IS IT TOO LATE FOR WOMEN TO BEGIN?
But if the school-days are past and the girl has become a woman, what
then? If the girl, trammelled by few duties outside of school-hours, has
found amusement for herself, yet still needs daily and regular exercise
to make and keep her fresh and hearty, much more does the woman,
especially in a country like our own, where physical exercise for her
sex is almost unknown, require such exercise. Our women are born of
parents who pride themselves on their mental qualifications, on a good
degree of intelligence. Our educational system is one which offers an
endless variety of spurs to continued mental effort.
Are not the majority of our women to-day, especially in town and city,
physically weak? The writers on nervous disorders speak of the astounding
increase of such diseases among us, of late years, in both sexes, but
especially among the women. General debility is heard of nowadays almost
as often as General Grant. Most of our women think two miles, or even
less, a long distance to walk, even at a dawdling pace, while few of
them have really strong chests, backs, or arms. (If they wish to test
their arms, for instance, let them grasp a bar or the rung of a ladder,
and try to pull themselves up once till the chin touches. Not two in
fifty will do it, but almost any boy can.) Hardly a day goes by when
a woman's strength is not considerably taxed, and often overtaxed.
There is no calling of the unmarried woman where vigorous health and
strength--not great or herculean, but simply such as every well-built and
well-developed woman ought to have--would not be of great, almost
priceless value to her. The shop-girl, the factory operative, the clerk in
the store, the book-keeper, the seamstress, the milliner, the telegraph
operator, are all confined, for many hours a day, with exercise for but a
few of the muscles, and with the trunk held altogether too long in one
position, and that too often a contracted and unhealthy one. Actually
nothing is done to render the body lithe and supple, to develop the idle
muscles, to deepen the breathing and quicken the circulation--in short, to
tone up the whole system. No wonder such a day's work, and such a way of
living, leaves the body tired and exhausted. It would, before long, do the
same for the strongest man. No wonder that the walk to and from work is a
listless affair. No wonder that, later on, special or general weakness
develops, and the woman goes through life either weak and delicate, or
with not half the strength and vigor which might readily be hers.
And is it any better with the married woman? Take one of limited means.
Much of the work about her home which servants might do, could she
employ them, she bravely does herself, willing to make ten times this
sacrifice, if need be, for those dearest to her. Follow her throughout
the day, especially where there are children: there is an almost endless
round of duties, many of them not laborious, to be sure, or calling for
much muscular strength, but keeping the mind under a strain until they
are done, difficult to encompass because difficult to foresee. In the
aggregate they are almost numberless. A man can usually tell in the
morning most of what is in front of him for the day--indeed, can often
plan so as to say beforehand just what he will be at each hour. But not
so the housewife and mother of young children. She is constantly called
to perform little duties, both expected and unexpected, which cannot
fail to tell on a person not strong. A healthy child a year old will
often weigh twenty pounds; yet a woman otherwise weak will carry that
child on her left arm several times a day up one or more flights of
stairs, till you would think she would drop from exhaustion. Let
sickness come, and she will often seem almost tireless, so devotedly
will she keep the child in her arms. While children are, of course,
carried less when they begin to walk, many a child two, or even three
years old, is picked up by the mother, not a few times a day, even
though he weighs thirty or forty pounds instead of twenty. Now for this
mother to have handled a dumb-bell of that weight would have been
thought foolish and dangerous, for nothing about her suggested strength
equal to that performance. And yet the devotion of a weak mother to
her child is quite as great as that of a strong one. Is it any wonder
that this overdoing of muscles never trained to such work must sooner
or later tell? It would be wonderful if it did not.
Yet now, suppose that same mother had from early childhood been trained to
systematic physical exercise suited to her strength, and increasing with
that strength until, from a strong and healthy child, she grew to be a
hearty, vigorous woman, well developed, strong, and comely--what now would
she mind carrying the little tot on her arm? What before soon became heavy
and a burden--a willing burden though it was--now never seems so at all,
and really is no task for such muscles as she now has. Instead of her
day's work breaking her down, it is no more than a woman of her vigor
needs--indeed, not so much as she needs--to keep her well and strong.
And, besides escaping the bodily tire and exhaustion, look at the happiness
it brings her in the exhilaration which comes with ruddy health, in the
feeling of being easily equal to whatever comes up, in being a stranger to
indigestion, to nervousness and all its kindred ailments. This vital force,
sparing her many of the doubts and fears so common to the weak, but which
the strong seldom know, enables her to endure patiently privation,
watching, and bereavement. And who is the more likely to live to a ripe old
age, the woman who never took suitable and adequate exercise to give her
even moderate vitality and strength, or she who, by a judicious and
sensible system, suited to her particular needs, has developed such powers?
But, while this is all well enough for young girls, is it not too late
for full-grown women to attempt to get the same benefits? The girl was
young and plastic, and, with proper care, could be moulded in almost any
way; but the woman already has her make and set, and these cannot
readily be changed. Perhaps not quite so readily, but actual trial will
show that the difficulty is largely imaginary. To many, indeed to most
women, the idea is absolutely new, and they never supposed such change
possible. Bryant, beginning at forty, made exercise pay wonderfully.
