WiNTER Ti ME

half ati hour later than in summer, for bath, use tepid water, don't spare the towel unless the preferable mode of drying the body by exercise be adopted. Light exercises afterwards. Break- fast, then the same walk and manner of getting to business. Needless to say, in winter in particular, avoid draughts when you feel hot, but, otherwise, do not think that every breath of fresh air is a draught, In the evening, follow the same regime. Keep your bedroom well ventilated (during day and fright), have suffi- cient bed-clothes, but no fires in the bedroom. Don’t expose yotir feet to harm by the use nf a warming pan or hot-water bottle.

may be still another class of people among readers who per form manual labour during the for their living.

these I particularly wish to repeat my recom-

regarding the employment of will power. can find out which particular muscles of their come into play during their day’s work. When

S6 THE WAY TO LIVE

performing same, let me advise them, whenever pos- sible, to put their mind into the development ot these muscles, instead of working entirely mechanically. As for the development of their other muscles, they can efiect this at home with the dumb-bells in the same style and manner as prescribed for this work. As their nourishment becomes sooner assimilated, they naturally require more of it; at the same time, they should also observe quite rigidly my recommen- dation about a good rub or bath.

In concltision, I would like to add some general rules and reminders for observance during training, in addition to the recommendations which I have submitted at different stages of this book, and I should like my readers to

REMEMBER

that excessive and rapid exercising is harmful. Over- work, like laziness is harmful.

To go ahead gently. Increase yotir weights and exercises gradually and slowly.

That perseverance only brings permanent strength. To give their attention to aft parts constituting their corporate frames, for real strength is all-round

strength.

Avoid tight clothing when indoors, even dispensing with collar and coat, if practicable,

When exercising wear little or no clothes, or wear light, short, atid wide knickers, and so-called gymna- sium shoes.

Don’t wear a tight belt.

Put sweater on during intervals, after having rubbed the perspiration off.

Avoid late suppers.

For weights, I recommend disc bells; these can be charged accurately, and do not entail the expense

THE WAY TO LIVE 97

many various dumb- or bar-bells of the heavier

your weight-lifting in the open, if pos-

otherwise or the ground floor or in a good eel-

perform on thick planks or a thick mat.

. The tables for exercises mentioned should be com- by each individual himself, according to his judgment, based on his own observations. He adapt them to his age and particular physical mental constitution. My indications of weights repetitions of the movements for each exercise help.

And above all, remember always to walk up and

during any rest between or during exercise.

says: “Don’t accuse nature, she has ful- her task; you must fulfil yours. “

CHAPTER XIII

Dg. vow KBAJRWs2ii, max FnvHEB OF AzHLBTIC8

AzrD als SVSzazt OP LIPE

HAVE previottsly stated that doctors, surgeons, and other medical authorities who deny ra- tional, systematic physical exerci d particu- larly, exercise with heavy weight o so simply be- cause they have never properly studied the subjects

in question.

They may have taken a prejtidice, or rather evolved a prejudice, against the methods which I have ventured to style " The way to live, " and having taken up this attitude, have either refused to make a per- sonal test of them, or have not been favoured with opportunities for so doing.

For the sake, therefore, of any reader who may have these prejudices, or who may wish to combat them, I now propose to give a short sketch of a very eminent medical fnan, who, having his atten- tion drawn to physical culture at the age of forty- one, felt himself impelled to make a thorough and complete study of the sublent and also of the reeultc of his investigation.

I shall frequently have occasion to refer to this doctor in the course of the story of my like, reference to which will show how well I was situated to form an exact observation of his daily life.

. Indeed, I may say that I owe practically all that I have and am to him. He it was who taught m* how to like and how to tra‹n, and he it was w launched me on my career. Would that I possess&

THE WAY TO LIVE 99

eloquence to express my life-long gratitude and veneration for his memory.

would I indeed claim to be his chief and only In a sense, perhaps, I owe more to him than one else, but athletes the world ovee are, one art, directly or indirectly in his debt. Well was

styled the " Pather” of athletics; for it was on

system which he first organised that carry af£ fzfr

oiiy @o«irfo#iice dtiritip the last tures y- e or

years dmeloped his poteers.

that system and on no pther, have Sandow, Padoubny, Pierre Bonnes, Zbysco, Siegfried, Lurich, Koch, Steinbach and hosts of others their powers. The doctor’s system may varied slightly in individual cases, but the idea, the general system and routine, nay, the entire programme, has in each separate followed closely that which Dr. von Krajew-

mapped out ior himself.

