart. After a thorough medical check-up and a gradual program of increasing fitness, your chances of a “coronary” are far less than your office mate who tries to impress the boss by churning the pencil sharpener at 200 rpm. At worst, the danger of pain to a person in good shape forebodes injury and consequent inactivity.

The danger of pain to the “normal” person in average shape may be serious.

Do not eat less than two hours before a workout, nor drink within the hour. The stomach should be empty to avoid gas, cramps, and stitches. Exercising on a full stomach produces loginess, a feeling of fullness, belching, and cramps. Never enter a workout with the slightest trace of alcohol. Not only is performance hindered because of small decrements of fine skill abilities (ever so slight, but ever so important), but because discretion may be blunted.

A sensible limit to your workout may be disregarded by a taste of the schnapps, encouraging you to exert yourself to a maximal and possibly fatal effort. This promotes the uplift of “See how I could do it when I was a kid.” Without alcohol, a sportsman is truly as old as he feels. With alcohol, he feels younger and collapses younger.

How To Avoid Going Stale

Probably no athlete’s career has not been afflicted with a period of “going stale.” This phenomenon is very common, yet has no physiologic, medical, or organic basis. “Going stale” will undoubtedly occur sometime during the sports career of every sincere enthusiast. Staleness may result from impatience and an apparent lack of consistent improvement. After weeks and even months of assiduous exercise with no observable progress, discouragement settles in and leads to “the-heck-with-it” attitude. During such a period the temptation to avoid a training appointment and to rationalize away a workout becomes irresistible. Another cause of staleness is over concentration on a training program to the partial exclusion of the other joys of our happy earthly existence.

Boredom results. The complete man never knows boredom. He tastes this, then that, then does something else. By being well rounded, he need not become satiated by one activity before approaching with anticipation the next. Physical fitness is but one of your many interests, hobbies, and accomplishments. As with your other good habits and worthwhile projects, fitness should be recognized but not inflated. An all-out physical fitness crusade to the exclusion of all other pleasures will not last much longer than your New Year’s resolutions.

Dr. Roger Bannister, the first person to run a sub-four-minute mile, experienced staleness shortly before an important race. Cessation of physical activity obviously could only have been detrimental. Dr. Bannister, with his keen appreciation of the physiology of athletics and of the psychology of motivation, realized that a change of scenery-but one which included exercise-was necessary. He forthwith departed for

a weekend of strenuous mountain climbing, and in the race Roger Bannister made history.

This lesson should not be lost to those who train for fitness. If you feel yourself going stale because of impatience, disappointment, or ennui, switch eagerly, if temporarily, to another of your sideline athletic activities.

This is where seasonal sports appropriate to your own locale fill an important void. Do not stop training. Enjoy some other type of training-then return refreshed to your major sport. Persistence and consistency in training are thus maintained with a modicum of will power. Persistence of training and dedication to a single sport can at times approach the incredible. Years ago after Clarence Demar won the Boston Marathon, a friend observed him out running the next day. The friend asked Clarence why he was training. Clarence declared he was getting ready for next year’s race.