Exercise for health : its science and practice ... containing an anatomical, dumb-bell, and other charts, with full explanations

Front matter

X Illustrated)

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For Description of Wluscles, see Part II.

Chapter I. ^ The Body And Its Machinery

As this is meant to be a purely popular treatise upon the good effects of systematic muscular . exercise, we propose to give only such a scant outline of the construction of the body as will be necessary for the public to understand the effect of exercise upon its different organs.

Perhaps the easiest and quickest way of getting an intelligent idea of the workings of the different organs of the human body is to compare it to the working of an ordinary steam engine.

The engine depends for its movement upon the heat given out by the burning of its fuel — ■ the heat converts the water in the boiler into steam, and this drives the piston, which communicates its motion to the wheels. The fuel burns, because it is supplied with oxygen from the air that passes through the furnace ; the greater the current of air the more fiercely burns the fuel. Smoke and steam escape

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from the engine, and the fuel becomes reduced to ashes.

The engine needs fuel, water, and oxygen ; it becomes hot, does its work, and smoke, steam and ashes result from the burning of the fuel.

The human body, like the engine, requires fuel, water, and oxygen ; it gets hot by the burning of the fuel by the oxygen, thereby it is enabled to do its work, and waste products result from the burning in the form of carbonic acid gas, water, and urea, which correspond to the smoke, steam, and ashes of the engine.

The fuel, water, and oxygen of the engine must be constantly replenished, and the waste products constantly removed, or the engine will cease to be hot and to do its work. The same applies to the body ; it must be constantly supplied with fuel, water, and oxygen, and its waste products constantly removed.

The engine gradually wears away, from the wear and tear of the different parts of its machinery, and, after a time, has to be repaired. The different tissues of the body wear away, but are at once repaired, and in this respect the body proves to be a far more perfect machine than a locomotive.

The engine is dependent upon the engineer for the supply of its fuel, for its repair, and for the removal of its refuse ; whereas the body has special organs for the performance of these different functions.

THE BODY AND ITS MACHINERY. 7

The digestive organs supply the blood with fuel and water ; food and drink enter the digestive tract through the mouth, and are so changed during the function called digestion by the juices in the mouth, the stomach and the intestines, as to be fit for the nourishment of all the tissues of the body.

The oxygen is taken from the air which is breathed in and out of the lungs during respiration.

The food, water and oxygen enter the blood as it circulates through the organs of the digestive tract and the lungs, and by the blood is carried to the tissues of the body. The different kinds of tissue have the peculiar property of being able to select from the blood the special nutriment necessary for their structure.

The tissues, by doing their work, are constantly wearing away and casting off waste products ; these waste products enter the blood, and are carried by it to the excretoryorgans — the lungs, the sldn, and the kidneys, by whose function of excretion they are cast out of the body.

The work of the body is carried on by the burning of the food by oxygen ; the food becomes part of the body, so that it is the body which is burnt and gives off waste products. We can regard the tissues as made up of several little atoms or particles, which become oxidised or changed into waste products, and by this process, heat and force are generated ; but the atoms must be re-

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newed and the waste products removed. This is effected b}'' the circulation of the blood, which we saw brings to the atoms the nutriment they need, and carries off the waste products.

The heart, by its contractions, sends the blood circulating through the blood vessels to the tissues in all parts of the body. This is called the function of the circulation.

These functions — the digestion, respiration, circulation and excretion — kept working harmoniously together by the nervous system, constitute life.

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Chapter II. The Effect Of Exercise Upon The Functions Of The Body

In Landois and Stirling’s Text-book of Physiology, we read: — “Gymnastic exercise is most important for the proper development of the muscles and motor power, and it ought to be commenced in both sexes at an early age. Systematic muscular activity increases the volume of the muscles, and enables them to do more work. The amount of blood is increased with increase in the muscular development, while, at the same time, the bones and ligaments become more resistant. As the circulation is more lively in an active muscle, gymnastics favour the circulation, and ought to be practised, especially by persons of sedentary habits, who are apt to suffer from congestion of blood in the abdominal organs. An active muscle also loses more oxygen, and produces more carbonic acid gas, so that respiration is also excited. The total increase of the metabolism (change in the tissues) gives rise to the feeling of well-being and vigour, diminishes abnormal irritability, and dispels the tendency to fatigue. The whole body becomes firmer and specifically lighter (Jager).”

