Exercise

“ And always and always is the same prescription given: "You must get away from your work; you must get out into the open; you must get plenty of outdoor exercise."
Exercise, exercise, exercise, has become the slogan. ”

“ But, truly, the exercise is so admirable--the body being thrown into endless graceful postures which bring every muscle into play,--and the training in pluck, daring, and resource so invaluable that it is a pity trees and cliffs and walls should be forbidden even to little girls. ”

“ The exercise consists of throwing ball to one another, and the catching of it develops the chest, exercises the back, arms, legs; in fact, improves the whole system.
Home Apparatus “One of the aims of physical training is to make exercise interesting and enjoyable. To be beneficial in the highest sense it must be recreative. Particularly is this true of physical exercise for business men. As a class, in their daily work, they are kept on a constant mental strain. Besides, they are, to a large degree, physically inactive. Life becomes too intense, too serious, too sordid. ”

“ If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong -- the sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all exercises walking is best. ”

“ In point of fact we are only boldly honest and sincere when we insist that really beneficial exercise consists as much in the pursuit of some independent object we desire to reach or gain by physical exertion, coupled with a pleasant stimulation of mental interest and recreation, as in any given kind or degree of mere muscular activity. ”

“ But it is quite possible to understand the expression “bodily exercise,” in the sense in which the phrase is most commonly used in ordinary conversation among ourselves. In the text which we are considering it may mean that exercise of the body which we are accustomed to take, some of us of necessity, because the work by which we earn our daily bread involves a great deal of physical exertion; some of us for health’s sake, because our work involves a great deal of sitting still; some of us for pleasure, because bodily exercise of various kinds is delightful to us. ”

“ Exercise makes the body strong. Many a man has reason to bless the memory of his father or teacher, who, when he was a weak boy, with flabby muscles, and without energy or strength of will, made him take regular exercise. A young man who was threatened by weak lungs was ordered to take regular Exercise every day with clubs and dumb-bells and a vigorous walk in the open air. After a few months' steady practice he found that he could, with his hands, lift his elder brother, lying flat on the ground, by the clothes and elevate him above his own head. ”

“ This universal upward tendency or process we call by some big words which confuse our minds and obscure the facts.
An exercise is not only mental but emotional, not only expressive of thought but of normal emotion.
The wise doctor looks at his patient. He does this not only to recognize the patient's condition but to see how much courage he has, how much joy, how gladly he accepts life.
An exercise demands accentuation of extension.
Muscles should have a certain normal length and the power of relaxation to take a certain length. ”

“ Sport, because of the diversion of mind involved, is an ideal form of exercise. An exercise that becomes a mere routine and that can be eventually gone through with so mechanically as to leave abundant room for thoughts of business or study or worries of other kinds, loses sight of one of the principal purposes of exercise as nature demands it. ”

“ This eastern allegory is finely contrived to shew us how beneficial bodily labour is to health, and that exercise is the most effectual physic. I have described in my hundred and fifteenth paper, from the general structure and mechanism of an human body, how absolutely necessary exercise is for its preservation; I shall in this place recommend another great preservative of health, which in many cases produces the same effects as exercise, and may, in some measure, supply its place, where opportunities of exercise are wanting. ”

“ All these are rare before but common after twelve years of age.
Exercise.— In physical culture the object aimed at should be the symmetrical development of all the muscles of the body. Hence the necessity for bringing every individual muscle into play, at first for its development, and later for its maintenance.
The tendency of almost all forms of exercise is to develop some portion of the body at the expense of the rest. The most perfect form of exercise is therefore that one which will most nearly call into play all the muscles of the body. ”

“ As all training is a reaching upward towards an ideal so an exercise is a single step and the first exercise should be the most primary action. The primary condition of all growth is a certain joyous awakening, an expansive enjoyment of life. ”

“ But any one who has had a natural childhood and who has been taught to play, and who has taken his or her exercise naturally, or incidentally in the course of pursuing some mental interest—any such person may be excused for saying that a pair of dumb-bells should be deposited in our museums as indications of what was understood by exercise even as late as the earlier years of the twentieth century. All exercise for the sake of exercise is a mistake—or, at any rate, a second best. ”

“ Exercise within doors, taken in a routine manner and merely for the sake of exercise, with no diversion of mind, is eminently unsuitable for the busy man. What he needs is air much more than exercise. ”

“ But systematic physical exercise has its sufficient reason in its aid to a graceful use of the limbs, its development of muscles that are left unused or rudimentary unless called forth by special training, and for the help it gives to the teacher in the way of school discipline. ”

“ For this purpose, occupations must be sought, which exercise the muscles, and interest the mind; and thus the equal action of both kinds of nerves is secured. This shows why exercise is so much more healthful and invigorating, when the mind is interested, than when it is not. As an illustration, let a person go a shopping, with a friend, and have nothing to do, but look on; how soon do the continuous walking and standing weary! ”

“ In all forms of active exercise there are three powers simultaneously in action,--the will, the muscles, and the intellect. Each of these predominates in different kinds of exercise. In walking, the will and muscles are so accustomed to work together and perform their task with so little expenditure of force, that the intellect is left comparatively free. The mental pleasure in walking, as such, is in the sense of power over all our moving machinery. ”

“ He must be willing to demonstrate on an humble plane, and, while striving for the highest ideal, take the simplest exercise as the first step of the ladder.
An exercise localizes function. Every part of the body, even every muscle has certain functions to discharge. Awkward men use the wrong part to perform a certain action; part interferes with part. A true exercise will train each part to discharge its own function and bring it into harmonious co-ordination with other parts. It will stimulate both growth and development but make growth precede development. ”

“ But by qualifying adjectives we may bring exercise up to the full sense of exertion; as, violent exercise. Exercise is action taken at any time with a view to employing, maintaining, or increasing power, or merely for enjoyment; practise is systematic exercise with a view to the acquirement of facility and skill in some pursuit; a person takes a walk for exercise, or takes time for practise on the piano. Practise is also used of putting into action and effect what one has learned or holds as a theory ”

“ In short, if exercise is spontaneous and rational, qualitative rather than quantitative, for the nerves rather than for the muscles, it will improve the efficiency and facility of one’s habitual occupation, will establish a general vigor and stability of body, and maintain mental balance and alertness ”

“ Physical exercise in these various forms has its immediate and valuable influence upon the health condition of the individual student, if taken in sufficient quantity. It has its lasting and very much more important influence in those cases in which physical exercise becomes a habit. ”

“ Take exercise; because the contraction of the muscles by walking, working, or otherwise, forces the blood to the heart, and through the lungs, by which health and vigour is promoted.—Where should we take exercise? In the country, or in the open air; because there the air is purer than in a house or a town, where fires, smoke, frequent breathing, and other things, render the atmosphere unwholesome.—Would breathing rapidly, without exercise, not nourish the blood equally well? ”

“ Exercise.—This must be pleasurable, or at all events it must be interesting—mind and body must go hand in hand—if exercise is to do any good. It must not be over-fatiguing, and intervals of rest must not be forgotten. Exercise should never be taken in cumbersome clothing. ”

“ While each exercise calls into play many other muscles than the ones for whose development the exercise is given, the exercise is classed under the group for the region which it is especially designed to benefit. ”

“ Exercise.—Exercise, in the strict signification of the word, means the performance of its function by any and every organ of the body. As generally used, however, it signifies the action of the muscles under control of the will. ”

“ The advantage of exercise to a student or any other brain-worker, is that it lessens the over-stimulus of his brain, distributes the blood more equably, calling to his muscles some of those streams which would impetuously be rushing through his brain. ”

“ Exercise makes the Blood and other Juices circulate with Freedom; prevents the Mischief too often arising from Stagnation, and throws off the redundant Matter through the Pores of the Skin by insensible Perspiration. And Exercise too, greatly contributes to that Flow of Spirits, that lively pleasing Air and chearful Countenance so essential to our Happiness. ”

“ Exercise may react upon circulation, breathing, and nutrition so as to develop vigor or strength, but this reservoir is available for specific ends only by use in connection with the material means which accomplish them. ”

“ Maturin, “but how is one to know precisely what he needs, and when?”
“Take, for illustration,” resumed the Physician, “those moments when you feel the need of exercise. A little analysis of the sensation will make you aware of a kind of hunger for activity in some particular muscle. A little ingenuity will devise some appropriate exercise, and its moderate practice will both meet the particular need that was felt and diffuse a general tone of well-being. ”

“ What effect has exercise upon a muscle? Is there any danger in violent exercise? For what purpose should we exercise? Should exercise be in the open air? What is the rule for exercise? Is a young person excusable, who leads a sedentary life, and yet takes no daily outdoor exercise? ”

“ Bodily exercise is in one sense a means of repair, inasmuch as it quickens the circulation and respiration, and makes the whole organism more active. The old maxim that Exercise strengthens every power must not be overlooked, as the arm of the rower or the wrist of the confirmed croquet-player will testify. ”

“ Give about two of them, every day, to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body, and stamp no character on the mind. ”

“ In short, when you exercise, realize what you are doing and what you are doing it for, and you will get the result. Put life and interest into your exercise, and avoid the listless, mechanical manner of going through the motions, so common in physical culture exercises. ”

“ The value of exercise consists not in developing large muscles nor in accomplishing athletic feats, but in attaining physical poise, symmetry of form, and the harmonious adjustment of the various parts of the body, as well as in furthering the proper activity of cell-tissues and organs and the elimination of waste products. ”

“ It is certain that sedentary men, and men of hard-worked intellects, are greatly in need of some means of distributing the circulation through the muscles. Exercise is the means. When the avocations are such as to render continuous exercise in the open air difficult or impossible, we should seek to compensate for this by variety of gentle activities distributed throughout the day. ”

“ Relation of Proper Exercise to Health.—We are all aware that exercise in moderation has a beneficial effect upon the human organism. The pale face, drooping shoulders, and narrow chest of the boy or girl who takes no regular exercise is too well known. ”

“ The best way is to take them by turns, and to use that longest which is most suitable to the strength and constitution. Those kinds of exercise which give action to most of the bodily organs, are always to be preferred, as walking, running, riding, digging, swimming, and such like. ”

“ But even where natural or physical energy is deficient, an energetic manner may be acquired by practice and exercise under judicious direction; just as the muscular powers may be improved, and bodily vigor increased, even in a feeble frame, under a course of training and well-regulated exercise. ”

“ Long and formal walks, merely for exercise, though they do some good, in securing fresh air, and some exercise of the muscles, would be of triple benefit if changed to amusing sports, or to the cultivation of fruits and flowers, in which it is impossible to engage without acquiring a great interest. ”