Sound bodies for our boys and girls

Preface

A LITTLE book published awbile ago, called " How to Get Strong, and How to Stay So," whicb urged the need and ease of physical culture on the public at large, has been widely and favorably received, both in this country and in Europe. Many newspapers — religious and secular — have urged that some of the suggestions therein be embodied in a manual arranged especially for school use. The design of the present manual is to meet that demand. Safe and simple exercises are shown. Many of these are familiar to gymnasts and athletes, but are not (nor is the effect of them) known to most boys and girls. Practised daily, they will aid in building better bodies. Their effect on the mind will also be favorable. For a sensible education of the body causes the blood-making machinery to make good blood instead of poor. This good blood is sent to the brain, and fits that organ to do more and better work, without risk, than it can do when fed by a poor article. The heart, the lungs, and all the other vital organs, are also likely to be kept healthy and vigorous, from being supplied with this good blood, and by a rational, use of the muscles daily, yet without overdoing them. One who is trained in this way will safely pass the overwork of the brain and nerves which to-day breaks down so many useful, but physically untrained, men and women, while they should still be in their prime, until nervous exhaustion has become a disorder familiar to almost every physician in the land.

The aim has been to leave no muscle undeveloped, but to call attention to a few exercises for each part of each limb, and all parts of the body. They are free from risk, are not severe enough to overdo, and can be learned almost in a moment. They can be practised in a brief interval between other studies, right in the

IV PKEFACE.

school-room, under the eye of the teacher. They call for no costume, no expensive apparatus. Indeed, they will cost practically nothing. The effect of each is shown in a way which every boy and girl can easily understand as they go along, and which they will be very likely to appreciate as well. There is also home-work ; the parents can look to this. They can see also that the pupil has good food, ample sleep, and no stimulants. If the pupils will also make sure of their hour or more every day of vigorous out-door work, no matter what the weather is, they will come up to manhood or womanhood well-built, hearty, and enduring, and hence qualified physically to stand the wear and tear of almost any calling in which they may engage. Thus, as the pupils advance day by day, and year by year, in fitting their minds for present and future usefulness, they will at the same time be building and strengthening their bodies, and so doing much to secure both bodily vigor and its companion, sound health, which Emerson says is the first wealth.

New York, November^ 1883.

Part I

SECTION PREPARATORY LESSON. PAOB

I. Introduction 1

II. Getting Straight, and Enlarging the Chest 3

To the Teacher 6

PART 11.

THE ARM.

I. To Make your Fore -arms Strong. — First Fore -arm Exercise, or

Gripping 6

II. Exercise Makes us Warm 8

ni. Second Fore-arm Exercise, or Twirling 9

IV. Exercise Enlarges the Muscles 10

V. Third Fore-arm Exercise, or Cross -twisting 12

VI. Various Exercises which Call the Fore-arm into Play 13

VII. The Biceps Muscle 16

VIII. First Biceps Exercise, or Curling , 18

IX. " A, B, C's " 'for the Arms 19

X. Second Biceps Exercise, or Hand Curling 21

XL Third " " or Double Curling 23

XII. Making Muscles Hard 24

XIII. Firm, not Hard, Muscles 26

XrV. A Home Bar. — Fourth Biceps Exercise, or Pulling Up 2'7

XV. Pulling Up— Continued. .' 30

XVI. The Back-arm 34

XVII. First Back-arm Exercise 85

XVIII. Second " " 37

VI CONTENTS.