Muscular exercise stimulates the heart, and so the circulation ; the heart beat is lO

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Strengthened and quickened, and the blood circulates more freely. It is thrust through the arteries by the force of the contraction of the heart muscle ; but when it reaches the veins, the force has expended itself, and the circulation now depends upon the contraction of the muscles of the body. Veins are composed of thin walls, and inside them are placed valves, which will only allow the blood to course towards the heart ; when a muscle contracts, it presses upon the veins, squeezes the blood out of them, and so forces it onwards to the heart, the valves preventing it from going in the opposite direction.

The lungs are stimulated ; more oxygen thus enters the blood, and more carbonic acid gas is given off, the expansion of the chest is increased, and the air passes into the most remote air cells. The digestive organs arc stimulated ; the powerful muscles of the abdomen, by their contraction, press upon the contents of the abdominal cavity, and by kneading them increase what is called the peristaltic action of the muscles of the stomach and intestines, and thus the food is hastened along the digestive tract, and the daily evacuation of the bowels, so necessary to health, is brought about without the use of the harmful drugs that the public are so fond of taking, relying, as they do, so implicitly upon the genuineness of the bold advertisements of the enterprising quack.

Although the good that follows this natural stimulation of the heart, lungs and digestive

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II organs is enormous, yet it is to the function of the excretory organs that we specially wish to draw your attention, for this function of purifying the blood depends to a very great extent upon muscular exercise. The blood thus purified nourishes properly all the tissues of the body, and perfect health is the result. Test this statement by trying the following experiment, which we will call the brain test.

Give a man a certain amount of brain work to do in a crowded city office, where the ventilation is inadequate to supply the requisite amount of fresh air, and we will suppose that the man’s only daily exercise is the walk to and from a station on the underground railway. Soon he will on returning to his home complain of headache and a feeling of goneness ; he will be irritable and cross with his home circle, and, after a hearty evening meal, will feel drowsy and drop off to sleep. Each day his work will become more irksome, and his irritability worse. Give the' same man the same amount of work to do in a country office, well ventilated, and let him spend the time that he would take in getting to his London office by train in healthy exercise. His work will be easy and a pleasure to him ; his headache will cease ; he will not be irritable or drowsy, for the cause of these unpleasant symptoms is due to the impurity of the blood that supplies the brain with nutriment. The city office is stuffy — that is, the air in it contains many impurities, of which carbonic acid gas is the chief ; the blood, instead of being

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charged with a good supply of oxygen and relieved of its carbonic acid gas, is sent back to the tissues from the lungs laden with carbonic acid gas, and with less oxygen than is necessar}^ for their nourishment. It is here again surfeited with carbonic acid gas, one of the chief waste products of the tissues ; and as the day proceeds, the impurities accumulate more and more in the blood ; the man goes home worn out with his work, raves at his household, is despondent about his business affairs, and after a time becomes hypochondriacal, and so a burden to all his companions ; his system by this time has become impregnated with his waste products, and all kinds of nervous disorders, called by many different names, are the heritage of the sedentary man. Disorders which could have been so easily warded off by daily cleansing his internal economy, and ridding it of the waste products that have accumulated there, by using a suitable form of muscular exercise, either in the open air or in a well ventilated room.

The ordinary individual pays great attention to the supply of the fuel, otherwise he suffers pain from hunger, but he pays little heed to the necessity of a good expansion of his lungs for the supply of a sufficiency of oxygen, and still less attention to the getting rid of his waste products by exercise. Peo])le leading a sedentary, inactive life allow impurities to accumulate in their systems, and lay the seeds of such painful diseases as gout and

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rheumatism. All their vital organs become weakened by the conversion of their wellnourished tissue into tissue which is improperly nourished and of very feeble resistance ; that is, they become flabby, because of the supply to them of impure blood. It is not at all uncommon to find the heart encased in a thick layer of fat, or even its walls containing much fat, instead of being made up entirely of healthy, active, muscular fibre ; a fatty heart is the most dangerous form of heart disease. Fat is deposited in the system when the different functions of the body have not been properly regulated ; the weakening of the tissues makes them very susceptible to any form of illness, and those who mean to keep themselves in a good state of health must devote a certain portion of their time to systematic exercise, so as to rid themselves of the impurities that create such sad havoc if left in the body.

Many different systems have been from time to time advocated for the reduction of fat by diet and drugs. Dr. Whitla, in his Dictionary of Treatment, has written an able article upon obesity. He says: “As a rule, it may be said that the treatment of obesity by the administration of drugs should be left out of the question ; if used at all, they must play a very subordinate part.” He then strongly condemns the use of large quantities of vinegar. “ Exercise is a powerful factor in the prevention of obesity. No system of treatment will be complete which does not

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recognise it as an important element.” In contrasting the different systems of dietary, Professor Wood’s figures are of much service.

Albuminous p. . Starchy

Healthy Man. . . 30 drachms. 25 drachms 92 drachms.

Banting’s Dietary.. 43 2 5J

Ebstein’s Dietary .. 25J ,, 21J ,, iij ,,

Oertel's Dietary .. 45 ,, 9 .. 25 ,,

Oertel relies chiefly upon the abstraction of water from the body by reducing its supply, and increasing its excretion by inducing sweating by exercise. Schweninger insists upon all the fluid permitted being taken two hours after meals. German See insists upon copious imbibition of water, but no alcohol. Weir Mitchell relies upon a diet of skimmed milk and absolute rest in bed, with massage, and later on exercise. The Salisbury method consists of a diet of beef steaks and hot water. Schroth advocates the “ Dry-cure,” in which no fluid is allowed.

Dr. Yeo’s method (in our opinion the best) may be given in his own words : — “The two principal objects of all these methods are, first to make the corpulent person consume the excess of fat deposited in his body by restricting the food supply or augmenting its combustion by increased physical exercise or other means ; and, secondly, to establish a dietary which shall prevent its re-accumulation. None of the methods described are appropriate to the treatment of all cases of obesity indiscri-

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minately, while any one of them may prove successful in suitable instances. In conclusion, the following is the method which we recommend • to be generally adopted :

A very careful examination should be made of each case, in order to ascertain the presence or absence of any organic disease, especially of any cardiac degeneration ; and if we are satisfied that the obesity is not secondary to any other morbid state, or associated with any general degeneration of organs, we may proceed with confidence to prescribe an appropriate regime. The albuminates, in the form of animal food, should be strictly limited. Farinacious and all starchy foods should be reduced to a minimum. Sugar should be entirely prohibited. A moderate amount of fats should be allowed. Only a small quantity of fluid should be permitted, but enough should be allowed to aid in the solution and digestion of food. Hot water or warm aromatic beverages may be taken freely between meals, or at the end of the digestive process, especially in gouty cases, on account of their eliminative action. No beer, porter, or sweet wines of any kind are to be taken, and no spirits, except in very small quantities. It should be generally recognised that the use of alcohol is one of the most common provocatives of obesity. A little hock, still Moselle, or light claret, with some alkaline table water, is all that should be allowed. The beneficial effect of such a diet will be aided by abundant exercise, and by l6 EXERCISE for’ HEALTH.

the free use of saline purgatives ; so that we may ensure a complete daily unloading of the intestinal canal. Of animal foods, all kinds of lean meat may be taken : poultry, game, fish (eels, salmon, mackerel, are best avoided), eggs. Meat should not be taken more than once a day, and not more than 6 ozs. of cooked meat at a time. Two lightly-boiled or poached eggs may be taken at one or other meal, or a little grilled fish. Bread should be toasted in thin slices, and completely — not browned on the surface merely. Hard captain’s biscuits may also be taken. Soups should be avoided, except a few tablespoons of clear soup. Milk should be avoided, unless skimmed, and taken as the chief article of diet. All milk and farinaceous puddings and pastry of all kinds are forbidden. Fresh vegetables and fruits are forbidden. It is important to bear in mind that the actual quantity of food permitted must have a due relation to the physical development of the individual, and that what would be adequate in one case might be altogether inadequate in the case of another person of larger physique.”

Inasmuch as fat is very often deposited in the tissues from insufficient muscular exercise, we cannot help thinking that, where it is possible, it is far better and more natural to use carefully devised exercises, instead of relying upon drugs or a strict dietary, which we fear in too many cases only increase the weakness of the tissues, which are too weak

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already. Common sense seems to say remove the cause, a safe cure will be the result, and the individual will be strengthened instead of weakened ; and our experience has taught us that the practice coincides with the theory, for in the treatment of obesity by active movements, the fat disappears, and the patient’s health and strength become greatly improved.

It seems such a curious fact that a nation who makes such an enormous point of the importance of the cultivation of the mind by education should, at the same time, apparently wilfully neglect the cultivation of the body, knowing that the two must necessarily go hand in hand. If the brain is developed in a neglected body, disease in some form or other will, sooner or later, inevitably appear ; but if physical health culture is conducted alongside the brain culture, then the best results will be obtained, not only by the body, but also by the brain.

The future generations, too, have to be considered. What kind of offspring, think you, are likely to be begotten by parents who are unhealthy and flabb)', from insufficient bodily exercise ? Moral defects and crime are as often due to physical shortcomings as to a perversion of the mind.

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Chapter III. The Choice Of The Particular Form Of Exercise

Having discovered, from a hygienic point of view, the absolute necessity of exercise, we must now enquire carefully into the different forms of exercise which are most commonly taken. There are undoubtedly many forms of healthy exercise which have, however, many drawbacks attached to them ; take walking for instance, perhaps the most common, and certainly a very useful and healthy form of exercise, if conducted on scientific lines. A man, if he would enjoy good health, should walk at least eight miles every day, at the pace of four miles an hour ; his step should be springy and full of life, he should swing along, not slouch, with head erect, chest out, abdomen in and shoulders squared ; many, however, from inattention to their gait, suffer from deformities, such as drooping or round shoulders, and a contracted chest, and very few can afford to allow themselves two hours a day for exercise, or would be willing to face inclement weather, if necessary ; others are so fearfully crippled by wearing fashionable boots, that walking for any distance is quite out of the question.

If only suburban people, who have. to go to the city every day, could realise how their

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health would improve if they saved a penny each way on their ’bus or train fare, there would be an appreciable fall in the price of the shares of the different companies.

The great value of walking exercise is manifested by the fact that it is always used by men in training for any kind of contest.

Many, especially the younger men, rely upon sports and games for their exercise ; cycling, rowing, cricket, football, riding, lawn tennis, golf, swimming, etc. They are all good up to a certain point, but do not afford exercise for all the muscles of the body ; they all require time and money, and may lead to trouble, inasmuch as by the overwork of some muscles, and the underwork of others, slight deformities, such as contracted chests, the drooping of one or both shoulders, may be engendered. The necessity of companions makes it almost impossible to get regular daily exercise from games, except for the favoured few, and the weak are often left out in the cold, because they do not possess the requisite amount of stamina. Another danger which threatens to completely undo all the good otherwise obtained, is that of over-exertion, this especially applies to c}'cling, rowing, and athletics. Ours is a plucky nation, and we like to vie with one another in friendly contests, and endure much suffering in the form of fatigue therefrom ; the strain upon the heart and the other vital organs is enormous, and racing men whose one ambition in youth is to break a certain record, do so, but often have to suffer from the ill-effects of it in later years.