And he, remember, was a convert. He, one or the physicians in St. Petersburg, was attracted

the subject of physical exercise as a method of afid preserving health, strength, activity vigour (both mental and physical). The subject interesting to him, he investigated it, ay immediately set to work tp organize

systematize it.

First and foremost he laid it down that every man sleep regularly for eight hours out of every

this end, he would regularly, every night, on to rest, write on a card the hour at which he

so; which card he wotiJd throw out into the by his bedroom door. When his servant this up in the morning he â nm at what hour

Doctor was to be called; viz., eight hours after

hour on the card, neither a moment sooner nor

100 THE WAY TO LIVE

later. Say that he had retired at four a. m. Then he world be called at noon, and so forth. Usually, how- ever, he slept from 1 a. m. till 9 a. m., at which hour he would have coffee and rolls, and attend to his correspondence until 10 a. m.

He then adjotirned to his g)wnasiuin, a large apartment, fitted with a bath, and having two very large windows, so that as much siinlight as possible might enter. The windows, however, were never opened during the period of exercise, in order that the temperature might be as even as possible.

He would first take a short bath, in water as cold as could be obtained, and in St. Petersburg the water r‹ra be cold on oceasion. Leasing the bath he never used a towel, but commenced exercise straight away, and continued this for half an hour, at the end of which he would be perfectly warm and dry.

The routine followed was on the lines indickated

chapters IX and XI ( for he always exercised with weights). Naturally it would not have been possible to per form every exercise described in these chapters every day, but a stiificient programme was followed to bring every muscle into play, and this was so varied as to negleet none of the movements.

Between the various exercises tie ovrr sat dozen to rest, but walked steadily up and down the room, with perhaps a wrap thrown over his shoulders (but this rarely).

The exercise finfshed, he dressed and set forth on his morning round. Having visited his patients he returned home, usually about 2 p. m., for luncheon. Atter this he slept for one hour, and then commenced receiving patients tip till 6 p. m., or thereabouts, which with other duties, occupied him till dinner time ( from seven till eight), when he resumed his attendance on indoor patients, who continued to call till as late as midnight, or even later.

' THE WAY TO LINE 101

This last may seem strange to British readers, btit I may mention that Russian hours are much later

, than English ones, atid that Dr. Krajew5ki had an enormotis practice, as many as 250 patients fre- quently calling on him in one day.

’. I may add that he was a most charitä ble man, attending numberless patients of the poorer classes without any fee or recompense. These were freely invited to call on him, and used to flock in in large numbers after S p. m., as they left their work; his waiting-rooms being usually crowded at that hour. He had, of course, a large practice among the wealthy classes, which occupied the earlier part ot

. the day.

Needless to say, such an incessant round of hard mental work and anxiety was very weaiirg, and would have been thought to tax the strength of even

, the hardiest constitution. Yet the Doctor was always well, active atid vigorous in mind and body, and ascribed his perpetual fitness solely to h(s daily physical exercise.

As I have said, he did not commence the practice

. pt this uritil he was forty-one years of age, and yet at sixty-three he always claimed, and was acknowI-

.. edged, to look younger, and to be far more active

! • and vigorous than he was at forty.

So satisfied was he of the great benefits aeeruing '. from systerriatie physical exercise, that he spared no pains to extend its practice. His etithusiasm and in- terest was unbounded, while the pains which he

. would take to enrol adherents atid to cultivate 'promisin g athletcs were almost beyond belief. Some ’, idea of these last may be gathered from a perusal of the “Story of My Life, ” which I have been

› persuaded would prove of sufficient interest to pub- lish at length, and with which I therefore propose to '< onclttde this book.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE

T will, possibly, interest my readers to learn sotne details of my life and ot the powers ot my physi-

cal development.

