EXERCISE
This comes last alphabetically of the five essentials concerned in the
maintenance of health--namely, ablution: the skin and the bath; bed-room
ventilation; clothing; diet; and exercise--but it is none the
less important on that account. Exercise may be defined as action of
the body, whereby its organs and their functions are kept in a state of
health. Each one of us has from the moment of his existence a certain
stature allotted, as it were, to which he will attain. In this way some
will be tall, others will be short, so that the height of the body is
something quite beyond our control, as we know by the interrogation,
"Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?" But
in contradistinction to height, we know that the muscles of the body
can be developed and increased in size by use. It is by their action in
exercise that the muscles are enlarged, hardened, and brought to their
greatest state of perfection. And it is only by exercise, and by
exercise alone, that they can be maintained at the acme of physical
condition.
Now, in the same way that education develops and increases the power of
the brain, so exercise has a similar effect on the body. When the
muscles are strengthened, the beneficial effect is also participated in
by the heart, lungs, and digestive organs, and thus the removal of
worn-out material from the body is assisted. The effect of exercise is
thus to remove used up products from the system, and so afford an
opportunity for renewed material to take their place. Ceaseless changes
are constantly going on throughout the body, and any part which has
fulfilled its object is no longer necessary for the requirements
of the system, in fact it becomes injurious. Its removal has to take
place by one of the various outlets, and it is by exercise that its
expulsion is greatly assisted. In this way exercise differs altogether
from the part played by food. The latter is the introduction of
nourishment into the system for the renewal of its wants, while
exercise is the principal agent by which DEBRIS is eliminated.
It was well known amongst the Greeks and Romans that the muscles
reached their greatest state of development by means of exercise.
Though, therefore, gymnastics formed a great part of their system of
education, yet the chief aim in their athletic instruction was the
desire to train men to fight their battles, and in those days war was a
matter of personal valour and of individual bravery. On that account,
therefore, the men who were selected as their soldiers were among the
healthiest of the nation. Those who by reason of bodily infirmity or
inherent weakness were unfitted for military prowess were left alone.
But, as Maclaren has well pointed out, the object of systematic and
proper exercise is not for the production of a race of soldiers, though
a certain proportion of the population will always be required for
military service. With the great majority of men the struggle for
existence is keen, and it is simply a question of the survival of the
fittest, and of the weakest going to the wall. The requirements of the
present time are therefore a capacity for endurance and an ability to
withstand the effects of work day after day. We do not require athletes
who are capable of performing wonderful feats of strength; but the
fight of the nineteenth century is brain against brain, and he will be
best equipped for the struggle who has the advantage of good bodily
health. In the higher callings, where brain power is everything, the
necessity for perfect physical condition is all the more imperative,
because the brain is supplied with healthy blood, and the ideas flow
with less effort.
The brain is an organ of the body exactly in the same way that
the heart, the lungs, and the liver are, and therefore is subject to
the same changes which belong to every other part of the frame. It will
be at its best when there is circulating through it a full supply of
rich red arterial blood, for that means a continual renewal of fresh
material to it, and a speedy removal of worn-out products. It is by
exercise mainly, whether it be voluntarily undertaken, or whether it
pertain to the calling, that the body is kept at the pink of condition,
and the brain benefited accordingly. Another great and important result
from improving the bodily health is the increased power of what we call
the will. The undertaking, say, of a long walk or climb involves the
possession of a certain amount of determination, and many people,
though perfectly aware of the good to be obtained by a few hours'
exercise outside the house, have not the determination to carry it into
effect. Once the disinclination to move is overcome, the effort
required is less each time, and ultimately the will gains a distinct
mastery.
When the muscles are put into action, what is termed their
contractility is called into play--that is, the force which was
dormant before is roused into activity. This is effected through the
nervous system, and it is the will which emanates from the brain and is
carried along certain nerves to accomplish definite actions. During the
contraction of a muscle its individual fibres change in form, producing
an alteration in the shape of the whole muscle; thus it becomes shorter
and thicker. At the same time, while it is in action more blood flows
through it, hence we see that one of the beneficial effects of exercise
is to stimulate the circulation through the muscular system. It has
also been ascertained by experiments, that the venous blood which comes
from a muscle in action is darker in colour than that from a muscle in
repose. When the circulation is quickened by movement, and the blood
stream hastened, the vigour of the body is increased, because the used
up material is all the quicker taken away, and a freshly created supply
of nutrition brought to every part.
The rate of breathing is accelerated whenever the body is engaged in
muscular exertion, and with this quickened breathing there is an
increased amount of oxygen drawn in, and an increased amount of
carbonic acid gas and water exhaled by the breath. The oxygen which is
absorbed from the air into the blood is stored in the red corpuscles of
the latter, by which it is carried to every part of the body. The
venous blood which returns from every portion of the system comes back
as a dark crimson, instead of being bright scarlet like the arterial
blood. It contains carbonic acid, and returns it to the lungs, where it
is exhaled by the breath. The oxygen is necessary to existence, while
the carbonic acid is injurious. The effect of exercise, then, in any
form, is thus to distribute healthy blood more rapidly through the
system, while it removes the injurious matters quite as speedily. The
effect of active exercise on the heart, as it is well known, is to make
it beat faster; by this the blood is driven through the body at a
quicker rate than usual. Sometimes, when the effort is unusually
severe, there is a disturbance of the regular balance between the heart
and the lungs. There is thus produced an irregular or unequal action of
the former, causing what is known as "loss of wind," which is, however,
soon restored by resting.
There is an excessive flow of blood to the surface of the body, causing
it to redden, and at the same time the perspiration is greatly
increased. It is on account of this latter moisture opening up the
pores of the skin that the good effects of exercise are chiefly due.
The perspiration consists mainly of water containing different salts
and organic matters. It is found by experiment that the amount
of water passing through the lungs and skin is usually doubled even
with moderate exertion.
The result of moderate exercise in benefiting the nervous system is
well known, and the effect of a gentle walk in making the ideas flow
through the brain is a matter of common observation. At the same time,
it must be borne in mind that exercise, when carried to the verge of
fatigue, compels inactivity of the brain for a time, since Nature must
have repose. But when carried out in moderation with a view of
improving the condition of the body, it conduces to the salubrity of
the brain as well, for the latter organ shares in the health of the
former. The only thing to guard against is irregular and fitful doses;
thus it is far better to take a little in moderation daily, than to
attempt to make one day's exercise suffice for the rest of the week.
It follows from the foregoing, therefore, that without exercise a
perfect state of health is an impossibility. There can be no proper
bodily health unless there be daily exercise. It is the same with
everybody, no matter what the condition of life may be. Exercise is
quite as necessary for the well-to-do man as it is for him who is not
so circumstanced. The laws of health cannot be violated, and all the
money in the world will not atone for neglect in this respect. Exercise
is not a matter that can be carried out by proxy. No; each one must
take his own exercise, and he derives all the benefit for himself.
It is a fortunate thing, then, that most people have to earn their own
living, for the exertion thereby entailed is actually necessary for
health. Yet, while this is the case with those who live by their bodily
labour, it hardly applies to those who are more dependent upon mental
work. For instance, the latter include literary men and journalists,
the members of the professions, and those of the vast commercial
world--all, indeed, who have brain strain and clerical occupations. In
their case the great fault is that they use their heads too much and
their limbs too little. For them walking is one of the very best means
of obtaining health, and it should be regularly and systematically
practised.
It has been said that no man under sixty, unless he be kept walking
while at his work, should walk less than six or eight miles a day, if
he wishes to keep well and have healthy children. In the cooler weather
in Australia these are certainly suitable distances, but in the hot
months half these amounts will be found sufficient, and they had better
be carried out in the cool of the evening. Then again, for those over
sixty it has been well observed that a daily walk is still the best
means of promoting health. But the walk must always be proportionate to
the strength, and should be done at nothing more than a moderate pace,
if a man wishes to take care of his blood vessels.
There is another matter which calls for notice, and it is that of early
morning exercise. Now, I am quite willing to admit that there are many
who derive great benefit from their early morning swim, their matutinal
walk, or their tennis before breakfast. But it should be distinctly
borne in mind that there are others with whom such early morning
exercise does not agree. They get as a result a weary, languid feeling
which lasts throughout the entire day. Now, they are apt to imagine it
is the exercise in itself which produces this effect. But the truth is,
it arises from the time of day at which the exercise is taken, and is
not due to the exertion at all. It must not be forgotten, therefore,
that while many people derive the greatest advantage from early morning
exercise, yet there are others for whom it is altogether unsuitable.
But, on the other hand, the latter will obtain every possible benefit
by taking their allowance of exercise at some other period of
the twenty-four hours.
There are other forms of exercise besides walking, and these have their
good points. Riding is, of course, invaluable, especially in cases of
sluggish liver. As it has been wittily observed, the outside of a horse
is the best thing for the inside of a man. In the cool months in
Australia riding is a real pleasure, but in the hot season it is hardly
so agreeable. Then again, rowing is a magnificent exercise, and has
much to recommend it in early adult life. There is no harm whatever in
rowing as an exercise, but when it comes to racing that is a different
matter. It is the great strain on the heart, together with the
excitement which constitute the sources of risk. The other varieties of
exercise, namely, gardening, the different games, cricket, football,
tennis, &c., need not be particularized as they all subserve the same
purposes, and are in consequence very desirable.
In all the preceding I have endeavoured to show that daily exercise is
absolutely necessary for the proper maintenance of health. But there is
something even more than this. It is that a long life itself is to be
ensured by exercise. It is only by exercise, and by exercise alone,
that the various organs of the body, the heart, the lungs, the stomach,
the liver, &c., are maintained in their normal state of health. Their
condition, moreover, is only to be improved by the muscular movements
belonging to exercise. The heart itself is intended for action, not for
inaction. By action it thrives, and by disuse it becomes weakened. It
is so with all the other organs. In conclusion, therefore, it must be
said that the whole system can only be kept in perfect health by
muscular movements, and that in addition to keeping the body in health
exercise actually increases the chances of living to a good old age.