Bear in mind how, with a few minutes a day, Maclaren enlarged and
strengthened men thirty years old; that, out of his class of over a
hundred, the greatest gain was in the oldest man in it, and he was
thirty-five. Let us look at what one or two women have managed to effect
by systematic and thorough bodily training. In "The Coming Man" Charles
Reade says (p. 50), "Nathalie, a French gymnast, and not a woman of
extraordinary build, can take two fifty-six-pound weights from the
ground, one in each hand, and put them slowly above her head." She has
"a sister who goes up the slack-rope. Farini saw her pitted against
twenty sailors. The sailors had a slack-rope; she had another. A sailor
went up as far as he could; the gymnast went as high on her rope at the
same time. Sailor came down tired, the lady fresh. Another sailor went
up, the lady ditto; and so on. _She wore out the whole twenty, having
gone up an aggregate of feet higher than St. Peter's Church at Rome._
This feat is due to great strength, complete either-handedness, and the
athlete's power of pinching a rope with the sinews of the lower limbs."
But is this great and unusual strength, especially of the arms, desirable
in most women? Not at all; but that is not the point. When Farini says
that the first step toward making one a skilled gymnast or acrobat is to
bring up the weak arm, and shoulder, and side--usually the left--until
equally strong with its, till now, superior mate, and that he is constantly
doing that, he is doing more by far than would be needed to make most
women, not as strong as acrobats and performers, but--a far more important
matter--reasonably and comfortably so, sufficiently to keep nervous
disorders away, to enable them to be far better equal to the daily duties,
and to spend life with an appreciation and zest too often unknown by the
weak woman; finally, to preserve for a woman the bloom and healthy look
which once in a while she sees, even in a woman of advanced years, and
which would be her own did she use the means to have it.
And what should a woman do to get this health and strength and bloom? Just
what is done by the young girl. Indeed, there are a hundred exercises,
almost any of which, faithfully followed up, would help directly to bring
the desired result. With her, as with girl or man or boy, the first thing
is to symmetrize, to bring up the weaker muscles by special effort, calling
them at once into vigorous action, and to restore to its proper position
the shoulder, back, or chest, which has been so long allowed to remain out
of place. The symmetry once gained, then equal work for all the muscles,
taken daily, and in such quantities as are found to suit best.
The variety of exercises open to woman, especially out-of-doors, is almost
as great as to man. Every one knows some graceful horsewoman, and it is a
pity there were not a hundred where there is one. One of the most expert
of our acquaintance is the mother of one of the most gifted metaphysicians
in the land, and he already is a middle-aged man. There are a few ladies
in this country, and a good many in England, who think nothing of a five
or six mile walk daily, and an occasional one of twice that length. Once
in a while a married woman here will do some long-distance skating. In
Holland, in the season, it is with many an every-day affair. Some of the
best swimmers and floaters at the watering-places are women, and they
certainly do not look much troubled with nervousness. More than one woman
has distinguished herself in Alpine climbing. The writer once saw a woman,
apparently about twenty-eight, a handsome, vigorous, rosy Englishwoman,
row her father from Putney to Mortlake, on the Thames, a distance of
four miles and three furlongs, not at racing pace, to be sure, but
at a lively speed. The measured precision of that lady's stroke,
the stately poise of the body and head, and the clean, neat, and
effective feathering, would have done credit to an old Oxford oar.
What woman has done, woman may do. Bind one arm in a sling, and keep it
utterly idle for a month, and meanwhile ply the other busily with heavy
work, such as swinging a hammer, axe, or dumb-bell, and is it hard to say
which will be the healthier, the plumper, the stronger--the _live_ arm, at
the end of the month? And will this only apply to men's arms, and not to
women's? Who has usually the stronger, and almost generally the shapelier
arm--the woman who, surrounded with servants, takes her royal ease, and has
American notions and ways of exercise, or the busy maid in her kitchen? If
the latter's arm is large, yet not well-proportioned, it simply means that
some of its muscles have been used far more than the others.
Now, to her who understands what exercises will develop each of the muscles
of that arm, and who can tell at sight which are fully developed or
developed at all, and which are not, it is easy to bring up the backward
ones, and so secure the symmetry and the consequent general strength. The
same rule holds good of all the other muscles, as well as those of the arm.
Plenty of active out-door work will go far toward securing health.
But it will only develop the parts brought into play, and there
ought to be exercise for all.
Now what daily work, and how much of it, will secure this symmetry,
erectness, and strength, supposing that, at the outset, there is no
organic defect, but that the woman is simply weak both in her muscular
and in her vital systems? In the first place, let it be understood
that the connection between these systems is intimate, and that the
judicious building and strengthening of the former, and the keeping up
that strength by sensible daily exercise, tells directly on the
latter. Vigorous muscular exercise, properly taken, enlarges the
respiration, quickens the circulation, improves the digestion, the
working, in fact, of all the vital parts. Dr. Mitchell says it is the
very thing also to quiet the excited nerves and brain.
