The times., 1901-06-28
The Way to Rest.

| Ihe way 10 HeSt.
Among the innumerable suggestions
in newspapers and magazines, relative
to physical culture, is to be found the
! pithy advice, Don't walk with your
arms and face as well as with your
legs"
/ One reason why Americans use up
such a tremendous amount of nervous
energy is that they do exactly that.
Watch the average woman when she
goes upstairs. Look at the average man
talking business in intense earnest.
! Neither of them is confining the eXpen-
4 diture of energy to the muscles neces-
I sary for action. Most women do half
4 their work not with the proper mus
! cles, but with the middle of the back,
and then they wonder why they have
| backaches and headaches and nervous
prostration. Men do business, not only
during working hours, but half the
night; and then it surprises them when
they fail to rally after serious Illness.
The old proverb that there should be
place for everything and everything in
place is as good in immaterial as in the
material world; but some people seem
TO think that ii is necessary for them to
have one place for everything, and that
place the oYerworked brain.
There is no possible gain in allowing
nervous force to do the work Of muscu-
lar exertion. The simple act Of going
upstairs is as good an example as can
be found of this misappieation of en-
ergy. Stairs have worn out more peo-
PIE than hard work ever did. The mus
cIes below the knee should be made to
do nearly all the work OF lifting the
lody from stair to stair. They can be
made to do it with a little exercise and
practice. 1t must be remembered that
as the evolution of the human race is
counted, stairs are a modern invention.
Primeval man climbed to his abode
monkey fashion. using both hands and
feet The muscles of the leg need train
ing and development before they can do
the lifting work all alone; but instead
OF giving them this. the average person
makes ii up by putting extra strain on
the muscles of the back where it was
not intended to go. When man went en-
all fours there was no need for his back
TO be particularly strong; nor was there
need of IT when he was a quadrumanous
creature. Since he has walked upright
and lifted weights with his arms, how
ever, he has been putting more work
upon the muscles of the back than was
originally intended, and as a conse-
quence the back, with its sensitive ner-
vous system, is the point at which
strain is generally felt 1t is a good
thing 10 develop strength in this region,
but it should not be done by the wrong
sort of exercise. The muscles OF the
arms and legs should be made to do the
work intended for them. If the wrists
are not strong. give them exercise to
develop their strength. and it will gen.
orally be found that the work to be per-
formed will be done with far less
fatigue of the rest of the body.
II will be found, also, that when the
muscles alone are used in doing muscu
lar work, and there is little expenditure
of nervous force, the face of the worker
shows the relief from strain. There are
people who have unconscicusly learned
this secret, and others marvel at their
placidity of expression, and remark
that they DO not seem to grow old.
There is no reason why they should. 1t
is mental exertion, not physical, that |
makes men old. But when a man, OF a
woman, forms the habit of distorting |
the face into an anxious, worried eX-N
preston over every trifle. such as get |
ting to the Office on time, or keeping |
out of the way of cars in crossing the |
street, not only is nothing gained to- |
ward the end in view. but the face is |
gradually twisted into a shape far from |
attractive. Let the muscles do their /
work without this constant supervision, |
and they will do it better. 1t is we'll to
make physical action automatic as far |
as possible, while the brain either plans |
new ways of doing the work, or occu-
pies itself with other subjects. That is
the way TO avoid fatigue and increase
efficiency.