Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-01-08

for q fiStic encounter. Some OF the
best women's clubs In the country now
make a feature of this exercise, and
for some reason which Is hardly sus-
ceptible of explanation 1t has become
quite popular.
or course the fashionable women
who devote themselves SO a~ssiduously
to the punching of the leather sphere
could obtain the same exercise at
home. All that would be necessary
would be to make their w beds and
as many others as they chose, putting
as much vigor Into the operation as
they could spare and dealing as ener-
getically with their pillows and boil.
sters as If they were objects deserving
of punishment. Even turning a mat
tress entails an effort which brings
into play most of the muscles of the
back and shoulders. Let no woman be
excluded from the pleasure and benefit
of the punching exercise on account of
her inability to frequent a gymnasium.
Brisk busting and sweeping are well
calculated to provide abundant health
full exercise at the minimum of cost to
every who will give house
work a trial.
Recently | heard a young girl of my
acquaintance complain because she
couldn't afford an expensive course of
physical culture. "Why not try house
hold gymnastics?" I asked her. "Why
not get up a real interest In the actual
business of keeping the house? Try
1t for a month and see what it will do
for your health and good looks"
81 don't see what 1t can do for my
good looks" she objected, except to
roughen and blacken my hands and
make my back ache like mammals"
Don't believe anything of the kind"
1 insisted. AT your age your mother
had not heard of backache. nor will 1t
bother you If you give the muscles of
your back and shoulders the proper
exercise. All women must have a
certain amount of physical exercise to
keep them in perfect health. All of
them cannot afford an expensive
course in physical culture, but they
need not be deprived of 1t on that ac-
count. The muscles of the spine, the
shoulder blades, the arms and the body
generally are brought into action by
sweeping, busting and bed making"
Girls who are not expected to assist
In the household duties should not for
get that an hours brisk work as an
amateur chambermaid each morning
will do more for their good looks than
all the beauty doctors In the land. 1t
is not always easy for the business wo-
man to find the time, but even half an
hour at busting homework combined
with a walk to and from business will
work wonders in the way of keeping
her muscles in proper condition.
Many a peevish, sallow skinned and
thoroughly discontinued woman could
be transformed into something that
would please even her If she could be
persuaded to take a good, liberal dose
Of homework. There is nothing pre-
scribed so frequently by reputable
physicians as exercise. Medical writ
ers are constantly pointing out the
danger of lack of proper exercise.
There Is not an intelligent medical
man in the country who disapproves
OI kllClen Ky hlDdSliNo PiOpCAiJ "
Quoted.
Now, to the sensible woman who
makes up her mind to go In for house
hold gymnastics let me give this clos
Ing advice: Housework done with
open windows and with plenty of pure
air in close proximity is ten times
more productive of satisfactory re-
suits than the same amount of exercise
taken in badly ventilated quarters. 1t
is a good idea also to vary the type of
exercise as much as possible. Ironing
for two or three consecutive hours
keeps a certain set of muscles on ten
sion. Bending over to sweep a dozen
rooms with a small broom would be
exceedingly fatiguing and far too
great a muscular strain If there were
no intervals of rest. 1t is a good
plan to stop occasionally ard try sim
pie movements of the arms and body
In other words, don't overdo household
gymnastics. SHIRLEY BREESE.