I was born on Jtily 20, 1878 (Old Style), or Au- gust 2, according to English methods of reckoning, at Dorpat, in Russia, my father being the proprietor of some dye-works there. I have a brother and a sis- ter younger than myself. Both my father and my mother were of average stature, neither of them displaying any tinitsual physical characteristics, but both my brother and sister possess more than average strength. Why grandfather, the father of my mother

—who, by the way, I never knew, as he died when I was only three years old—was always described to me as a big and powerful man. He had migrated to Russia from Sweden some sixty years betore. My mother always told me that I was very like my grand- father, except that he was eather taller, being six teet in height.

So far as I can remember, I was, from my earliest years, devoteé l to all bodily exercises, and by the time I was eight or nine years old I used to order about a small army of boys of my own ag being admittedly the strongest of them all. I was sent to the Dorpat Grammar School ( Realschule), and soon showed a preference for the hotirs spent in the n- nasium. At a gymnastie competition in the year 1891, when I was fourteen years old, I won a prfze as

THE WAY TO LIVE 103

bea gymnast of my own age, a fact which my

Herr Drewes, a German, communicated

tbe Press in Germany. At that date, I was 4 ft. in. in height and weighed 8 st. 10 lb., being of a thick-set build. I was one of the best at club exercises and could jump over 16 ft. in

and 4 ft. 7{ in. in height. I could raise and a dttmb-bell weighing 1 pood (36 lb. ) sixteen with the right hand and twenty-one times with left, and I once ran 180 metres (about 197 yards)

seconds.

liking for bodily exercises I inherited from my

leaving school in 1895, I entered some large

works in Reval as an apprentice, with a

to becoming a practical and technical engineer.

proposes, God disposes!

At this time I became a member of the Reval Ath- and Cycling Club, and three myself heart and into cycling, at which I won several prizes.

autumn and bad weather came round, I more attention to exercises with heavy weights dumb-bells and my ambition soon led me to excel

fellow members in these exercises.

chief pastimes favoured in our cltib were the of heavy weights and wrestling. For the lat- at first but little liking and was often

this time I grew pretty quickly, my rneas- in 1896, at the age of eighteen, being as

5 ft. 71 in.

41} in. normal and 44 in. ex-

panded.

Biceps. . 14 in. straight and 152 in.

Forearm . 12t in.

104 THE WAY TO LIVE

We had a very judieious trainer in our club, a aertain Gospodin (Mr. ) Andrtischkewitsch, a govexri- ment official, who gave us young fellows many excellent hints on the care and training of the body. At a Club Festival held about this time (autumn of 1896) I performed the following weight-lifting feats: —

With the right hand from the

shoiilder I pressed . 145 lb. 12 times Ditto, ditto. 155 lb. 10 „

Ditto, ditto . 198 lb. 3 „

Ditto, ditto . 214 lb. 1 „ and with one hand lifting slowly from the ground to the shoulder (by the strength ot the biceps) I raised a weight of 1Z5 lb. with the right, and of 119 lb. with the left.

In September, 1896, I made the acquaintance of the professional athlete and wrestler, Lurich. He was only a lew years older than myself, had been a pro- fessional for a year, atid was touring in the Easterri Provinces with a small company.

Lurich challenged all conners to wrestle with him and various members of our club came forward but were all, without exception, defeated by him. Up to this titne, I had shown but little taste for wrestling and had wrestled very seldom, being more pattial to work with heavy weights. Still, I wrestled severaJ times with Lurich, who, even then, was a falrly good wrestler, though, as I speedily recognized, scarcely my equal in strength. As can readily be under- stood, Lurich had no great difficulty in throwing as inexperienced man, such as I was, though on the one occasion on which I wrestled with him in public—in the Stand p fort Etablissenient in Reval—he could not throw me the first time, and in the second bout I was able to resist him for seventeen minutes.

I mention this easily intelligible defeat, incurred

THE WAY TO LIVE 105

when I had had little or no experience in wrestling, because, later on, Lurich used to boast that he had frequently beaten me.

