Page:Athletics and Manly Sport (1890).djvu/154

Rh allowed by the trainer's "system." Any kind of butcher's meat, plainly cooked, with a variety of fresh vegetables, may be taken, with ordinary light puddings, stewed fruit, but no pastry. A good time for dinner is one o'clock.

An American athlete, when thirsty, ought to have only one drink,— water. The climate and the custom in England favor the drinking of beer or claret; but, beyond question, the best drink for a man in training is pure water. After dinner, rest, but no dozing or siesta. This sort of rest only spoils digestion, and makes men feel slack and "limp."

After two-and-a-half hours' rest, with walking exercise, the final work of the day—running, boxing, rowing, or hand-ball exercise, or all of these always more than one. There should be two full hours of exercise at this period of the day, varied in speed, care being taken, whether in rowing, running, or boxing, that not too much is done at the top speed. "If a man or a crew has been exercised at high pressure on one day, he should be allowed to do less the following evening, and he will be all the better on the third."—(McLaren.) When work is over, a man may have a bath, and be well rubbed down. (I have seen a rough silk mitten, manufactured in Boston, which is most excellent for the rubbing,