A LATTER-DAY SAMPSON.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1180, 12 October 1894, Page 10

A LATTER-DAY SAMPSON.

SANDOW SELLS THE SECRET OF STRENGTH. HIS METHOD OF PHYSICAL TRAINING. From Our London Correspondent. London, August 17. Eugene Sandow may not be, as is claimed by his showmen, “the Strongest Man on Earth,” but he is certainly the finest example living of muscular development attained solely by practice, and therefore the handsome book on Physical Training he has written in conjunction with Mr Mercer Adams is specially valuable in showing how far training can be made to supply the physical attributes in man or woman not given them by nature. The work aims at giving a study ©f the perfect type of the human form, and the opening chapter is a well-written essay on anatomy and physical development. Mr Sandow’s own career is fully dealt with, and illustrations are supplied in profusion. The book is certainly worth reading by everyone anxious to improve their physique, and even those men whose years are too many for them tc take action on the advice and information given, will find plenty to interest them in its pages. The following brief excerpts will give sonce idea of the contents of the work

which is issued by Sale and Polden, of Amen Corner, E.C. Biographical. Eugene Sandow was born at Konigsberg, in Prussia, on April 2, 1867. He was a strong and healthy child, but far from a physical or mental prodigy, whilst his parents were of normal stature. Indeed, until he was fifteen years of age Eugene Sandow was “ of slight build and delicate constitution.” This fact is noteworthy, as bearing out the author’s contention that the training can supply most of the attributes which nature has failed to provide. Sandow was a studious youth, and was deemed to be a fair, all-round scholar, with a preference for mathematics, in which he frequently won honours. But coming events now cast their shadows before, and from the outset of his sChool-boy days “he devoted himself with great ardour to all forms of gymnastic exercises and athletics. ’ He was soon able, by means of a systematic striving to excel, which he never abandoned, to beat his seniors on their own ground, and bis spare time was wholly devoted to the gymnasium and the circus, as he longed to test his strength and skill against the professors who had posed before the public in the ring. It is odd to learn in passing that his parents intended to make him a Lutheran minister, and that he took up medicine as a serious pursuit in deference to their wishes. His Professional Career.

But fate is stronger than parental hopes, especially when joined to inclination, and Sandow’s soul was that of a showman. After some family disturbances and spasmodic attempts to sink into a humdrum existence, Sandow finally began to earn his living by giving a gymnastic and wrestling exhibition, and ere long succeeded in winning for his strength something like international fame. It is now a matter of much pride to the champion that one of his earliest performances was given for the pleasure of the late Emperor of Germany, Frederick 11., who was himself a man of great physical strength, though at the time stricken at San Remo with the malady which shortly afterwards killed him. The Emperor witnessed Sandow’s feats, and at the conclusion of the performance gare a little exhibition himself by tearing in two a complete pack of playing cards. Had Sandow been a courtier he might have left the Emperor in possession of the field, but, being of more robust habit, he simply took two packs, placed them together and tore them into two halves, whereupon the monarch went out of the business by handing Sandow a valuable ring, and telling him that he wished his army were made up of many such fine types of manhood. It is, however, quite impossible in the course of a brief review to deal adequately with the many good stories told in the book, so I will devote the remainder of this column to a synopsis of the methods which Sandow for the development of the physique. Position.

The 6rat essential in practising the series of exercises he details in the book is to assume and maintain a proper standing attitude. The heels should be in line and closed, the knees held well back, and the toes turned out at an angle of sixty degrees. The body should be full to the front, straight and inclined forward, so that its weight shall fall on to the arch of the instep, supported by the ball of the toes, and only lightly on the heels. The arms should hang tenselj' from the shoulders, hands firmly grasping the dumb-bells, the second joints of the fingers lightly touching the thighs. The head must be held erect with the chin drawn in and the eyes looking straight to the front. In fact, the position indicated is that known to drill instructors as that of “ Attention/’ and the description given by Sandow is practically identical with that contained in the Infantry red-book. Simple exercises, such as lacing the shoes without bending the spine, touching the floor with the finger tips without beriding the knees, and trying to bring the toes to the teeth whilst bringing the body as erect as possible should always be practiced as prefatory to the more formal physical training. Dumbbells for beginners should be of light construction, and if thirty consecutive minutes cannot be given to the exercises then two periods of fifteen minutes each should be indulged in. Mind in Harmony with Muscle.

One point Sandow repeatediy insists upon •n the course of his volume. He says There must be a concentration of the will power upon the exercise in hand, and the dumb-bell must be held and used, not passively, but as a potentiality to be actively and strenuously exerted, that the muscles may be first loosened and then alternately contracted and relaxed, in the process which Nature has designed for their healthy growth and development. With flabby muscles there can hardly ever be vigorous frames or sound health. Nor need the possession of either be a matter of serious or difficult attainment. Much might be gained by an exercise of an hour or two a week in the intelligent use of a pair of light dumb-bells. Even out of a daily “constitutional” we might got more benefit did we impart energy to our movements, and put the muscles of progression to strain, in a sharp and exhilarating walk—bearing in mind that the test of having put the muscles to use is to tire them. There is a mine of combined science and common sense in the passages I have quoted, aad it may be taken as a fair sample of tho second portion of the book which dealß exclusively with the anatomy of the body and the means whereby its development may be cultured. A large number of readers will find much entertainment and instruction in the history of Sandow’s own career, and there can be no question that the excellence and abounding number of illustrations add largely to the general interest of the book.