This gentleman has, since then, for many years kept carefully out of my way, but this defeat an- noyed me and after it I wrestled more frequently and, in the course of the winter, defeated nearly all the members of our club.

In February, 1897, a German wrestler, Fritz Konietzko came to Reval. It was said that at Magdeburg tte had beaten the famous Tom Catinoii, then in his prime, who in his day, had often wrestled with Abs, a wrestler who enjoyed a big ré putation tri Germany, and had thus achievqd some celebrity in the Græ co-Roman style. K onietzko was a rather smaller man than myself, being 5 ft. 6i in. in height and barely tuming the scale at 165 Ib. Taking him all round his was not a very imposing figure. Yet he was very quick and possessed a strength of hand which to me seemed almost uncanny. Thè se quali- ties etiabled him to defeat all his opponents; espe- cially as he was always undermatched. I was the only member or the amateur contingent to with- stand the German, We wrestled ten minutes with- out a fall. Not long after this Ladislaus Pytlasinski. the Polish wrestler, then at the zenith of his fame, came to Reval and, of course, defeated Konietzko- Pytlasinski defeated me easily, and wc all learnt a great deal from this great expert of the wrestling In the followirig year he was the first wrestler

to deheat the famous Turk, Kaea Ahmed in Paris.

remember, too, a very powerful village school- master in the neighbourhood of Reval whp was one of the chief o}iponents of this professional wrestler. He (the schoolmaster) had only a lew holds, with which he defeated his opponents. On one occasion he got me down in seven minutes.

106 THE WAY TO LIVE

AsI have said already, these defeats proved very instructive to me and I gradually, if slowly, began to perfect myself in wrestling.

I improved rapidly in li(ting power and also in general physical development, and by July 1897, I was able to press a bar weighing 243 lb. with both hands from my shoulders to the ltill stretch of my arms. Even at this date I established a world's record—which was, of course, vezy soon broken, btit afterwards improved on, and since maintained by myself. With my hands crossed behind my bacir and my knees beiit, I lifted a ball weighing 171 lb. This feat proved that I was fairly strong in the legs. Taking two balls weighing 94} lb. each in either hand, I swung them with a single motion from the ground to the full stretch of the arms. Our instructor, Gospodin Andruschkewitsch, took my measurements in December, 1897, with the following results: —

Height 5 ft. 81 in.

Neck 18} irt.

Biceps 15a in, straight, and 17t flexed.

Forearm IQ in.

Wrist 7} in.

Chest 4H in. normal and 46 in. ex-

panded.

Thigh 23} in.

Calf 15} in.

Weipht 12 st. 8 lb.

In December l89Z, I performed the following feats:

Jerked up a bar of 216 lb. twelve times with both hands.

Jerked up a bar of 187 lb. seven times with one hand.

Pressed up a bar of 216 lb. with one hand.

About this time I was thrown in contact with a remarkable man, who exercised a notable in8uence oti my future life.

THE WAY TO LIVE 107

A xlight injury sustained in the exercise of my calling as an engineer—for I was still an amateur— made it necessary tor me to seek the help of a doctor.

/This doctor, an amiable old gentleman, happened

, . to have staying with him a distinguished colleague,

.! Dr. von K rajewski, a physician in ordinary to His

Majesty the Czar. This Dr. von Krajewski was the

, founder of the St. Petersburg Athletic atid Cycling Gtib, ot which H. R. H. the Grand Duke Vladimir

' Alexandrovitch was President, and which included inafiy aristoCra tic and wealthy people among its paembecz. Dr. Krajewski, in spite of his fifty-six

: years, was still a very active and energetic man, and ’particularly keen on feats of strength and weight-

. lifting. He had first taken up this pastime at the mature age of forty-one, and by systematic training had attained Io a fair)y high degree of physical

'! . strength. The doctor had, of course, visited our

.. club and recognized me at once. When I had com-

. pletely undressed in order to facilitate a careful examination of my injury, he, in conjunction with

i Diy own doctor, examined my body, and found that

with the exception of a slight injury (a contusion ot

, the arm) I was perfectly sound. He invited me to come and stay with him in St. Petersburg, as he Wished to have me trained as a professional athlete

; and wrestler.

