Yale University Gymnasium,
New Haven, Conn., April 6, 1904.

To Professor Russell H. Chittenden,
Director of the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University,
New Haven, Conn.

Dear Sir,—I hand you herewith a report of the physical training of the squad of soldiers sent by you to the Yale Gymnasium.

These men have taken one hour’s exercise daily for six months, Sundays excepted,—October 1, 1903, to April 1, 1904.

Before beginning the bodily development of the men we measured each one and took what are known as the American Collegiate Strength Tests. These measurements and tests have been taken twice each month. For details as to measurements and methods of testing the strength of the body, see the “Notes” attached to this report.

The members of the squad were called to the floor each morning as soon after nine-thirty as they could don the required suit. For twenty minutes they were put through a series of setting up exercises and body-building movements; then followed exercises on the apparatus, such as bars, rings, ladders, etc. This was followed by a jump or game.

The exercises were progressive as to duration, force, extent, and number of movements. At the end of the six months the men were being put through gymnastics that were exacting and fatiguing. As the progression was carefully made, the men did not suffer from soreness to any marked degree. By way of comparison it may be said, the gymnastic training given the soldiers was much more severe than is given to the Freshmen of Yale in their required physical training. Perhaps the Varsity Crew are “put through” as rigid gymnastic training as any of the athletes in college, so we copied the exercises taken by oarsmen in order to “try out” the soldiers. This work was easily taken by all the “Dieters,”—no complaint, so far as I know, having been entered.

The improvement in accuracy and grace of movement has been noticeable, while there has been a gain in skill as well.

I do not consider these men, as a body, well put up. They did not rank favorably with applicants for policeman or fireman and were noticeably timid in exercises that called for courage. In the vault over a fence there was a very marked fear. This was the poorest and least satisfactory test of all we made. At the end of the six months the hesitancy to vault had entirely disappeared, the event being looked upon by the men as a “cinch.”

The gain in self-reliance and courage has been as evident as the increase in the figures of the strength test. I consider this a valuable acquisition as it stands for a good body condition. Among athletes, especially gymnasts, a weakened or tired body is made known by fear or uncertainty. Our students, as well as professional athletes, admit this.

I attribute the timidity of the soldiers in these seemingly simple tests to their general physical condition at the outset, and the increase in self-reliance to the better condition of their bodies at the end of the six months’ training. The story told by the measurements is both interesting and significant, but of less importance than the ability to improve under training, which ability cannot be measured with a tape or weighed with scales.

In the majority of cases there was a loss in body-weight, but this we look for, as the larger number of soldiers were fairly well supplied with adipose tissue. Both Sliney and Oakman are exceptions, these men being “fine” at the outset. I mean thin and muscular with little fat. The latter, Oakman, is an old man judged from the physical activity standpoint, and lost noticeably during the tests and exercise. I refer to weight and girth measurements only. He made a very large gain in his strength tests and was among the leading men in all that called for courage and self-control. Sliney, nervous, irritable, and aggressive, balanced his losses with his gains in the tape and scale events, but made great improvement in the use of the dynamometers. Fritz and Cohn were quite fat and showed the expected loss in weight, but not in other respects.

For comparison I have quoted from Dr. J. W. Seaver’s anthropometric charts and have selected the “Average Student Measurements” (2390 men) as well as the mean measurements of 500 athletes and gymnasts. A glance at either set of figures will give an idea of how the soldiers compare with men living on a regular diet and surrounded with the very best environment.

The strength tests stand for mental states more than the tape line and calipers, and are suggestive of improvement in body conditions for the reasons mentioned above. These records are far above those made by Academic Freshmen in Yale, but it must be added that the soldiers have taken more exercise than the collegians.

The hearts and lungs of the men are in excellent condition, while the soldiers as a body are in better shape physically, are stronger and healthier than in October. The skin of the men is clear and ruddy.

The figures for comparison in the Strength Test Table are from the records sent me by Dr. Geo. Meylan, the Director of the Columbia University Gymnasium. I understand that others than college men are represented in his data. In the figures given in my own tables I have omitted the small fractions in the main body of the tables, but have recorded them in the totals.

The greater portion of the training of the soldiers has been under the personal supervision of Wm. H. Callahan, M. D., the Medical Assistant at the Gymnasium, to whom I am indebted for help and suggestions. Mr. Wm. Chase, Mr. Anton Muller, Mr. John Stapleton, and Mr. H. R. Gladwin, Assistant Instructors in the Gymnasium, have led the drills and have looked after the actual muscular training of the men. I gladly acknowledge the co-operation of these gentlemen in the physical development of the squad.

A brief summary of my conclusions:—

The men were not above the average standard, physically, when they began their work, this standard being set by applicants for firemen and policemen, not by college students. At the end of their training they were much above the same standard, while their strength tests were far greater than the averages made by college men. They showed less improvement in increase in size than University men do under like gymnastic treatment, but the gain in self-confidence and in body-fibre was very evident. The gain in accuracy and skill was marked. The men showed interest in their work throughout the six months. At the end of the period of training the soldiers were in excellent condition in spite of the fact that in some cases there was a slight loss of body-weight. This loss is not to be attributed necessarily to the diet, because most men who exercise lose slightly if there is an excess of adipose tissue.

Respectfully yours,

(Signed) W. G. Anderson.