SECTION PAGE

XIX. Third Back-arm Exercise, or Putting up One Dumb-bell 40

XX. Fourth " " or Putting up Both Dumb-bells 42

XXI. Fifth " " or Dipping 43

XXII. More About Dipping 44

XXIII. Dipping— Concluded. 46

XXiy. Yariety of Back-arm Exercises 49

XXV. First Inner Back-arm Exercise 51

XXVI. Second " " " 52

Part III. The Shoulder

I. First Front-shoulder Exercise 56

II. Second Front-shoulder Exercise 58

IV. A Variety of Front-shoulder Work 60

V. First Side-shoulder Exercise 62

VI. Second " " 63

VII. Third " " 64

VIII. Fourth " " 66

IX. Fifth » '' 67

Part IV. The Upper -back

I. First Upper-back Exercise 69

II. Second Upper-back Exercise 70

IV. First Home Exercise for the Upper-back and to Broaden the Shoulders 74 V. Second " " " " " " 76

VI. A Variety of "Work for the Upper-back 77

Part V. The Small Oe The Back

I. General Remarks 80

II. First Exercise for the Back of the Waist 82

CONTENTS. Vii

SECTION PAQK

III. Second Exercise for the Back of the Waist 83

IV. Third " " " " 84

V. Various other Exercises for the Back of the Waist 85

Part VI. The Sides

I. First Side Exercise 81

II. Second " " 88

IV. Various other Exercises for the Sides of the Waist 91

Part VII. The Chest

I. General Remarks _ 94

II. First Chest Exercise 96

III. Second " " 97

IV. Third " " 99

V. Fourth " " or Half-dipping ....100

VI. Fifth " " or Dipping 102

VII. The Value of a Good Chest 103

VIII. First Home Chest Exercise 104

IX. Second " " " 106

XI. Results of Chesi Exercise 110

Part VIII. The Abdominal Muscles

I. Some of the Uses of these Muscles 114

II. First Exercise for the Abdominal Muscles. 117

III. Second " " " " 118

IV. The Toe-straps 119

V. Various other Exercises for the Abdominal Muscles 121

VI. First Counter-exercise for the Abdominal Muscles 123

Vlll CONTENTS.

SECTION PAOB

YII. Second Counter-exercise for the Abdominal Muscles = 124

VIII. A Variety of Counter-exercises for the Abdominal Muscles 125

Keview 127

Part IX. The Front Of The Thigh

I. First Front-of-the-thigh Exercise 128

IV. Fourth " " » 132

V. Fifth " " " or Running 133

VI. Variety of Exercises for the Front of the Thigh 135

Part X. The Under Side Of The Thigh

I. First Under-side-of-the-thigh Exercise 138

II. Second " " " 140

Part XI. The Leg Below The Knee

I. Work for the Leg below the Knee 144

n. First Below-the-knee Exercise 145

III. Second

IV. Third V. Fourth

VI. Fifth VII. Sixth

146 147 149 150 152

VIII. A Variety of Below-the-knee Work 153

Part XII. The Shin Muscle

I. First Shin-muscle Exercise 156

n. Second " " 158

CONTENTS. IX

Remarks 161

I, Average State of Development of 200 Men on Entering Bowdoin

College Gymnasium , 162

II. Average State of the Growth and Development of 200 Men after

having Practised in the same Gymnasium for Six Months 162

III. Average Increase of 200 Students in Various Measurements, at the

same College, in Six Months 163

IV. Effect of Four Hours' Exercise a Week for One Tear upon a Youth

of 19 at the same College 163

V. Course of Gymnastic Training on Fifteen Youths at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich , 164

VI. Table of lleasurements, Showing the Effect of Seven Months and

Nineteen Days' Exercise 165

VII. Result of One Year's Continuous Practice with Two Pupils 166

VIII. Table of Measurements (for Boy), Showing Effect of Daily Exercise. . 167 IX. " " (for Girl) " " " .. 168

SOUND BODIES

FOE OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.

Section I. Inteoduction

Why are so many boys and girls not erect ? Look in almost any school and you see that many of the pupils, whether sitting or standing, are never straight. Heads are forward ; shoulders double over a little, sometimes a good deal; chests incline to droop, and grow flat. Fine, full chests, and an easy, graceful carriage, are rare.

As the pupils get older, these faults, instead of going away, grow worse.

Can this be helped ? Is there any way to make a crooked boy or girl straight ? Take a slim, angular boy, for instance, whose father is round-shouldered and flat-chested — and perhaps his mother, too : can he become straight, like a soldier ?

Yes, in many ways. Let him wear a collar of stiff pasteboard or sole-leather an inch high at the back and three inches high in front, and see how, soon he will get his chin up, and hk chest — what there is of it — out. Make him walk two miles a day, with a dozen pounds of glass or china-ware on a tray on top of his head, and which he must pay for if he breaks, and now let him slouch forward — if he dare. Slap

2 SOUND BODIES FOR OUK BOYS AND GIRLS.

the backs of his hands together as high up over his head as he can reach, holding his head well back. Do it a thousand times daily, and see if it does not take the crook out of him.

But must he do some one of these unpleasant things before he can get straight? Not at all. There are far easier ways just as handy and as sure. Here is one of them :

Directions. — 1. Stand about four feet apart in the aisles, with arms folded behind you, and with one foot about eight

inches in front of the other.

2. Now draw the head back, and tip it as far down behind you as you can.

3. Hold the chin up high, as in Fig. 1.

4. Rest there a moment ; then stand up straight again.

5. Repeat this exercise six times.

Caution. — Breathe deep, fall breaths all the time; indeed, always, when exercising-, breathe slowly, and as large breaths as you can.

That is enough the first morning. In the afternoon again repeat this exercise six times. But this is very easy.

Why not do more than six?

Because, while it is easy for some, it is not so easy for others. Also, because it is a com- Fig, 1. mon mistake with beginners to

PKEPAKATOEY LESSON. 3

work too hard at first, and so they get lame and sore in the muscles they overwork, when, if they would begin with only a little exercise each day the first week, and then do more the next week, and more yet the third, their muscles would gradually get used to the work, and would be all the time getting stronger, so that in a month they could work almost as hard as they liked, and not be hurt by it at all. However, if the muscles do get sore, that is a small matter, and usually in a day or two the ache goes away, and does not come back.

Questions.

1. Name three uncomfortable ways of helping to make a crooked boy or girl straight.

2. Now describe one easy way of doing the same thing.

3. How far apart should the pupils stand in this exercise ?

4. How should you breathe during it ?

5. What mistake do people often make when they begin to exercise ?

6. How can they avoid becoming lame and sore, and still keep getting stronger all the time ?

Section II. Getting Steaight And Enlarging The Chest

What has this tipping the head back done ?

Several things. It has set the back of the neck at work — for there are muscles in the back of the neck which draw the head backwards. So it has helped to make the back of the neck strong; and shapely, too. Also it has thrown the chin up high.

Well, what does that do ?

Why, 9/ou can not raise your chin high up without lifting the whole fro7it of your chest at the ^ame time.

Try it and see. Hollow your chest and waist in, drawing your chin down, and leaning your head over forward, so that

4 SOUND BODIES FOE OUE BOYS AND GIELS.

you look down at your feet. Sit, stand, or walk habitually with your chin down in this way, and you will soon cramp your lungs and stomach till, by-and-by, you will get weak. Yet hundreds of thousands of people, whose work keeps them indoors, sit so for the greater part of each day. But now raise the chin up as high as you can, until your eyes look up at the ceiling right over your head. Hold your chin that way a moment. You feel at once that your chest stands out fuller than usual. Stand before a glass and do the same thing, and you will see how it raises and expands your chest, and makes it stand out full and well. Or, put your hand on the front of the lower ribs, and, as you draw your chin up, you will at once feel your whole chest swelling outward and forward.

In short, ichatever draios your chin downward — unless the head is held far back at the same time — tends to make your chest flat and small ; while lohatever lifts the chin loell upward^ is sure to help make your chest large and full. All your life it icill pay to know this by heart.

And what good does it do to make the chest large and full ?

