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Preliminary Instructions

m inaking up thc followiug instructions for thc diffcrcnt excrcises in our system, our aim łus bccn to make thc dircctions as brief, elear, and as concise as possiblc. The pupil should read cvcry word of thc dircctions for any one excrcise bcforc attempting that cxcrcisc. We stale this cmphatically because we find that there arc a largo numher of men and lx»ys who takc one look at thc illustration and think that is sufficieut. Each cxcxcise has threc or four de-tails (often many inorc), which should be care-fully considered. The illustration can show only one position of the several assumed in performing thc cxcrcises, and this is why U is so abso-lutely ucccssary to read thc dircctions.

B REATH1N G. The pupil should always brcathe in rhythm with thc movcmcnt. The correct rule regarding breathing is as follows: Brcathe in through the nosc as you flex the musclcs, and brcathe out through thc mouth as you reltuc the muscles. For instancc, take regular Exercise No. 1; you breathe in as you raisc the beli to thc chcst, and you brcathe out as you lower thc beli to thc hips. When you breathe you exhalc forcibly. Do not actually blow but bc surę to get thc air out of your lungs. If when exhaling you make the sound of “HA" it will help you to exhale correctly.

Abovc all tltings, NEVER IIOLD THE BREATH while you are doing heavy dumb-bdl cxcrcises. So much foolishness has bccn written and taught regarding dccp breathing that many unthinking pcople havc gotten thc idea that while excrci«ing it is proper to takc vcry dccp brcaths and hołd them as long as possible. This is an utter fallacy. The function of thc lungs is to eliminaic carbonic acid from the blood. When you exercise, thc action of the hcart is accelcr-ated, blood is pumped morc rapidly into thc lungs, which means that the lungs must act rapidly to ciiminate the contaminated air and bring in a constant supply of fresh air. Do no! flatiter yourself that you know a better method of breathing than we have outlined above. You don’t; and we must make it emphatie that you should follow our directions in this respect.

Kather than to hołd thc breath, we advise you to open your mouth and breathe continuously. During very strenuous exertiou it is always csscntial to open thc mouth to ensure complctc <>xygenation of the blood.

Bathing the Body

We advisc a warm bath in prefcrcnce to any otlier. We advise a cold bath only for thosc individual$ who enjoy them. And, even then, we bclicvc thc man must be hardy and not under-weight. The man who is underweight will have better rcsults with a hot bath. Thosc who wish to slecp better, and ncrvous individuals will benefit by taking a very warm or hot bath before retiring.

Time for Exercise

We recommend that the exercise be taken either about 5 P. M. or nhout 9.30 to 10 P. M. This is assuming that you have your evcning meal between 6 and 7.

Experience has taught us that tlie best rcsults from heavy liar beli excrcisc arc obtaincd by the pupil cxcrcising three or four times a week. For tlie beginner who is not ovcrwcight, we would advise three times weekly. Excessively fat individuals may profit by performing some exercise almost every day.

When any muscular cxcrcises are taken, mus-cular tissue is broken down and is subsequently replaced by fresh materiał supplied by thc blood. This action takes place vcry vigorously when heavyweight cxercises are indulged in. A man who exercises with heavy dumb-bclls on cvcry other day will build up rapidly on those days on which he is resting.

Again, when a man exerciscs cvery day, the exercise, instead of becoming a plcasure, becomes work. Hcavy dumb-bcll exercise is so benefidal that the effect is not lost if a day’s exercise U missed. When a man cxcrciscs cvery other day he comes to thc exercising period feeling brisk and eager for work.

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