PHYSICAL CULTURE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3093, 16 January 1909, Page 3

PHYSICAL CULTURE.

(By. 0. Jarrett, Physical Culturist.) THE ABUSE OF PHYSICAL CULTURE. "No one is too old, too yung, or too feeble to take some form of exercise; no one is too strong or too healthy to do without it."—Dr. F. Sawyer. My object in penning these lines is to warn the beginner against some common abuses ot physical cuUnie. The beginner oftimes becomes an enthusiast, so keen and eager that he lets his enthusiasm get ahead of his judgment. 1 will take this oppor* tunity to r'elate some instances of over-enthusia&<ji that have been brought forcibly under my notice in the hope that it will prevent the unwary who are unable to avail themselves of expert tuition from t falling into this pitfall. Some months ago I met a gentleman who had been compelled, through a serious physical to resign from a position in a financial institution. At the time we met he had so far recovered that he had been enabled to open a small business, which allowed him a moderate amount of freedom, and he spent a considerable portion of his time in the open air. I suggested that he should take up breathing exercises, and was somewhat nonplussed when he seemed to be considerably irritated at my well-meaning suggestion. Explanation then followed, and I learned that he had attended a physical culture class for tome months in an adjacent town, and in a physical developmet competition had been declared the best developed pupil, be- I ing awarded a gold medal. Thus encouraged, he had tried to force himself along—exercising hard, striving after quick results, filling his lungs to the utmost capacity or, in other words, straining the lungs to the bursting point". Result, strained lungs, and his faith in physical culture shattered.

With this example of one who had the advantage of professional coaching, before us, what may happen to the novice who has only literature on the subject to refer to and study from? My advice to these is to go easy and be regular in their efforts to improve their physique. I well remember some years ago a young man who wrote to me asking if I could arrange to go to his town and open classes. I had reluctantly to refuse at that time. He then took up dumb-bell exercise, beginning with about fifteen minutes' practice daily, and increasing the length of his practice until some months afterwards, when I called upon him. He was then working two hours daily in his trair.Lg -hard, muscular exercise?. At this stage he told me he was not feeling the benefit that he 1 had derived in the earlier stage, and [ asked me if I could epxlain the reason of this seeming falling away in I strength and vitality. I pointed out ! the reason. He was overtraining, I and had become stale. I advised a rest, which, after consideration, he ; decided was the right course to adopt, with the result that he was j soon as active, buoyant, and strong ' as one could reasonably wish. About the same time I became acquainted with another enthusiast who had, through over-exercise and misdirected energy, strained the valves of his heart, and had been ordered by his medical adviser to de-, sist from exercising. Recently, while cycling in the country, I overtook another cyclist. During the course of conversation he told me that he had taken to cycling as a means of exercise, and asked me if I did not think cycling was a grand exercise. I replied that to my mind it depended solely upon how one took his exercise as to whether it was beneficial or not. I further learnt that he had for some time practised dumb-bell exercise, with grip dumb-bells, but had ceased for some considerable time previously as he found that instead of feeling refreshed after exercise he felt a feeilng of lassitude for the rest of the day. This was a case in point of an excessive expenditure of wil! puwer, expending vitality and energy faster than he was replenishing | them. He informed me that he is now awaiting an opportunity of gett- , ing to a centre, where he could get , ! advice from a qualified teacher. Be- . i fore we parted he had decided to commence straight away. He is now fully convinced of the virtue of the good old maxim, j "Moderation in all things." This is j the secret of success in physical culture. Gauge and grade your work j according to your strength, be con-! tented with steady improvement, and ( dont' forget steady application. I j cannot ernphaisse too strongly the necessity of fresh air when exercising. I have met many ardent disciples of the dumb-bells ani developers who have their bedrooms fitted up with muscle-develuping appliances, who work hard morning and nighc striving after muscular development* practise deep breathing, and are proud of their chest expansion. There is no mistaking their enthusiasm —but, alas, the window is closed to keep out that muchfeared draught! They forget that they ar? muscle-building at the expense of vitailty. Exercising in a vitiated atmosphere, filling the lungs with the poisonous exhalations of the night, and laying the foundations of disease, these are errors which the beginner should endeavour to avoid. Fill your lungs to-day with fresh air, and slsep to-night with tne winj dows open wide.