DIET AND HEALTH BOOK
EXERCISE
PAGE 8

Exercise - Diet and Health - Page 8

Chapter 7

It is practically impossible to reduce weight through exercise alone, unless one can do a tremendous amount of it. For the food that one eats is usually enough to cover the energy lost by the exercise.

(Webmaster's note from the 21st Century: This point has been effectively proven to be incorrect. Not only can exercise burn calories during the exercise activity itself, but, if done regularly, it elevates the metabolism for periods after the exercise. It also can create lean muscle mass which will also burn fat when the body is at rest.)

Light On Your Feet

However, exercise is a very important feature of any reducing program; not because of the fat that is burned up in the exercise--and there is some burned--but for the reason that it is necessary to keep one in a healthy condition. The muscles, the internal organs, the bones, the brain, are all benefited--in fact, the entire system.

Duty Dances

The exercises described hereinafter will help make you fat or thin, and they will keep you supple, graceful, and light on your feet, so that when I tell my husband that he must dance with you, Madam, he will not say, "Nothing stirring," and when you, Professor, ask me to dance, I will not curse the day I was born.

Warning

If you have not been accustomed to exercise, I warn you to take up only one or two at a time and do each one a few times only. You will be atrociously sore, and you will realize that you have muscles of which you wotted not.

However, persist, if you are sure there are no organic reasons why you shouldn't--such as a weak heart. (In case you are very much overweight, I think it advisable to wait until you have reduced somewhat.)

(Webmaster here, butting in again.  When we discuss exercise, we're in my
court.  I cannot count how many articles I have written in which I have made
this same point!  People tend to overdo their exercise programs initially, and
this is made worse by the "do it my way" books and videos which say to do
this many reps or to exercise for so many minutes, or to lift this weight,
without making it plain that you BUILD UP to those levels, NOT START
THERE!!!!)

Or Classic Dancing

It is splendid if you can belong to a gymnasium or to a physical culture
class, but ten to fifteen minutes' systematic daily exercise practiced
with vim, and each set followed by deep breathing, will do more good
than a gymnasium spasmodically attended. Brisk walking with a long
stride isn't so bad; in fact, if taken with a very long stride it will
twist 'most every organ you have in your body.

There are hundreds of exercises you can take. If you will notice little
rascal's illustrations you will find many good ones. Those illustrating
the beginning of this chapter are excellent.

If possible, it is best to take the exercises on arising in the morning,
but if you have a household to care for you may not be able to do so.
For those who have to do their own work, it may be well to do the work
first. You can do it in half the time if you plan it carefully and speed
up. (This advice is not for my thin friends; their speedometers register
too high already.) It does not matter so much when the exercises are
done as that they are done, and done every day for the rest of your
life, with the possible exception of two or three days a month.

Gallstones, permanent stiff joints, and other little things like that
will have a hard time forming.

My Exercises

They Reach Most of My Muscles

(The services of my noted artist I was able to obtain with great difficulty, as he was engaged in the more important work of making a swagger stick. I finally secured him by the promise of an ice cream cone and twenty-three cents to go with his two cents so that he could buy a Thrift Stamp. He is given due credit on the title page.)

Turn On Your Music

These exercises executed with vim, vigor, and vip--deep breathing between each set--will take ten to fifteen minutes. Re-read my warning.

Little Movements with Meanings All Their Own

1. Feet together, arms outstretched, palms up, describe as large a circle as possible. Fine for round shoulders and fat backs. Do slowly and stretch fifteen times. Smile.

2. Arms outstretched, swing to right and to left as far as possible at least 15 times each.

3. Bend sideways, to right and left, alternately, as far as possible at least 15 times each.

4. Revolve the body upon the hips from right to left at least 10 times, and left to right the same.

5. Bend and touch the floor with your fingers, without bending your knees, at least 15 times.

6. Knee-bending exercise, at least 15 times. This is hard at first.

7. Hand on door or wall, swing each leg back and forth at least 15 times. To the side 15 times. Turn head, raise arm, and tense both.

8. Step on chair with each foot at least 10 times. This is good for calf and thigh muscles. After a while you won't look as though you needed a derrick to get onto a street car.

9. Arms on sides of chair. Come down and touch abdomen. Fine for back and abdomen. Fifteen times.

10. Brush hair vigorously at least 200 double strokes all over the head, N.S.E.W., using a brush in each hand.

Good Exercise

(Military brushes are best. If you can't purloin a set of your husband's, two ordinary brushes will do.) Now shake out the loose dandruff. This is one of the best exercises and must not be omitted, for it accomplishes two purposes. It is a good arm and chest exercise, and it gives a healthy scalp absolutely free from the dammdruff.

NOW

This for a few minutes, followed by this, the hot preferably at night.

STARTING PAGE  NEXT PAGE

Did you like this? If so, check out Vitality Supreme by Bernarr Macfadden.

If you want to learn more about why Diets Don't Work, please click here.

If you want to learn how to burn fat, a great book to read is Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto