Physical exertion

“ The only thing that I can suggest is more physical exertion. Really vigorous exertion, the kind that makes you pant and tremble and get a bit dizzy. Try that every day for a month and come back to see me. ”

“ With a physical organization of great power and vigor, and an exuberance of animal spirits, he naturally sought physical exercise. Compelled by want of sight to limit himself to a small space, he149 put himself in almost every conceivable posture, and resorted to those exercises which required the most violent physical exertion. ”

“ Now every exertion, mental or physical, means that more blood must be supplied to the active part, thus increasing its weight, while as the amount of blood in the body is limited, the excess must be taken from some other organ, thus decreasing the weight of the latter. If the man on the bed rises and dances a jig, when he resumes his place upon the balanced bed, his feet will sink, and his head ascend correspondingly. ”

“ 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. ”

“ As with the mind, so with the body, undue and prolonged exertion must end in depression of power. In the process of physical education of the young, in training of our recruits, or in the sports of the athlete, the case of Heenan suggests a striking commentary of great interest in a physical point of view. While exercise, properly so called, tends to development and health, excessive exertion produces debility and decay. ”

“ A degree of exertion can be safely maintained in full training which would be quite impossible under other circumstances, because by a gradual process of what we may call physical education the heart has strengthened its reserve force—widened enormously its limits of physiological work. ”

“ Over Exertion.—Severe labor and violent exercise should be avoided. Many cases of broken-down health are due to excessive strain, the result of track races on wheel or foot, and similar indiscretions.
Age, Occupation, and Habit.—Physical exercises must be chosen with reference to the age, occupation, and habit of the individual. The young, the middle-aged, and the old will each, as a rule, require some direction as to kind, and some modification as to length and intensity, of the exercise. ”

“ In taking up a new exercise requiring considerable exertion, precautions should be observed to prevent an overstrain of the heart. The heart of the amateur athlete, bicyclist, or mountain climber is frequently injured by attempting more than the previous training warrants. The new work should be taken up gradually, and feats requiring a large outlay of physical energy should be attempted only after long periods of training.
Since the heart is controlled by the nervous system, it frequently becomes irregular in its action through conditions that exhaust the nervous energy. ”

“ An unsupported weight will fall, and even when supported will exert a pressure downward. And this tendency is no mere directed force in the physical sense, but an impulse, in the personal sense. For when with hand or shoulder we support a weight, we inevitably interpret it in terms of our own voluntary muscular exertion in resisting it; even as we strive to resist it, so it seems to strive to fall. Although this force is exerted downward, it shows itself in the horizontal lines of a building, in string courses, parapets, cornices, friezes ”

“ Training, which is chiefly systematic exercise, by promoting a healthy concordant action between the heart and arteries, diminishes the resistance which the latter offer to an unusual flow of blood from the former, and therefore men in training, or men accustomed to bodily exercise, do not easily become distressed by sustained muscular exertion. ”

“ The most beneficial exercises ordinarily are the gentle ones, in which no strain is put upon the heart and the respiration. The special aim is to secure the equal use of all the muscles, not the development of a few. The performance of feats of strength should never come within the scope of any educational scheme. Exercises which call for sustained effort, violent exertion, or sudden strain are best avoided by those who have had no preparation or training.
Regular exercise, not sudden and occasional prolonged exertion, is necessary for health. ”

“ Effect of Unsuitable or Excessive Exercise. But exercise, like everything else which contributes to our welfare, may be carried to excess. The words excessive and unsuitable, when applied to muscular exertion, are relative terms, and apply to the individual rather than to amount of work done. ”

“ The same amount of exercise will not conduce to the health of all individuals. If riding or walking one mile causes slight fatigue, this may be beneficial; while, by travelling two miles, the exhaustion may be highly injurious. Exercise and labor should be adapted to the strength of particular individuals. How little soever the strength, that must be the measure of exertion. Any other rule would be fatal to the hopes of invigorating the system, either by exercise or labor.
Is there a limit to the muscles becoming powerful by action? How may the strength of muscles be kept until advanced age? ”

“ As each control of the body is connected with the activity of the muscles, and as each harmonious movement requires constant control, therefore constant exertion of the muscles, it results that strength, perseverance and an elastic dexterity are built up without which strength resembles to brute force. ”

“ When on lands of a couple of thousand feet elevation, brisk exercise imparts elasticity to the muscles, fresh and healthy blood circulates through the brain, the mind works well, the eye is clear, the step is firm, and a day's exertion always makes the evening's repose thoroughly enjoyable. ”

“ To any place that begins to weaken under toil comes an accession from the abundant internal heat collected and stored up against the day of need; it fills the vacancy, restores the vital force, and lengthens endurance to the utmost. Past exertion means not dissipation but increase of force, which can be fanned into fresh life. ”

“ I am of opinion that, in addition to the amusement which this exercise (fencing) affords, it is particularly calculated to excite in young persons a greater degree of energy and circumspection than they might otherwise possess; and it is obvious that, in respect of health, that mode of exertion is superior to all others, which, while it gives motion and activity to every part of the body, produces at the same time corresponding interest in the mind. ”

“ He first considers muscular exertion as an afferent feeling, then examines into the power of the will over exertion, analyzing the cases of acts in which no effort of either is required, in which the stress of effort is laid on the exertion while the will is lightly taxed, on the will when the muscular exertion required is insignificant, and cases in which the will effort operates in all its vigor while the muscular function is not regarded. ”

“ After violent exercise; in which case it is still more hurtful than in the preceding, where muscular strength was not consumed, but only required to the aid of another function. After bodily fatigue, on the contrary, the necessary energy is in a manner exhausted, so that every additional exertion of the body must be peculiarly injurious. ”

“ Exercise quickens and exalts the cleansing powers of the breathing—and this is why it is of such great importance to the health. When you go and take a brisk walk in the open air, you increase the force of the internal breeze. The exertion makes your chest expand to a larger size, so that it can admit more fresh air, and it also causes your blood-streams to course along more rapidly, so that a greater abundance of the air is carried on through your frame. ”

“ For, as the engines you throw stones or darts with throw them out with the greater force the more they are strained and drawn back; so it is in speaking, running, or boxing—the more people strain themselves, the greater their force. Since, therefore, this exertion has so much influence—if in a moment of pain groans help to strengthen the mind, let us use them; but if they be groans of lamentation, if they be the expression of weakness or abjectness, or unmanly weeping, then I should scarcely call him a man who yielded to them. ”

“ Exertion quickens your pulse, expands your lungs, makes your blood warmer and redder, fills your mouth with the pure waters of relish, strengthens and supples your legs; and though on your way to the top you may encounter rocks, and baffling débris, and gusts of fierce winds rushing out upon you from behind corners, just as you will find in Arnauld, and all truly serious and honest books of the kind, difficulties and puzzles, winds of doctrine, and deceitful mists ”

“ They can put forth their strength slowly; but they always get "winded" in a rapid and vigorous test. Persons, with this peculiarity, usually try to cure themselves by muscular exertion; but this is wrong. What they need is intelligent and long-continued exercise of various kinds for the breathing organs.
"Indigestion, sleeplessness, nervous indecision, palpitation of the heart, and irregularity of the bowels disappear under proper training," says an able physician and athlete; "but if they exist, the regimen should be entered upon with more than usual caution." ”

“ Train every muscle of the body uniformly to acquire a general development along every organ and muscle. This general muscular training should be begun with the child at an early age, and be conditioned upon his strength for their quantity of exercise. So a weak person can not stand as much or as strong exercise as a stronger person. Every one must be his own judge in this matter. Many noted men have brought on a fatal illness from over exertion or over exercise at a late age when their system was not prepared to withstand violent methods. ”

“ All forms of violent exercise require that the brain and nervous system should be in assured perfect health; that they possess all their normal attributes.
All neurologists have seen the unfortunate and distressing effects of excessive and violent exercise in persons unfit by training or nature for anything more than moderate exertion. The adolescent, the neurotic, and those who have passed their vigorous days, should exercise only under the advice of a physician. ”

“ In the same way, just as when the brain bears the stress of exertion, the body should be completely relaxed, so when one part of the body, the arms or legs, for instance, are actively employed, and above all when storage of energy may be useful, the rest of the body not wanted should be trained to give no trouble, not to require the usage of energy. ”

“ The directors regulated the diet of the youth, the gymnastae prescribed for their diseases, and the inferiors dressed wounds and fractures. Not only was the general idea entertained that bodily exercise is good for the health, but different kinds of exertion were selected as adapted to particular maladies. ”

“ It is quite sure that in the graver examples exercise quickens the pulse curiously, the tire shows in the face, or sometimes diarrhoea or nausea follows exertion, and though while under excitement or in the presence of some dominant motive they can do a good deal, the exhaustion which ensues is out of proportion to the exercise used. ”

“ Various gymnastic apparatus may be employed with advantage, and more especially those in which the various muscular movements are effected against a resistance. But in all cases extreme care must be taken to avoid over-fatigue and over-exertion. ”

“ In the form of a wide square we went round the drill-ground, five minutes, ten minutes—un, deux, un, deux—always in sharp time. The corporal, a splendid runner, ran at the head, teaching us the trick on which everything depended here, to overcome the critical moment of lung exhaustion, to get the "second wind." Even if the breath came and went in short pumping gasps, if the eyes pained, and one commenced to stumble from exhaustion, one ran on until the lungs had got used to the extra exertion, until one had the feeling of being a machine, and could go on running for ever. ”

“ Innumerable trains or tribes of motions are associated with these voluntary muscular motions above mentioned; as when I will to extend my arm to a distant object, some other muscles are brought into action, and preserve the balance of my body. And when I wish to perform any steady exertion, as in threading a needle, or chopping with an ax, the pectoral muscles are at the same time brought into action to preserve the trunk of the body motionless, and we cease to respire for a time. ”

“ I attempted to open my eyes; the weight that oppressed them was too great for a slight exertion to remove! the exertion which I made cost me a pang more acute than any which I ever experienced: my eyes, however, were opened; but the darkness that environed me was as intense as before.
I attempted to rise; but my limbs were cold, and my joints had almost lost their flexibility: my efforts were repeated, and at length I attained a sitting posture. ”

“ Their general utility will be questioned only by those who are not aware that the health and vigour of all the bodily organs depend on the proportioned exercise of each. In active exertion, the member exercised swells with the more frequent and more copious flow of blood, and heat is developed in it with greater abundance; and if we repeat the same motions many times after intervals of repose, all the muscles exercised become permanently developed ”