Good News for ‘Tired Business Men’

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 732, 3 August 1929, Page 18

Good News for ‘Tired Business Men’

HEN the blatant alarm TdbWi\ clock beats on the door mfA of sleep and the tired business man rolls over to look at its face, hoping his mechanical valet has made a mistake, he may turn over again without feeling he is a sinner or a weakling. He isn't a mollycoddle if he doesn’t bounce out of bed, turn a handspring into the bathroom and shiver like a Spartan in a cold /bower. If he likes music before breakfast, there is nothing wrong in turning on the radio. But unless he wants to punish himself he needn’t follow au announcer and twist, bend. turn and groan through a series of setting-up exercises. To produce pain or to invite suffering and discomfort as a means of keeping fit is not a scientist's idea of the way to keep the human dynamo running under full power, according to Dr. Jesse Feiring Williams, pro- ' fessor of physical education at Teachers’ College, Columbia University. He and other experts, who are laying tie foundations for a new system - of physical education in America, are the enemies of ‘‘pep,” speed and violent exercises for the average man or woman. “The alarm clock as an institution should be abolished," says Dr. Williams. “To end sleep with a clanging sound is the worst way of awakening. It la a distinct shock to the nervous system. When one is asleep, all his functions, such as the beating of the heart and the system of respiration, have slowed down to a very low speed. The alarm clock literally kicks one out of bed and is a menace to the natural | conclusion of sleep. “Setting-up exercises are silly and artificial. Ouly physical illiterates who live their lives in such a way as not to get exercise in any other man■Ht per will benefit by setting-up exer-

Too Much Jazz in Exercises is Harmful . . . Alarm Clocks Should be Banned and Violent Calisthenics Shunned. eises, and that benefit will be very ] small. “God gave us knees and we should bend down and pick up things. I con- | sider exercises silly that compel a ; man to bend over and touch the floor with his knees straight, or to bend sideways and backward and bend the trunk. This is calistenics propaganda is a commercial exploitation of people’s desire to keep fit. "If a man’s job requires that he get up at a certain hour in the morning,” says Dr. Williams, “the way to get up is to go to bed the night before. Hygienists and physicians are generally agreed that one should awake in the morning refreshed. If a person has had enough sleep, he will awake when rested. If he is tempted to sleep later than his morning duties require, he should go to bed earlier. “The origin of drill and discipline in physical exercise may be traced to the military systems of Central Europe. Setting-up exercises are a from of Prussianism in physical education.” Dr. Williams believes physical exercise and education should be used as a check against the hurry, distraction and fever of business life. People” should exercise to be happy, not just to attempt to keep healthy. "Doubtless,” he declared, “we will make little gain in the use of leisure until we overcome the notion that play must be profitable. 11l physical education we have been ready to recommend golf or tennis for their health values when they were of value in themselves—precisely as sitting in the sun or fishing or walking along the riverhank. "We constantly ignore the needs of calm, rest, relaxation, mental and physical recreation and try to condense the exercise into a few movements. done snappily and with pep.” Dr. Williams said that the idea of the cold bath was not a modern invention, but as old as medicine itself. In the writings of Hippocrates, Galen and the early Roman physicians it is prescribed as a therapeutic measure. People generally accept the idea of of cold bath as they accept setting-up oxercises, as a desirable and hygienic practice, but such is not always the case.

If one shouldn’t begin the day with a raucous tune, a cold spray and acrobatics what is the sensible way of keeping fit? Dr. Williams believes we should follow the cat-and-dog method of shak-

ing off sleep. Stretch an arm then a leg, come gradually into consciousness, and get accustomed to the idea that there is another day ahead. “This is an age when people are rushing around and calling it pi'ogress. Such a theory is bunk. The speed and the strain are severely taxing our nervous systems, and instead of developing a system of recreation which would calm our over-excited, overstimulated minds and bodies, we add to it a sudden interruption of sleep and severe exercise. “Exercise is mental as well ,as physical. If we enjoy our form of recreation it is infinitely more beneficial than mere muscular movements. Walking is one of the best forms of recreation. The speed should be three to four miles an hour. The body should not be held stiff, with the arms hanging immovable at the sides. Nor should the foot come down on the heel with the toes turned outward. “A modified runner’s stride is the ideal step for walking. The arms swing easily with the legs. The step is springy and on the forward part of the foot. "For those who have the opportunities, swimming, golf, horseback-rid-ing, tennis and general outdoor activity are very desirable exercises if taken in moderation. “I believe in the value of developing a favourite spert of this kind and taking time off to indulge in it, as is done abroad, especially in England. “Dancing is another very desirable exercise. It combines pleasure with physical activity. The drawback of considerable dancing is the fact that it is often done in poorly ventilated halls, on crowded floors where you can hardly do more than jog up and down. "It may seem a long distance from philosophy to exercise, but ouly by! formulating the purpose of exercise : and developing a type of physical activity which suits our philosophy can we stay on the right road,”