Dr. James Cantlie, in an article entitled “ The Effect of Exercise upon Health,” gives the following list of dangers that attend over-exertion in any form of exercise : —

1. Gradual falling off in tone and vigour.

2. Rupture of a muscle.

3. Rupture of a blood vessel in the lung,

brain, or eye.

4. Dilatation of a cavity or cavities of

the heart.

5. The giving way of a diseased valve

in the heart.

6. Catching cold from exposure, and so

lung trouble.

7. A host of abdominal and cardiac

troubles.

Dr. Dukes sa}'s: “Excess of exercise wears out and stunts ; exercise in proper measure produces health and strength.”

Dr. Creighton Brown, that “Athletes, as a rule, are stupid and dull, because excessive exercise starves the brain.” '

Dr. Herschell, in writing on cycling: “The rider must carefully avoid the temptation of rushing the last few yards in climbing a hill. More weak hearts are permanently damaged by this than most people imagine. You are climbing a hill, you are near the summit, a few more strokes are all that are required to enable you to surmount it. But these last few strokes are harder work than any which have preceded them ; your heart’s action is

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already most probably accelerated, and the extra strain thrown on the overtaxed organ frequently produces serious injury.”

Do not think for one moment that we in any way wish to disparage the value of healthy recreation ; we ourselves in the past have taken part in many contests, and are proud of the prizes which remind us of the events, and still take the keenest interest in the national sports and pastimes. As soon as the Englishman’s love for sport disappears, then good-bye to England’s greatness. We thoroughly appreciate all the good effects ; but, as this is a scientific treatise, are compelled to point out the attendant dangers, dangers which a scientific knowledge of the art of training would do much to counteract. Even with a full knowledge of these dangers, we have always encouraged, in every way, all forms of healthy out-door amusements, because the drawbacks both from a healthy and moral point of view are so small, compared with those attendant upon inactive indoor entertainments. The greater the pride a young man takes in his muscular development, the less likely is he to fall a prey to the manifold temptations that everywhere beset him in this go-a-head age.

Our ambition is to do the greatest amount of good to our fellow-creatures ; or, in other words, to put them into a position for acquiring the most valuable gift to man — perfect health. We should, therefore, like to dwell for a few moments upon the subject of training.

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Chapter IV. The Art Of Training

Upon the subject of training authorities differ to an alarming extent, and each has a following which swears by him, and will as excitedly argue about the details as do enthusiastic politicians at election time. As in so many other cases, from a lack of knowledge of the scientific part of the subject, men have gone out of their way to make simple matters complicated, we shall merely put forward the main principles that must underlie every good system, and leave others to fight out the unimportant matters for themselves; straining at the gnat will do no harm, so long as the camel is not swallowed.

Regularity and moderation is the keynote of success in training ; this applies to eating, drinking, exercise, and rest. Prince Ranjitsinhji, in his book on cricket, says that temperance in food and drink, and regular sleep and exercise, is the golden rule in training.

We regard the ordinary public school-boy (who is, of course, debarred from using the tuck shop) as being in a good state of training ; he has a varied but plain and sufficient diet, he has his meals at regular and good intervals, he goes to bed and gets up earl}^, and at the same time each day. The

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regular daily exercise should be taken at the same hour each day, if possible, and should be moderate ; far better results will be obtained by just working up to the point of fatigue than by daily trying the power too much.

All the organs of the body need attention ; do not neglect one in your endeavour to get another into a state of perfection ; all work harmoniously together and depend for their well-being on one another. Olf what profit is it if you strain your heart in your attempt to get a long wind ?

The exercise of the muscles, that you think are the only ones needful for your particular form of sport, will end in far less satisfactory results than the development of all the muscles of the body ; it will, at least, prevent the tendency to any athletic deformity.

