Omaha daily bee., 1918-07-06
Beauty Building With a

OF course you always knew that you
could get exercise with a broom. You
will say Immediately that millions of
women in. this country, young women,
middle aged women and old women.
get considerable exercise with a
broom every day of their lives.
But what kind of exercises?
A great proportion of these women
are prepared to tell us that not only
through the use of the broom but in
many other ways they find great
deal of exercise in their housework.
But again, what kind of exercise?
The truth is that many millions of
these same women who do plenty of
housework each day are anything but
inspiring examples of the possibilities
of physical culture.
There is fundamental difference
between work and exercise, even
though there are certain varieties of
work which constitute ideal exercise.
And even though too much exercise
or too much of one kind of exercise
may take the form of work.
Work carried to a certain point
tends to build and maintain a certain
amount of strength. Beyond that
point it is exhausting. Exercise is
far more effective for building the
body and developing strength because
it is especially designed for the pur-
pose, and within proper limits is re-
ireshing and invigorating instead of
exhausting. 1t tones one up and gives
increased energy instead of consum-
ing it.
Work commonly overtaxes certain
muscles or groups Of muscles while
neglecting others. Exercise brings in
to play the neglected muscles. correct
ing any special weakness or defects
and giving the entire body uniform
development of strength and SYM
metry.
Exercise promotes the fexibility OF
the spine and of all parts of the body,
raising the chest, improving the car
riage and iinparting tone and vigor to
internal as we'll as external parts.
Work, on the contrary, is usually con-
ducive to poor bodily posture. with
stiffness and rigidity of all parts, and
this particularly applies in the case of
housework. Nearly all of the activ-
tiles of housework are of nature to
bend the back, drag the shoulders
forward, cramp the chest and give
one that dropping. tired out appear
ance that Immediately suggests the
need of something in the nature of
setting up exercise" -
Sweeping is indispensable in main
tanning neat and clean house if one
does not arrange to accomplish by the
use of a vacuum cleaner or by some
other method, but after sweeping it
is a simple enough matter to over
come the cramping of the chest and
any stiffness of the body by few min
utes spent in refreshing and stimulat-
ing wand exercises performed with
the broom handle. Whether after
sweeping, or irrespective of any
sweeping whatever, broom makes
an excellent gymnasium device.
The more action one is able to put
into his or her exercises. whether with
a broom, in free movements or in any
other form of training. the greater is
the benefit. No movement should be
performed in a half-hearted way.
Each movement should be done with
a pronounced stretch of the muscles
involved and with the expression of
as much energy as may be justified
BY the type of exercises involved.
Five repetitions of any movement exc
cuted with energy and spirit would
be more effective than twenty-five
repetitions performed in a perfunctory
manner.-Dorothy Pearl Buchanan, in
Tune PHYSICAL Culture.