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A Few Special General Training Hints

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RELAXATION DURING TRAINING.

Still, training does get on a man’s nerves. There is no use or profit in denying it. It is all very well to tell a man that he ought to enjoy his training, and look upon it as the happiest time of his life; but even if you can get him to believe you, you will have difficulty in per-suading him to act as though he did.

Where it will tell worst and do most damage is in the evenings, after the days work is over, and he has nothing to do but brood over the thing that is chiefly occupying his mind-which is the progress he is making.

The wise trainer will never allow his charge to think about this, for if he does the progress will soon switch round into retrogression. His attention must be drawn to other subjects. He probably won’t read, because he can’t bring his mind to bear upon any book. He won’t talk sensibly, because he won’t be able to think about anything but the forbidden subject, so he must be lured on to something that will attract his attention.

A game of billiards is about the best subject if h© plays the game, but, failing that, chess, draughts, or cards may serve as n decent substitute.
If everything else fails, and you can’t pack him off to bed and to sleep (for it is not much use doing one with-out the other), take him out to the theatre. Select the most exciting or interesting play you can find, and let him devote his attention to that.

You may have to break into his regular bedtime by so doing, but must risk it just for the occasion, as he must be broken of any brooding tendency at once.

Fortunately, however,, a man in hard training will generally be only too ready for sleep, so that this par-ticular malady is only likely to make its appearance when he in taking a rest owing to running stale. It will then come down with double violence, and the billiards, etc., or theatre remedies must be resorted to at once. The interference with the sleeping hours won’t matter so much then while he is having a slack time as they would at others.

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