I learned that Dr. von Krajewski had also had ’Lurich in training with him tor some time, and he

. has good enough to say that I possessed possibilities pt becoming the strongest man in the world.

Yielding to the persuasion of all my cltib friends, ‘: who congratulated me warmly on Dr. von Krajew- & ti’s otter, but against the wishes of my parents, I mt out for St. Petersburg early in 1898.

Dr. von Krajewski was a bachelor and lived in a

ge house in the Michael Platz, St. Petersburg.

108 THE WAY TO LIVE

He had an excellent practice in the highest circles of society and passed for a millionaire. I was most hospitably received in the house of this patron of athletics. The doctor Created me like a son and gave me the best training his experience could suggest. One room in his house was hung with pcrtraits of all the best-knows strong men and wrestlers, and he delighted in inviting them tn his house in which all foreign artistes found hospitable we1tome every month. Dr. von Krajewski was the organizer of a private club of men of fashion who ome to him weekly and worked hard with weights and dumb-bells, and practfsed wrestling. In his gymnasium the doctor had a great number and variety of weights, dumb-bells, and other apparatus and applianees for the purposes of training. It was, in short, a tully equipped school of physical culture.

All the professional strotig men and wrestlers who

appeared at the St. Petersburg theatres visited Dr. von Krajewski and dave 6xhibitions of their art. While so doing, they were all carefully examined, measured and weighed. Dr. von Krajewski had thus been able to acquire great experience and knowledge of feats of strength and methods of training.

The example set by these artistes had a most stimulating influence on us all. Every one seemed put upon his mettle to do his very best. Having now nothing to occupy me btit alternate exercise and rest, I made rapid progress in strength. The doctor told me not to touch alcoholic drinks and tobacco, for tieither of which I had ever feit any great inclination, and in neither of which I had ever indulged.

I drank little else but milk (3 litres, or more than 11 pints daily) and ate practically what I pleased, my appetite being then, as always, an excellent one. I bathed dailv with the Doctor in his bath-room, a very spacious apartment built in close proximity to

THE WAY TO LIVE 109

the gymnasium. After the bath we practised weight-

!. lifting till we got dry, neither of us using the towel to dry ourselves. In January, 1898, I pushed up a bar weighing 275 lb. to the full height of the arms, and with the right hand pushed up 243 lb., and lying on the ground, I lifted and pushed up with two hartds a weight of 304 lb., following this soon after with one of 335 lb. With the knees bent I raised a weight of 180a lb., which remained a world’s record for many years till beaten by me with 187 lb. in 1902. In February I accompanied Dr. von Krajewski to Moscow, where Baron Kister, another great patron of athletics, had organized a weight-lifting competi- tionfor amateurs. I was fairly successful here, and

‹ managed to raise a weight of 255a lb, with one hand. For this feat I was soon after my return awarded a gold medal by my club, the St. Petersburg Athletic arid Cycling Club, of which I had become a member. The training at Dr. von Krajewski's was very many- sided and I rapidly gained strength in all parts of the body. I also trained steadily in wrestling, the frequent visits of professional wrestlers to the

, doctor's house affording me many excellent oppor- tunities. About this tiitie Count Ribeaupierre,

’, Master of the Horse to H. M. the Czar, became Presi- dent of the St. Petersburg Athletic and Cycling Club.

*, This gentleman took a keen interest in me and has continued to manifest his good will towards me ever

i since. He afterwards frequently suppoTted and helped me, and I feel that I owe him a debt of gratitude.

In April, 1898, my club organized a weight-lifting competition for the championship of Russia, in which I won first prize and accomplished the following

! among other teats:

With both hands I lifted 114 kilogrammes or 251 lb. to full height of arms with a jerk (being only 1

110 THE WAY TO LIVE

kilogramme less than the world’s record of the Frenchman, BonneS- 1 15 kilogrammes ).

I snatched up 256 lb. with both hands. With the right hand jerked 231 lb.

With the left hand jerked 205 lb. With the right hand pressed 269 lb.

