Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-07-27
EXERCISE MILDLY.
Start Easily and the Motions Will
Do Good.
The Advice Of q Physician on the Exercising
Subject.

| DOCTOR" asked a man, yesterday. OF A
! physician. There is a feeling uf indo
! lence IL possession OF everyone
Now is the time to take regular exer-
else" replied the medical man. The
! feeling of Incidence which tempts ~ il
this hot weather to remain indoors and to
lie around is unhealthful, and in reality
makes the effect Of the heat the more
harmful. This does not mean that one
should rush out and hurry around fever
ishly. The trouble with most persons who
have not studied the problem of exercis.
ing scientifically is that 10 them the
word expresses violent motion. They can
not conceive of any form of exercise that
does not make the breath come st. the
heart beat in vastly increased measure
ana the face get as red as a beet But
the form of bodily exertion that does this
is more harmful than no exercise at all
would be. 1t is equivalent to starting a
steam engine suddenly at full speed. ANY
engineer will tell. you such a course not
only would wreck the machinery, but is
absolutely useless for getting work out of
the engine. Most OF its energy is expend-
ed in furious driving to force its vari-
Gus parts to respond to the unusual call,
and heated bearings, twisted and wrth-
ing supports and pillars dssipate the en-
ergy that is created.
THE body acts in just the same way.
In all weathers, and especially in this,
the proper way to take exercise is TO be-
gin so slowly that one looking on would
call YOU lazy Indeed. here an illustra
ton comes in. Who has not heard the
designation, lazy Engishman'? Haven.
you seen the great athletic men 'loungins
around over their athletics? That slow.
drawing way of theirs is anything but
lazy. Ii is the acme of conservat ton of
strength. Not an ounce OF effort to be
expended needlessly is the secret of
proper exercise.
so, If you start out bicycle riding in
this hot weather you may be sure THAI
you have made mistake in your motions
If you are warm and flushed by the time
you are in the saddle. Yet how many
riders, women especially. start out that
way? They have given their engines
sudden jerk to start them, instead of APP
plying the force gradually.
I'm the first stages of proper exercise
there should not even be perspiration or,
at most, little. Men who do not know
these secrets Of bodily motion often won
der, when watching an athlete do excep-
tionally hard feats in hot weather that
hardly any perspration is to be seen on
him. They say they would sweat like
bulls if they had one-half of the work
to do. So they would. They have not
learned how to work.
"You will see the average man In
rowboat pull himself red in the face in
the first 10 strokes. The consequence is
that by the time he has rowed half
mile instead of exercising, he is work
ing desperately. His muscles have be
come dead tired, not much on account
of the mere muscular work, but because
his heart has been forced to work SO hard
that his lungs cannot take in fresh air
enough to supply the fuel. His blood is
poisoned with over-exertion. Auto-intox- |
ication. We physicians call it. That is
Just what il is. He feels like a drunken |
man. and he is one. Now, any man OF |
the most average bodily strength should |
be able TO row an ordinary boat for at |
least mile without feeling distress. |
either from tired muscles, from tired |
lungs, or from a tired heart. |
always remember one thing. II your |
breath comes fast and your heart begins |
to hammer before your muscles are tired, |
you have begun to burn your body NJ, |
and instead of getting exercise you are
wasting strength at an alarming rate. |
Whatever work you do should make your |
muscles tired long before your heart or
lungs are called on for any work what |
ever. Ii you are a runner, your wind |
should not begin to be a subject for |
thought till your legs begin to strain un-
der you. If you are a swimmer, there |
should not be such a thing as a gasp
from your lungs till you have worked |
your arms and legs almost to a stand
still If you are riding a bicycle, Your |
breath and your heart should be as even |
and calm as if you were lying down until |
you find the pedals going hard and Ie
quiring lots of push
"Only when your muscles atta!n that
.ired state when they begin to call on
other organs of the body for support, |
should heart or lungs begin to come into |
play. Then they will be of use. And |,
then, too. when you breathe hard or your |
heart beats fast, the increased circuii- |
ton of the blood and motion OF the lungs |
are of benefit to you in every way With |
every breath clean new blood goes
through you. Your lungs have expelled
every trace of tainted air, and are clean