It not only improves its looks, and so also the looks of its owner, but it makes the lungs inside of the chest larger and stronger, and thus helps to keep away consumption and other lung disease, and so, often, to save one's life.* It also gives

* Dr. Morgan, in his Enghsh "University Oars," on this point says : "An addition of three inches to the circumference of the chest im-, plies that the lungs, instead of containing two hundred and fifty cubic inches of air, as they did before their functional activity was exalted, are now capable of receiving three hundred cubic inches of air within their cells ; the value of this augmented lung accommodation will readily be admitted. Suppose, for example, that a man is attacked by inflammation of the lungs, by pleurisy, or some one of the varied forms of consumption, it may readily be conceived that, in such an emergency, the possession of enough lung tissue to admit forty or fifty additional cubic inches of air will amply suffice to turn the scale on the side of recovery. It assists a patient successfully to tide over tlu critical stage of his disease. "

PREPAKATOEY LESSON. 5

the heart, stomach, and other vital organs more room, so that they can work more freely. It makes it easy to sit or stand erect, tones up the general health, helps to prolong life (while cramping the chest tends to shorten it), and it brings a feeling of spirit and vigor, which a delicate or sick person often longs for, but does not know.

Here, then, are one or two ways to help make a boy or girl straight, while others may be suggested later.

Questions.

1. Name four things this tipping the head back has done.

2. If you hold your chin up high, what does that do to your chest ?

3. If you sit, or stand, or walk much with your chin drooping forward or down, what will this do to your lungs and stomach ?

4. What effect has it on your whole chest to hold your chin up high ?

5. And what good does it do to make the chest large and full ?

6. What effect has it on the heart, stomach, and other vital organs ?

7. How does it affect health and life ?

8. What does Dr. Morgan say that a large chest will do for one who has pleurisy or any disorder of the lungs ?

To THE Teacher. — After the pupils have recited the lesson, let them stand up and practise the exercise it describes — the teacher offering any hints likely to help them perform it correctly.

Fifteen minutes' practice in school each day will be enough. Divide this period among such exercises as have already been learned, until the time expires. When so far along that time can be spared for only a part of the old exercises in addition to the new, it will be well to select one exercise out of each set learned until that time, thus keeping up the progress of each part, of body and limb, instead of using only one or two. For instance, if the class has reached the "Exercises for the Upper-back," they might divide the first few minutes between " Twirling" for the fore-arm, "Double Curling" for the biceps muscles, one of the "Back-arm Exercises," one of those for the "Front of the Shoulder," and one of those for the " Side of the Shoulder," the teacher choosing different ones on different days, thus giving each part work to do, and so making progress in each all the time. At the reviews they can go over all the exercises they have learned, if necessary taking several days to do them all.

SOUND BODIES FOE OUR BOYS AND GIKLS.

Part Ii.— The Arm. Sectiok I

TO MAKE YOUE FOEE-AEMS STEONG. FIEST FOEE-AEM EXEE-

CISE, OE GEIPPING.

Is there no way to make such boys and girls strong also ? For a slim and poorly-built boy or girl may learn to walk erect almost as well as a well-built or hearty one. But that is not enough. They would like to be strong also, if they could. But can they ? Let us see.

First let us have a name or two. The hand, of course, every one knows ; also the wrist. But the part of the arm between the elbow and hand — what is the name of this ? This is called th-Q fore-arm. And the part of the arm above the elbow ? Let us call this the upper-arm.

We will observe shortly that making the arms large and strong helps to make much of the body strong also. So let us begin with the arm.

Is it possible that a boy or girl with slim, weak arms can make those same arms large, and strong, and well-shaped, by-and-by? We will see. Let us begin with th.Q fore-arms.

Directions. — 1. Hold your right hand out in front of you, as if you were going to shake hands.

2. Shut it tightly, drawing the thumb and each finger in as closely as you can ; in other words, shut your fist.

3. Now open it till each finger is out straight again.

4. Repeat this exercise twenty times with each hand.

THE ARM.

