Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 81, 22 December 1893 — Evils of Violent Exercise. [ARTICLE]

Evils of Violent Exercise.

The recnrd breaker, «ttendeti by his time-keepers his paoemakers, is fast becoming » eommon object on our coontry roatls. Wdh eyes staring fixedly «>n the gfonnd, face red and perspiriug. the botly crooched over the h'todled of the maehine, his legs violently workiug, he ap|>ears the moving realisation of toil <*ud distress. The thonghtful obsener most ask himself, Wbat hss this health giviug recreatiou done to deserve sach degradation! Wbat charm eau exist in such laboor? Aud what beuefit to the mind or tbe body ean possibly resnlt from it? To tax still fur ther the undeveloped heart and lungs of growing lads auotuer absurd variation in competitiou is pvactised—namely, hill elimbiug. Oue instanoe of this will suftice. In 1886 21 cyclists raced np one of the Surrey hills, the gradient of whieh in the steepest part was one in seven, and tlie distauce of the course three quarters of a mile. Can folIv farther go? \\ hat is more enjoyable recreation on a wanu summer's day than swiraming; It bnugs iuto action, \vithout risK of injury, ueurly everv muscle of the body, while the loss ef heat from the brief immersion is hardly disceruible and rapidly maiie up. The good derived from it threatens, I regret to say, to be speedily neutralised bv the senseless practice in onr variable climate of long-distance swirnming aud of water polo' tourna ments. One of the primary laws of heat is quito disregarde«l. and the dangerous cooling of the surface of the body seriouslv eongesis the nervous system as well as the lungs and kidneys. Is it to be wondered at if the exhibitions are followed by sickness weariuess, exhaustion, and at times by death' Time will uot allow me to notice otber erratic diversions from genuine recreations. Let me, however, protest against puhlie footraces forboys under 14 and men over 40. The exertions are likelv to be attended with serious consequence to the runners, while the races. from their very uature, cunnot be a pleasant sight to the the true lover of sport. —Dr. H. Hoole, in Hygiene.