An erroneous physiological view was formerly held that each time a muscle contracted, a destruction of its substance took place, which corresponded to the amount of work done, and that this was manifested by an increased excretion of nitrogenous waste (urea) ; this waste was supposed to be made good by the consumption of large quantities of nitrogenous food (meat); Hence the old notion, which luckily is fast dying out, that the greater amount of steak consumed, the greater the strength obtained. The more a man eats beyond the amount necessary to nourish the tissues, the weaker he becomes ; because, by over-eating, an extra amount of

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work is thrown upon the digestive and excretory organs, and the amount of energy necessary to get rid of the superabundance is energy wasted, and must be deducted from the strength that would otherwise be obtained.

It has been proved that there is little, if any, extra nitrogenous waste ; in fact, nothing more than the ordinary wear and tear of the muscular tissues, during active muscular exertion ; but there is a great increase of non-nitrogenous waste (carbonic acid gas and water), and this waste must of course be made good by eating non-nitrogenous food — vegetables, bread, etc.

Nitrogenous food is chiefly used in the building of the tissues, and it is the non-nitrogenous food that is of the force-generating quality.

We learn from this that in training it is just as necessary to eat vegetables, bread, and such like non-nitrogenous or forceproducing foods, to supply the non-nitrogenous waste produced by the work of the muscles, as it is to eat meat and its allied nitrogenous or tissue-forming foods, to renew the nitrogenous waste from the ordinary wear and tear of the muscular tissues. Both kinds of foods are requisite, which proves that the school-boy’s ordinary mixed diet is correct.

The well-trained man is the man whose whole body is healthy, with all its organs in the very pink of perfection, and in harmonious working, the one with the other, We daily

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see instances of people condemned to invalidism, simply from want of muscular exercise, and are quite familiar with the other side of the picture, dilatation and consequent weakening of the heart and of the air cells from over-exertion.

Occasional over-exertion may not be permanently harmful, because of Nature’s recuperative power ; but persistent abuse will certainly gradually ruin this power, and bad results will follow, which may be latent for a time, but must, sooner or later, become manifest.

The maximum of recuperative power is present only in the perfectly healthy man, and this power must be carefully attended to whenever we exercise ourselves ; under-activity or over-activity lessens, while the happy mean increases recuperative power, and so health and strength, which must be the aim of good training.

The maximum cannot be attained in a single training; it is the outcome of steady perseverance for years. A young man makes up his mind to be proficient in some form of athletics ; let him at once go into rational training and keep in training, and his powers of endurance will increase with each contest ; unless, of course, he is foolish enough to attempt feats beyond his strength. It takes quite three years to acquire a perfect muscular development, and until this is done, a man cannot be at his best ; he must devote twenty minutes each day to his general muscles, in

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addition to the time that the special exercise of his sport demands. Sudden changes in the mode of living are very detrimental to perfect health, and yet this is the system of training in vogue at the present day. The man enters for a certain contest, and for a few weeks goes into strict training ; he rapidly loses weight, looks pale and thin, feels uncomfortable, and is very susceptible to cold and other ailments. After the contest he goes out of training, and rapidly loses his condition ; this is far removed from what Nature desires. She insists upon regularity and moderation, and, in return, generously showers upon her followers the valuable rewards of health and strength. An athlete should always be in good condition (not in the hyper-sensitive state that most trainers think necessary), and then, before a contest, all he needs is a final polish. To prove the correctness of our theory by practice, we would ask how many of our champion athletes live through a healthy old age ; our weight-lifters generally die before they reach the age of forty, Avhen they should be at their prime. To what does our champion cricketer. Dr. Grace, now in his fiftieth year, and still capable of holding his own against the world, attribute his success ? To a rational system of continued training, both summer and winter, and to his dogged perseverance in overcoming the difficulties associated with cricket. In his book on cricket, W. G. Grace writes: “We have always been a temperate family — another point to be considered is