Sport: Who Needs Steaks?

After a long overdue medical checkup, some of the hoariest traditions of sport were declared no better than a hypochondriac’s fancies.

¶ The training-table menu of steaks and chops is an overworked ritual, say a trio of Harvard doctors in the current Journal of the American Medical Association. Good red meat is good for anyone; but though it may make an athlete think he is stronger, it works no more magic than the ground lions’-teeth with which ancient warriors spiced their meals. For the most part, “there is considerable doubt whether manipulation of an adequate diet can enhance performance . . . The best diet for an athlete is one that he enjoys and one that, at the same time, provides a variety of nutritious foods in amounts adequate to maintain his weight at an optimal level.”

¶ After conducting a series of experiments with college trackmen, Springfield College (Mass.) physiologists reported that most pre-race warmups are practically useless. Setting-up exercises and a variety of massage techniques made no noticeable differences in the performances of Springfield runners. Nor could the scientists find any evidence that warming up reduces the number of athletic injuries. Their deadpan conclusion: “No one will question the beneficial effect of warming up when limbs may be almost numb from cold, but there is a suspicion that the practice of warming up is frequently overdone.”