ATHLETICS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 29

ATHLETICS

ADVICE BY LOVELOCK

SECRET OF-STYLE AND FORM

THE MIND AND THE BODY

It has been ssid with truth that Jack Lovelock, the now famous New Zealand athlete, runs with his. head as well as his legs. That this is so is abundantly clear from a thoughtful and valuable article contributed by him to "Quarterly Notes," published by the Amateur Athletic Association, England, on the subject of concentration and relaxation in athletics. * Lovelock has applied to his running on the track the knowledge he has gained from his medical studies and 'such have been his performances that his views at once claim attention. The first part of his article may be regarded at first glance perhaps as a treatise on anatomy and physiology. It may be thought that the author is merely theorising; that he has presented a lot of high falutin' ideas, but it will be found, if they are studied carefully, not just superficially, that there is much meat in his comments and that they assist considerably in the full appreciation of the second part of the article. He deals first with the physical side of relaxation and then the mental one of concentration. Concentration or relaxation, he proclaims, is the secret of style and form, and he is a^ pains to stress the importance 0/ 'the wind controlling the body ; THEORIES AND BLIND PRACTICE. "Within the terms concentration and relaxation one might really include the whole of the mental and physical sides of athletic performance, reduced in the minds of some perhaps to rather theoretical terms; but the tendency to deride theory in sport and to aim at blind practice can lead only, a certain distance towards success," states Lovelock. "The full enjoyment and the utmost benefit can be obtained only by the proper understanding and application of fundamental principles and theories. It is the object of this short article to mention one or two such points, which most athletes will find to repay amply a little careful thought and study and to lead sooner or later to marked improvement of performances. ' ■ • "In so far*as they can be discussed, separately, for each is really inextricably bound up with the other, let us consider first the physical side of relaxation, keeping the mental one of concentration for later discussion. Relaxation itself may be defined as the diminution of tension, both of the body and of the mind, easing up on physical effort and the acquisition of mental stability. "It is the former aspect that concerns us for the present. Muscular movement is obtained by the concentration of the bellies of the muscles acting by theis? attachments to points of leverage upon bones; the ' muscles themselves consist of vast numbers of parallel fibres in between which run minute blood capillaries carrying food and supplies of energy to the muscle, and bearing away the waste products of contraction, products which if left or allowed to accumulate quickly produce that state of inactivation which we know, as fatigue. "These capillaries are very soft, thin-walled vessels with little power of contractility of their own. The blood in them is moved on into' the veins partly by the head of pressure in the arteries behind them, partly by the massaging action of the alternate contraction and relaxation of the individual ! muscle fibres, and partly by the absence' of pressure in the venous system in front, a negative pressure itself partly produced by this same alternating contraction and relaxation. <'•If a muscle is kept tightly, contracted the capillaries are occluded, the blood stream-is stopped and waste products accumulate; -but on relaxation, and the greater arid more complete the--relaxation the better is the effect, the capillaries are opened up and filled with blood, laden with food and oxygen'l for the working muscles and carrying away the ; poisons to other parts of the body for removal or detoxication. So that it must be obvious that the muscle that is most completely relaxed in between movements is receiving the best blood supply and being given the best chance of performing most efficiently its function of contraction. : "Obviously, too, as muscular contraction uses up energy,- unless a muscle is doing -real work and definitely assisting the movements of the body designed to produce the desired effect most rapidly, it is wasting the body forces. "Such muscles as those of the back. of the neck, and of the arms should therefore be relaxed as far as is consistent with the correct maintenance of balance and rhythm, so that all the energy; available may be directed to and concentrated upon the more essential parts. Further, muscle groups are arranged roughly in pairs, flexors oppose extensors, adductors, oppose abductors, these' pairs' being spoken of as synergists; and the nervous system is so co-ordinated that when one group of muscles, say the flexors of a joint, contract; the synsrgists, the extensors, are reflexly relaxed. "Only so can movement be accomplished smoothly and efficiently.; But from the athletic point, of view the importance of realising anatomical or physiological facts is that by conscious striving. one may assit instead of retarding Nature in the workings of the body. ' ACQUISITION OF STYLE. "By concentration and study, admittedly spreading over years before anything approaching perfection may be attained, one can obtain a certain amount of central control even over reflex acts, and by conscious relaxation may do much to assist the body by an effort of the mind. On this theory of physical relaxation really hangs the whole question of style; for style is merely the use of the easiest, most economical, and best-controlled method of progression. "An easy style is one in which fatigue is not in evidence as the blood supply remains ample, in which synergic groups of muscles are acting in complete harmony, and in which no useless muscle is contracting so as to interfere in any way with the easiest balance of the whole body or so as to cause the contraction, with needless waste of energy, of some opposing muscle to counteract it.^ "Yet how often does one see athletes using every muscle in the body regardless of whether it is helping their progression either directly by its driving power or indirectly by its action upon.body, balance or upon the essential accessory organs. "The tightened back muscles fixing the thorax at an. unnatural angle with the hips, the wasteful.throwing round of arms with excessive shoulder movement, the contracted neck muscles with head thrown into the air, are all too familiar examples of such waste.* "Even first-class athletes are guilty of these faults in time of stress; during the middle stages of a race and in an easy finish their style may be perfect, but in a hard finish or in defeat their physical fatigue has been allowed to dull their mental alertness, they have failed to remember that they can will themselves into fresh

efforts if only they maintain control, •and at a time when they have most need of relaxation they throw care to the wind and strive blindly, by contracting every muscle, useful and useless, to reach the tape. "Relaxation, with its resulting economy and style, must be carried right through to the finish, however desperate that finish may be; but it is only by intense concentration that this ideal can be achieved. THE MENTAL SIDE. "On the mental side, to return to a definition, concentration really means to employ all one's power or attention upon the matter in hand; and it is this ability to concentrate that makes .for success in any field of endeavour, physical or mental. "To this, athletics is no exception. In training one must concentrate upon and study the science of the game—it is useless attempting each day to run carelessly with no clear idea of where

one's training is leading. Each day's run should have a definite purpose all worked carefully into some form of very elastic schedule, and right'through his training the athlete'must concen-. trate on relaxation, the secret of style and form.

"In racing, concentration is even more important; right from the start one must concentrate; on the gun, on one's opponents and how they are moving, where they are lying in the field, where their tactics appear to be at fault; on oneself, judging the pace most suitable for the best ultimate time, on positioning, on relaxation and its accompanying • balance and style, and on the many other Lltle points such as rhythm and breath-control, which though beyond the scope of this article, yet. make all the difference between success and failure. :

"When fatigue sets in, when the' tired legs refuse to drive the tired body any faster, it is concentration alone which can overcome it. Remember that the mind can and must control the body, however weary; and that by steady concentration upon relaxation and style one is able to-call is a most amazing manner upon- fresh supplies of energy from what had seemed a sorely depleted store."