Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-05
An English Expert Tells How to Ex-
ercise With Least Fatigue.
Be LIGHTLY AND LOOSELY DRESSED
Pay Attention to Your Breathing
and Use Large Muscles.
GAMES ARE THE BEST FORM


Nop.riSht, 1871, ny r.. MlleS)
! Written for The Evening Star hy Enstace Miles
| amateur racquet and Court Tennis Champion of
the World
| PROBABLY no sane person would deny the
| value of exercise. Practically every one
| believes that exercise is essential to health
But few people get one-quarter of the ex-
ercise that they could. / wish here to sug-
gest under what conditions exercise is least
firing, and, therefore, under what condi-
tiohs great deal of exercise can be got
| through without exhaustion.
Health is, of course, all-important, and in
my own case the state of health depends
on the diet. I get my nourishment entirely
from feshless foods but to attempt any
| general rules of diet is futile What suits
| one man may be quite unfit for another
| Steep, again, is very important. After
sieepless night people soon get tired
| occasional sleepless nights may be to some
| extent inevitable, but they are less fatal
ID endurance if the air of the sleeping room
| be fresh
Exercise in the cold dry air is far less
| exhausting than exercise in the warm air:
| put IN America this truth is sadly ignored.
| Gymnasia. indoor running tracks etc a-e
| Kept at stupidity high temperature. Peo-
pie should be encouraged to warm them
| Selves not by these artificial means, but by
| fresh.
A"PVTtuht
most important point is the breathing
Many people get out of breath chiefly Le-
cause they breathe wrongly Special
breathing exercises should be practiced,
the nose being the means of sucking in the
air. The breathing should fill Tie chest
upwards and outwards. And the clothing
has a considerable effect upon fatigue 1t
should be as light possible, and should
not be too tight, especially around the
hn of ,:,bt
shape. setting themselves to the lines of
the foot, and should not be too tight uor
too loose.
The Right Why Best.
Or course, exercise done correctly is far
less firing than exercise done incorrectly
Notice how any one who is learning o
cycle will use up three times the amount
OF force that the experienced cychst uses
All the different movements have to be
dcne correctly, and they have to be COM
blned correctly. 1t is this coordination,
this division of labor, this economical way
OF working the muscles and nerves, that
makes expert exercise far less exhausttne
than inexpert The more the correct move
ments become easy and automatic, the less
nerve force is needed. And, besides, these
automatic foundation movements, if the
expression may be used, relieve the mind
from drudgery As soon as they become
natural and free from mental effort the
mind can give itself over to enjoying the
tSeiCISe, whatever us form may be. He
who can bicycle without any thought about
his balance, etc, can enjoy the scenery.
But the best athletic enjoyment comes
through games. partly because Of their
social value. In games properly played
there is always the element of enjoyment.
and this seems almost to double the amount
of work which the body can get through.
Competition, which also enters in is an
other potent antidote to fatigue.
Learn From the Heart.
ha hnor
son. The work it does is almost incalcu-
liable. and yet we do not feel fatigue in the |
heart, in spite of all the ways in which we
misuse it; for example. when we put poison |
into the blood. One reason why the heart |
works so well is that it is practiced organ
1T doesits work in the shortest and best way.
But another reason is that its action is |
rythmical and regular. Rythmical exercise |
Is only half as firing as irregular exercise |
Hence, music and singing may be a great |
help. and may actually keep away fatigue. |
Another secret of endurance is to use the |
large muscles of the body as much as |
possible. 1t is just as tiresome to wiggle |
the little finger a thousand times as to do |
some huge movement, for instance, with |
the hips and shoulders, which may be a hun
dred times better exercise. A golf swing or /
stroke at game may bring into play ever
SO many huge muscles, and vet be not in
the least fatiguing. This is particularly 50
because the muscles are large and capable
of enduring heavy work.
Walking and Tennis.
This is why walking, which, if we con-
slider the weight carried and the total If
exertion, must be accounted heavy
work, is not firing. Another reason why
walking Is such good exercise is that each |
great movement is a preparation for the
next An instance of this continuity of eff
fort is the court tennis or racket stroke
An ordinary stroke may be made with the |
body facing sideways: the hand moves from |
behind and above and makes sweep with |
the racket. and then ends up with the |
racket in the air and the body facing
nearly forward. This is just the position |
which we wish to have between the strokes |
to the waiting position.
Another secret of good exercise is to stop |
before fatigue has reached a serious stage !
We can cover fully three times the stretch |
Of ground If we run little and then walk |
three times that distance and then run |
again, and SO on. OF course, different exer- |
cises require different rules, but there are |
many forms Of exercise which are better |
done in a number of short spells rather than
in one long, persistent effort.
Never Worry, Any Way.
Worry and hard work use up much nerve
force. and so leave less nerve force for ex-
ercise. But, on the other hand, the exer-
else will free the blood from some of its
impurities, and thus counteract the effect
Of worry. 1t seems almost as If pure blood
were as valuable to exercise as strong blood