food, gives a good appetite, and sets the digestive organs to work; it uses up the oxygen and sets the lungs to work; but most of all, every contraction of a muscle helps the blood to flow. As a muscle contracts, it presses upon the veins and lymphatics, and, by this pressure, forces the blood and lymph along (Fig. 48). In any ordinary activity, dozens of muscles are being used. That the effect upon the circulation is very powerful, is shown by the rosy skin, deep breathing, and rapid heart beat. The many benefits of an active circulation of the blood and lymph will be discussed in the next chapter. See page 67.
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Fig. 48.—Capillaries among fibers of voluntary (cross striped) muscle. (Peabody.)
A grave danger from athletics is that of developing the muscles, including the heart, to an enormous extent by training; then when training ceases the muscles undergo fatty degeneration from disuse. Heart disease and other diseases may follow. Many athletes die young, killed by trying to turn their bodies into mere machines for running, boxing, or rowing, instead of living complete lives. The athletic ideal is not the highest ideal of health; general activity, resembling the occupations of hunting and farming by which the early race supported itself, is best for health. Many kinds of factory work use only one set of muscles. The savage did not lead a monotonous life, and monotony is bad for both muscles and nerves.
