The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1895-04-06

Discnsslon 81 tho Educational and Health
Giving yalnr OF Athletics.

Giving vaiur OF Athletics.
Civilized man who viii not exercise
as an average does not live out half the
term OF his allotted thrce-scorc years
and ten. Lack OF exercise Is not the
sole cause Of this degenerative ten
dency. OF course. but II Is one important
cause. Hence, recognizing this. II be-
comes the duty Of man. 10 virtue Of his
boasted nationality. 10 dispcl this
cause, and by giving proper attention
TO his body TO prepare his mind for
further conqucsts The necessity for
this forces itself upon him In "a way
that leaves no ground for question.
The only things 20 be determined are
the degree Of development that Is to be
desired and the methods by which 1t
may best be secured.
AS TO the degree OF development that
viii tend 20 preserve the health of the
muscles and other organs, IL Is, of
course, says IA writer In Ilarper's Week
~, impossible TO speak except In gen
eral terms. Everyone secures some
measure Of exercise in the routine OF
his ordinary life. hut very few voca-
tions are calculated To give the vari-
GUS tnusclcs Of the body symmetrical
exercise. The rational thing, Of course,
is for any individual TO exercise per-
functorily those sets Of muscles that
arc not exercised naturally In his ordi-
nary manner OF living. For the vast
majority of people under ordinary con-
ditions OF living the muscles that are
most sighted are those Of the chest
and upper cxtrcmitics. Nearly every
one Is obliged TO walk enough in n day
10 keep his leg and thigh muscles in a
condition OF reasonable tonicity. But
the average individual has chest and
upper-arm muscles that arc flabby and
undevelopcd 90 the last degree.
Measurement Of the few average
arms will Mt once satisfy anyone of
this There was time, doubtless,
when our ancestors had arms as large
as their legs, perhaps even larger. Our
remote trce-dwelling relatives have
such arms now. But centuries OF biped
use have developed our lower cxtrem-
itics disproportionntcly, until now the
most fully developed human arm bears
no comparison i'm size 90 the thigh of
the Same individual df normalD. II is
held by anatomists that the fully de-
vcloped upper arm at the present stage
Of our racial evolution should be of the
same sizc as the calf Of the leg, and
this size, IL may be added, the Same as
that Of tho neck.
These measurements being taken rs
the criteria of perfectly symmetrical
development, anyone may easily find
out for himself how far he falls short
Of such development As a rule, the
tapelinc will show ~ once that IL is the
upper extremity which needs atten-
tion. IL Is not 20 be expected that the
person who Is merely exercising for
health viii ever develop his arm till II
meets the standard Of symmetrical de-
vclopmcnt, nor is Il necessary that he
should do 50. So long rs he works in
that direction he IL on the right track,
and IL lie Ueps the muscles OF the
arms. chest and shoulders in tone" so
that they tcnd 90 keep him erect, and
nrc sufficiently firm 10 give support 20
the blood vessels that penetrate them,
he will accomplish all that Is absolutely
necessary.