Why, that is easy enough. Well, if you should do it again, and keep on till you had done it a hundred times, may be it would not prove such play after all. While you are thus shutting and opening your right hand, catch hold of your right fore-arm with your other hand, and feel how it is at work. Why, it seems as if the whole fore-arm was very busy. And so it is. But now just put your left hand on your right arm again, but this time on your right upper-arm, not on the fore-arm. Keep on opening and closing your right hand as before. Why, you can hardly feel the upper-arm move at all. It is pretty plain now that we know one exercise at least which sets the fore-arm at work. Of course, a hundred such grips each day at first will be too many, and will make the fore-arm ache. Twenty each day for the first week will be enough. The second week go on gripping for a whole minute without stopping, and now you will find that fifty such grips — for they must all be vigorous ones — are very little harder to do than twenty were at first.

After the second week, practise this gripping for a whole minute each day right along in school, and as much more out of school as you like.

Questions.

1. What part of the arm is called the fore-arm ?

2. What is the part of the arm above the elbow called ?

3. Describe the First Fore-arm Exercise.

4. What part of the arm does this exercise set at work ?

5. Does it do the same for the upper-arm ?

6. Why not do a hundred grips each day at first ?

7. How many are enough daily the first week ?

8. How long each day should you thus grip during the second week ?

9. What kind of grips should they be ?

10. How many times should you grip daily after the second week ?

8 SOUND BODIES FOE OUB BOYS AND GIELS.

SECTION II.

EXERCISE MAKES TS WARM.

But see another thing. While you are gripping, look at the veins in the back of your hands and over your fore-arm, and you will notice that they get larger and fuller towards the end of this exercise, and for a while afterwards, than they were when you began.

What does this mean ? Well, this vigorous action of the fore -arm has drawn far more blood into these veins than usual. For, although, of course, the blood is moving through our veins all the time, yet, lohen we use any muscles vigorously — and much of the flesh on our arms or any part of us is really muscle — the hlood at once rushes oftener and more forcibly to the veins in and near the muscles so used.

Look at the thin, feeble threads of veins in the hand or arm of a person emaciated by sickness. Now notice in the blacksmith's powerful arm and hand how these same veins are full, swollen, and healthy, like little rivers. The difference is very marked.

And this rich, hearty blood of the strong man does something more than merely swell the veins. It makes him warmer.

Observe a man chopping wood on a winter day. So warm does the exercise make him that he will work either in a thin coat, or often in his shirt-sleeves, while a person standing near by him, and not exercising, but simply remaining still, needs, besides a coat, a thick overcoat to keep him warm. But let the chopper stand still a few minutes, and he also soon cools off and needs his coat, thus showing that it is the exercise which keeps him warm. Or, walk fast when you are cold, and see how quickly you become warm from your sudden activity.

THE AKM.

Questions.

1. During this exercise, what happens to the veins in your hand and fore-arm ?

2. Why do the veins thus get large while exercising the fore-arm ?

3. What effect does using any muscles vigorously have on the veins in and near them ?

4. Who has the fuller and richer veins, the sick man or the blacksmith?

5. What else does the abundant and hearty blood of a strong person do besides swelling his veins ?

6. Give an instance of this.

7. Name another instance, besides the case of the chopper.

Section III. Second Foee-abm Exercise, Ok Twieling

So far we have had one exercise for the fore-arm. — one that can be easily practised at school, at home, or almost anywhere.

But the best place for it is the school-room, for here you have company at it, a time set apart purposely for it, and a teacher to aid you in doing it correctly.

Directions. — 1. Take a stick, cane, or piece of a broom-handk, of hard wood, about half as thick as your wrist is wide, and as long as your arm,

2. Stand erect, and breathe slowly and deeply, holding the chin as high as you can.

3. Now catch the stick by the end, hold it far out from the body.

4. Twirl it, first far over one way (as in Fig. 2) . Then as far over the other way as you can till your finger-nails are turned upward.

1*

Fig. 2.

5. Do this twenty times without stopping.

Twenty times daily will be enough for the first week. Increase the number to forty each day the second week, and to sixty daily after that.

Feel the fore-arm while it is in action, and you will find how firm and strong its muscles suddenly seem.

Questions.

