The Brandon news., 1907-03-28
Avs OF EXERCISE.
By LUTHER \. cuLIcK. N. D.,
President american Physical Association.



never used get flabby and soft; they
become incapable of obeying the will
promptly and effectively. The effects
on the nerves that control them are
equally bad. They lose their power
OF responding vividly. They cannot
be relied upon to do expert work.
President G. Stanley Hall, of Clark
University, calls the flabby muscle
the chasm between willing and doing.
Enough exercise, then, to keep the
muscles of the body firm and sensi-
tive Is what we aim at. For a man
whose chief business in life is hard
work, there is little to be gained in
building up muscular tissue beyond
that point. He may do it for recrea-
tion if he likes; but that is different
matter.
Many of us come to dislike the
thought of exercise. The very word
suggests conscientious and disagree
able quarter-hours spent with dumb
bells or pulley-weights in the solitude
OF ones apartment, or, worse yet, on
the floor of a gymnasium. There
fore, do not propose an elaborate
system of private gymnastics. If a
man forces himself to carry on exer-
else simply because he thinks it's his
duty, more than half it's benefits are
lost. For really valuable exercise
is one which reaches beyond the mus
cles and the digestive organs; it
braces up and stimulates the mind
When man is being bored to
death, he is not deriving the most
benefit from his occupation, even
though that occupation may be a
strenuous half-hour of chest weights.
The kind of exercise that hits the
mark is the kind a man likes for it's
own sake; and the kind man likes
for its own sake has Something of the
play-spirit in 1.-THE life and go of a
good game. 1t will give chance for
some rivalry, definite goal to aim
at, a point to win; something, in
other words, to enlist his interest and
arouse hts enthusiasm.
The good a man gets out of brisk
horseback ride in the park is some
thing more than what comes simply
from the activity of his muscular sys-
tenn or from the effect of the con-
slant jolting upon the digestive or
gans. There is the stimulus to the
whole system which comes from his
filling his lungs with fresh, out-of-
door air. There is the exhilaration
of sunshine and blue sky and of the
wind on the skin. There is the ex-
citement of controlling a restive ami
NAL. All this makes the phenomenon
complex one-something much
larger than the mere term exercise
would imply. A man could sit on
mechanical horse in gymnasium
and be jolted all day without getting
any of these larger effects.
Exercise should not be too severe.
Many ambitious people injure them
selves through trying to accomplish
too much along this line. Where the
mind is already tired the body can
only lose by few moments of violent
exertion. Exercise breaks down tis-
sue, exhausts nerve energy. If any
good is to be gained from it this
body waste must be repaired. But
when the system is already exhaust
ed, it cannot afford an additional ex-
penditure. A city man with con-
science is in danger of making too
hard work of his exercise when he
takes it at all.
Tennis is game that nervous, ex-
citable, overworked people like to
play. They ought to avoid it. 1t
works them too hard and too fast.
Instead of resting them it wears them
out.
There is no better outdoor exer-
else for a city man than a game Of
golf. The alternate activity and rest
that it provides for, the deep breath
ing caused by the necessary hill
climbing, the sociability of the game
all these are admirable features.
Rowing. padding, bowling, tramping
any form of recreation that brings
variety Of physical exertion and
that appeals to a mans interest and
enthusiasm-belong in the class of
"A-1" exercises.
A splendid exercise is deep breath
Ing. After your breakfast and lunch,
as you are walking on the street,
breathe just as deeply as you can ten
times in succession. Then breathe
normally for minute. Then take
ten more deep breaths. Do this four
or five times the first day and in
crease 1t by one round every day
until you are taking from 800 to 400
deep breaths daily as a regular habit.
This consumes no time. You do it
while you are walking on the street.
It improves the action of the dia-
phragm. 1t stimulates the circulation
Of the blood in the head. It increases
the activity Of the intestinal move
ments. 1t costs no money. Right
there, perhaps, lies the chief diff
Guilty with it. If each breath cost
man cent, a great many more men
would cultivate the habit.-From ar.