The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-10-07

freshman class could not swim or
chin themselves five times and did
not have the endurance to do SIM
pie calesthenic exercises indicate
the need for intensive and deliber-
ate training of the bodies Of our
young generation.
A program of daily exercise
should be instituted certainly in
High School period, and possibly
in grade school AS much as am
opposed to compulsory military
training, the findings of the boards
have been so revelatory and so ut
terly surprising that l am recep-
tive to the idea for at least the
periods of the summer vacation
in the last two high school years.
AS rough measurement of cri-
terra Of physical fitness We may
take two quite definite and meas
urable neutrality-suspicious. and
endurance. 1t was endurance which
came out as so lacking in the tests
in the University of Illinois stu
dents. That a young man of Is
could not swim so yards, that he
could chin himself on horizontal
bar less than five times, that in a
prone position on the floor he SIM
ply did not have enough endur.
ance to raise his legs straight in
the air 20 times-that this could
be in tn. United States Of America
and not in one or two youths in
the freshman class of a Univer-
sity, but in 40 per cent seems to me
decidedly cause for alarm and cor
rection. AS things look now we
are obligated to police the world
for half a century and we cannot
do it with weaklings.
Posture and Endurance
Both posture and endurance can
be improved by planning. And if
exercises are planned t. that de-
liberate end the attainment Of
good posture and endurance will
produce a we'll rounded physical
specimen, not q sort Of freak
muscle man. We can afford to take
page from our enemy and imi-
tate the old German turnverein.
The Swedish Ling system is much
the SAME.
The two functions Of muscle
which are capable Of training in
order to accomplish the objects we
desire are tone and coordination.
Tone is that function of muscle
whereby it remains under sus-
tanned tension. II is the same thing
as the tone of the string Of mu-
steal instrument. You cannot get
a good tone out of q string that
is not tense. Tension is necessary
to maximal power Of muscular
contraction. 1t produces the maxi
NAL efficiency and economy of en-
ergy. 1t can be trained by exercises
which require sustained tension
If the muscles.
1t may be surprising, but It Is
no less true, that sustained tonici-
ty does not produce fatigue, but
on the contrary. The person who
is always the most fatigued is the
one who is sitting in the rocking
chair all day and can hardly get
up courage to make the attempt
to get up and go down to the post
Office.
Muscular Tons
Tone is Of Importance in respect
TO adequate sterilization Of the
skeletal system. In accomplishing
good posture some training is
necessary in muscular coordina-
ton. 1t is necessary to have toned
muscles if you are to have muscles
which act with coordination.
"The maintainence Of posture"
Gays an eminent authority, "is an
example of the nicely Of adjust
ment between various parts of the
body to fit the new position"
Good posture eliminates stresses
and strains. The center of gravity
Of human being is at the level
of the second lumbar vertebra-
roughly at the waist line. The line
Of gravity runs from about two
inches in front Of the ankle joints
to the topmost part Of the skull