1. Describe the Second Fore-arm Exercise, or Twirling.

2. How long and how thick should the stick be ?

3. How should you stand during this exercise ?

6. How many times daily should you twirl the stick during the first week ?

8. And how many daily after that ?

9. How do the muscles of your fore-arm feel during this exercise ?

Section IV. Exercise Enlarges The Muscles

Before the first month is past, you will find that you can twirl the stick a hundred times without stopping, almost as easily as you did twenty times at first, before your fore-arm got strong.

But, besides being stronger now, is it also any larger ?

If, before you began these exercises, you had put a tapemeasure about it at the largest part — a little below the elbow — and if now, at the end of the month, you measure it at the same place again, you will probably find that it is all of a twelfth of an inch larger than before.

Why, that is not much ! No, not for a year, perhaps ; but it is pretty good for a single month ; and if you can gain that each month for a whole year, it would amount to a whole inch at the end of the year, enough probably to give you the largest fore-arm of any boy or girl of your age and size in the school — if the others are not steadily using their fore-arms as you are — and to give you the best-shaped fore-arm as well.

In Appendix, Table III,, you will see that not one student, but two hundred, each enlarged their fore -arms three quarters of an inch by exercise, not in one year, but in half a year, working only two hours a week, or about twenty minutes a day ; while three men (see Appendix, Table VI.) increased their fore-arms in seven months and nineteen days a whole inch and a quarter.

Of course you must do as much and as hard work with one arm as you do with the other, or the one which does the more work will be stronger and handsomer than its mate.

Very often, indeed, usually in persons who are right-handed, the left arm is weaker and smaller than the right arm — sometimes as much as half an inch smaller — whether you measure it about the fore-arm or about the upper-arm. So left-handed persons will have the right arm the smaller one. In short, the arm which gets the more work is the stronger. It is plain what to do in such a case. Give about all the exercise to the weak arm for the first few weeks, until it gets as large and strong as its mate. Then, after it has thus caught up, give each the same kind and amount of exercise daily, so that they will remain of like size and strength.

Questions.

1. By the end of the first month how many times can you twirl the stick almost as easily as you could twenty times at first ?

3. What effect will this first months' work be Mkely to have on the size of the fore-arm ?

3. How much larger ?

4. How much would this little gain each month make the fore-arm in even one year ?

SOUKD BODIES FOE OUR BOYS AND GIRLS.

5. State how mucli two hundred students in Bowdoin College enlarged their fore-arms in six months by exercise, and how much three soldiers in England enlarged theirs in seven months and nineteen days.

6. If you only exercise with one arm, how will that arm compare hy-and-hy with the other one ?

7. Which arm of right-handed persons is usually the larger ?

8. Which arm of left-handed persons is usually the smaller ?

9. Why is this ?

10. What should be done to the weaker arm in that case ?

11. After it has caught up with the other arm, what kind and amount of work should you give each arm daily ?

Fig. 3.

Section V. Third Fore -arm Exercise, Or Cross-twisting

Dii-ections. — 1. Catch the stick with both hands and hold it out in front of you, as in Fig. 3.

2. Hold the chest well out, and the chin up.

3. Breathe deep, full breaths.

4. Hold the stick as tightly with both hands as you can.

5. Now twist it strongly with your right hand, so as to turn it away from you ; but at the same time twist it with your left hand, so as to turn it towards you.

6. Repeat this exercise three times.

This makes one hand twist it just the opposite way from the other, and thus both hands twist crossways. Of course, the harder you twist with one hand, the more icorJc it makes for the other, and the less the stick really moves.

For most boys and girls three such twists each day will be enough the first week, six the second week, and ten after that.

But they want to be good hard twists, no make-believe affairs. This will take less than a minute each day ; but it is grand work for the fore-arms, and will soon begin to increase their size and strength.

Questions.

1. Describe the Third Fore-arm Exercise, or Cross-twisting.

2. How should you stand during this exercise ?

5. If you keep twisting the stick harder with one hand, what effect does it have on the other ?