Comprobación de hipótesis Comprobación de hipótesis general

Some great old sage once passed the pleasant remark that "Anything worth having is worth working for, and the more desirable the object the more difficult it is of

attainment." Many a young man who has started out to build a better conditioned body for himself has found the latter part of the saying to be only too true. He fully realizes that a perfect body is worth having, and he often figures that he has worked for it, but something is wrong with the work, as the progress registered is not

proportionate to all his labors. Brutal as it may seem, I doubt if all have put forward the right amount of effort. Unfortunately, some believe that as long as they go through their routine, results should be obtained. Others quit too easily, and others are too impatient. They forget the amount of things that have to be taken into consideration.

In the first place, thought, care, and concentration are required from the moment the first movement is made in the first exercise to the very end. Impatience is the worst thing in the world, no matter where it is concerned, and the person who is afflicted in that way is as badly off as the quitter, who never gets anywhere. The old saw that

"Rome was not built in a day" is still true. Some of us are not as fortunate as others, who seem to be blessed with the magic wand of Vulcan. They build up in leaps and bounds, acquiring great ability in proportion, just as some people acquire wealth easily. Still, it would not be right to expect something without working for it, and neither is it right that a person should work so hard at his exercises that he makes the time spent seem like a torture period.

Exercise is a subject that requires deep study and calls for the guiding hand of an efficient instructor. Anybody can pick up a few exercises and by practicing them keep himself normally fit, but where the developing process starts it is a different question.

A few exercises picked and practiced at random are all lost motion. The beginner does not know whether the type of exercises he has scheduled for himself are of any real value or not, but the moment an expert views his measurements he can tell just what is required, and such a man should be consulted first.

Some men make wonderful gains; their body seems to respond very readily to exercise, but in every case you will find that each of these men has applied himself intelligently to their routine. They never for one moment viewed exercise as a fad.

With them it was considered a necessity. If a man starts with a bodyweight of 125 pounds, against a height of 5'9", it would be foolish for him to expect to build up into a 175-pound man within two or three months, or to compare his results with those of a man who started in at 165 pounds at the same height, and who in a very short time displayed a splendidly formed body with exceptional strength. The latter had less distance to go to win his goal. Therefore, the road must necessarily be a little longer and the going harder for the one who starts in underweight with an ill-shaped body and a lesser degree of manpower.

I have known a great many who within a few weeks made fine gains on one part of their body, but the rest of their body stood still. In such a case it is not necessary to become excited, as some parts of the body will always respond more quickly to exercise than others. Therefore, before any thought of specialization is considered, at least three months should be devoted to all-round exercises. Then the exercises have

been given a chance to prove their value. If it is found that the biceps or the chest have not improved in proportion, the thing to do is to change the exercises, or else specialize upon the one part of the body that you most desire to improve. But this does not mean a body builder should begin to specialize immediately after putting in a few months' practice. He must give the body a chance, and as I just explained, a change of exercise should be given first. A great deal will also depend upon the actual condition in which the body may be. If the exerciser has a fairly well built body, he can start in to specialize earlier than it is advisable for the other fellow, who has a longer way to go. Just what I mean is something like this. Imagine two men, who are both five feet six inches tall, and one strips at 150 pounds and has a 15-inch neck, a 38-inch chest, 13-1/2 38-inch biceps, 22-38-inch thigh, and 14-1/2 38-inch calf, and the other fellow weighs 125 pounds stripped, with a 13-1/2 inch neck, 35-inch chest, 12-inch upper arm, 19-inch thigh and a 13-inch calf. The former is in a much getter position to commence specialized training than the other fellow, and it is always the under developed fellow who gets the most excited.

Of course, we can forgive him, for we know it is only because he is very anxious to build up a body that is worth while. Yet, he should restrain himself and realize that his position is similar to that of one man who must walk twenty-five miles to accomplish the same object, for which the other man has to walk only twelve. It will take him a longer time. The smaller man should be content to follow a general routine for a longer time. Of course, it is quite justifiable for him to change certain exercises, but they should be included with the other regular exercises. When the time for

specialization is reached this does not mean that all other exercises for the other parts of the body must be neglected. Training on the principle of one exercising period in each forty-eight hours, the exerciser would be required to reduce the length of time devoted to the rest of the body, so greater time can be spared for the

concentration of the part of the body that is below par. Training is required every night or day, from this time on, and I might say that it is a better method to select two or three parts of the body for specialization at the same time, but with the first

consideration given to the one part specially desired.

Let us suppose that the chest is going to be our chief object, and we find that the biceps of the thigh are not developed to balance the general development of the thigh, and that the calf can also stand some extra attention. We find that we have three exercises for the chest that are calculated to give the results, so we concentrate on these; but do not get the idea in your head that the way to go after real chest

improvement is to go the limit on each exercise, or that these three have to be practiced in rotation. The reason I selected two other parts of the body to work in conjunction with the chest was to offset that idea, because there is a right and wrong way to practice special training.

It is wrong to work on an exercise until you are tired out. Suppose you find fifteen movements with a certain weight fatigues you. Then the thing for you to do is to go no higher than twelve counts. Commencing upon a chest exercise you use enough

repetitions so that they will make you just comfortably tired. The next exercise should be for the calf; thigh biceps after that; and then come back with another chest

exercise. Then, just as before, practice another exercise for one of the other parts,

and every time come back with another chest exercise, to be followed by any other kind of an exercise, so long as it is not for the part of the body under consideration.

The same process must be followed out if it is the neck, arms or any other group of muscles that require specialization. The first, and every other exercise, must be for the specialized part of the body. No doubt you will wonder why this procedure should be followed, so in order to make everything understandable I will explain this to you.

In one of my other chapters I explained how the blood is always drawn to the center of activity. This is the natural method of repletion and absorption. Now after an exercise has been done the blood continues to circulate over the stimulated area in a greater quantity in order to reconstruct the tissue. One thing I have not explained is this. If you practice any movement until you are fatigued you will deplete your energies so that this process will not be properly performed. Fatigue is brought about by over-relaxation and contraction of the muscle fibres. They continue to contract until the nerve source is not capable of vibrating its electric life through the tissue, and this also lessens the quantity of the blood supply, and thereby deprives the muscles of their nourishing fuel. If you notice the color of the skin you will see that it has become white, just as the face of a person becomes balanced from a mental shock. That is why it is wrong to work or exercise any muscle to the stage where fatigue has set in.

As I have previously stated, the natural function of the blood is to replenish, but