Towards the end of April the famous French wrestler Paul Pons came to St. Petersburg, and I defeated this practised wrestler at the end of forty- five minutes. I also threw Jankowsky in eleven minutes. It is possible that Pons may not have been in his best form on this occasion, as he himself main- tained, for some time afterwards I had a much tougher struggle With him.

I was in tip-top condition and was continuing to train steadily when Dr. von Krajewski put down my name to contest the championship of the world and the championship of Europe, at the end of July and beginning of August, which were to be wrestled for in connection with the Sports Exhibition in Vienna.

In order to accustom myself to appearing betore large audiences, I performed for some weeks pre- viously in a circus at Riga, as an athlete and wrestler, under an assumed name. Dr. von K rajewski, who had an eye for everything, did not omit to take into account the embarrassment which a young performer is certain to feel when he first faces a large audience. I earned a good deal of applause and threw all oppo- nents in wrestling. But to be quite candid, even at that time I still possessed 6«f little o/ ift# ircftn@tir o f esffiap. I was, however, very strong and took all my opponents unawares in a lew minuten. Even tny former conqueror, Kalde, the teacher already mentioned, was obliged to admit this, as I threw the good man repeatedly after very short struggles, at which he was not a little surprised. Before we set

THE WAY TO LIVE 111

out for Vienna, Dr. von Krajewski took careful measurements of me, with the following results: —

Height . . 5 ft. 9} in. Weight . . . 14 st.

Waist . . . 32a in. Neck. . . 18} in.

Chest and shoulders 47} in. normal and 51

in. expanded.

Right shoulder joint 21a in. Left shoulder joint. 213 in.

Biceps of right arm IS} in. 16{ in. Biceps of left arm l4{ in. 161 in.

(measured when flexed atid strafght ) Forearm, right 13a in.

Forearm, left. , 13} in. Right and left wrist 71 in. Right and left thigh 24} in. Calf . . 15a in. Ankle. . . 9} in.

My best performances at the end of the sir months which I spent with the hospitable doctor, in addition to those already mentioned, were as follows:

I jerked a bar weighing 306 lb. with both hands.

I pulled in clean to the shoulders a bar weighing 361 lb.

I snatched a bar weighing 19ZI Ib. with the right hand (a world’s record).

These feats were performed either in the Doctor’s gymnasium or in Gount Ribeaupierre's riding school and the weights were in every instance carefully ü hecked. This reminds me of a humorous incident over which I have often laughed hearttly. The was at this time wearitig a new pair of trousers, which fitted him exceedingly well, insomuch that I more than once expressed a wish to possess similar garments. Dr. von Krajewski jestingly “My dear George, when you can beat

112 THE WAY TO LIVE

Sandow's world’s record of putting up 116 kilo- grammes or 255} lb. with one hand you shall have just such another pair! ” It may have been this jest which spurred me on to make a special effort by putting up a weight of lZ2. 25 kilogrammes (269a lb. English). This was dotie in Count Ribeaupierre’s private riding school, which was arranged for this occasion like a circus. The place was filled with a large audience of some of the most distinguished people in St. Petersburg. When I lifted this weight Dr. Krajewski in front of all the people rose trom his seat, and lifted his hat to full arm’s length above his head. I shall never forget the doctor on this occasion. His admiration for feats of strength was almost beyontl understanding. Everybody was sur- prised by this evidence of lits genuine emotion, and it seemed as though his enthusiasm spread itsel I over the whole of the audience, everybody congratu- lating me warmly. The doctor disappeared for a New minutes and returned with the promised pair of trousers. I don’t mind admitting that, at the moment, I was almost more pleased with this gift than with the large gold Record Medal solemnly presented to me a few days later.

There was, indeed, something singular, I had almost said something mysterious, about Dr. von Krajewski. Something in the man’s being seemed to melt in his love for feats of strength and agility, arid flowed forth in an inexplicable fire on all artistes of this genre. These people often used to say to me, “We don’t know how it is, but once the doctor appears on the scene one feels as though one had more strength. ” This was just the feeling I always had, but it surprised me to hear my impression con- firmed by others. I went to Vienna in company with Dr. von Krajewski, and the pick of the St. Petersburg amateurs, Guido Meyer and Alexander

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