The amount of that exercise daily depends on the present strength of the
woman. If she is weak generally, for the first fortnight the exercise,
while general enough to bring all the muscles into play, must be light and
easy. Then, as a little strength is gained, the work advances accordingly.
If partially strong at first, invariably the first thing to do is to adapt
the exercise mainly to the weaker muscles till they catch up.
Suppose the right arm is stronger than the left, as frequently happens,
because it has had more to do. For the first month--or, if necessary, for
the first two months--let the left arm have nearly all the exercise, and
that exercise as vigorous as it can comfortably take. Then, when it is
found that it can lift or carry as heavy a weight, and pull or push as hard
as the right, keep at it, by means of exercise, until both arms can do the
same amount of work, and are equal. But suppose the arms are already
equally strong, or, rather, equally weak--that both the back and chest are
small; that is, not so large or well-proportioned as they should be in a
well-built woman of a certain height--then all that is necessary is to
select work especially adapted to strengthen the back, and other work
telling directly on the chest. For the first fortnight very mild efforts
should be made, and the advance should be gradual, taking great care never
once to overdo it. Let the advance be made as the newly-acquired strength
justifies and encourages it. What particular exercises will effect the
strengthening and development of any given muscles will be pointed out in
the chapter on Special Exercise, at the latter part of this book.
How about the length of time this daily exercising will take? It is all
easy enough for the rich, whose time is their own, and who could spare four
or five hours a day if necessary; but how is the woman to manage it who
must work from seven to six, or even far into the evening as well? She can
hardly get time to read about horseback riding and Alpine climbing, much
less take part in them. Well, it is a poor system which cannot suit nearly
all cases. The woman who works steadily from early morning till well into
the night, especially at employment at all sedentary and confining, is
undergoing a test and a hardship which will certainly call for a strong
constitution, good condition, and a brave spirit as well, or the strain
will surely break her down, and bring to her permanent weakness. If so many
hours must be spent in labor, then let her secure ten or fifteen minutes,
upon rising, for a series of exercises in her room. At the dinner-hour,
again at supper-time, and once about mid-morning, and again at
mid-afternoon, three or five minutes could generally be spared for a few
brisk exercises calculated to limber and call into vigorous action the
back, and many of the muscles so long held almost motionless until they
stiffen from it. If there is a whole hour at dinner-time, and half of it
could be spent in walking, if possible with a cheerful and energetic
companion, who would make her forget the dull routine of her day--not
dawdling, aimless walking, but stepping out as if she meant it, with a
spring and energy which quickens the pulse, driving the morning's
thoughts out of the mind, scattering low spirits to the winds--it would
bring a pleasant feeling of recreation and change. The benefit to be
derived from such a walk would be immediate and marked.
Is this asking much? A mile and a half could easily be covered in that
time, and, by a strong walker, even two, while the dinner would taste twice
as good for the exercise. Another mile, or even half a mile, might be
walked at supper-time, the pace always being kept up. If the confinement is
so close as not to permit even these few snatches of time for a little
recreation, never mind. Do not give it up yet. The ten minutes on rising
were made sure of anyhow.[B] Yes, another chance remains. When at last the
work is over, even though it is time to retire, get out-of-doors for half
an hour's smart walk with brother or friend, and see how refreshing it will
prove. The jaded body will almost forget its tire, and the sleep which
follows, while it may not be quite as long as before, will make up in
quality, and the new day will find a far fresher woman, one better up
to her duties, than if no exercise had been taken.
To her who does not labor so long, but has her evenings to herself, unless
already broken by disease, there need be no trouble about getting strong
and healthy. Let her do the little exercise above mentioned till evening;
then, first eating a hearty supper, beginning with such distance as she can
walk easily, add to the distance gradually, until she finds herself equal
to four or five miles at a smart pace for her--say three and a half miles
to the hour. (The professional masculine pedestrians do eight miles an
hour, to be sure; but Miss Von Hillern, for instance, is good for about
six.) This, taken either every evening, or, say, four evenings a week, will
soon give tone, and make the woman feel strong instead of weak, will enable
her to digest what she eats, and will visibly improve her appetite. Let
her give five or ten minutes for exercising the arms and chest before
retiring, and she has had abundant exercise for that day, while any trouble
she has had in the past about sleeping is at an end.
But sufficient as the evening walk is, of course if it can be had in
daylight and in the sunshine, it is all the better. Few mothers are
so placed that they cannot each day, by good management, get an hour
for the care of their health. Let them be sure to take a quick, lively
walk for the whole time, not with arms held motionless, but swinging
easily as men's do--of course, for the first month taking less
distances, but working steadily on. They will be astonished at the
very gratifying difference in the result between it and the old listless
walk, and how much easier the day's duties come now.
But there is one class of women who are especially favored--a large
class too, in our land--the daughters of parents so well to do that,
between their graduation from school and the day they are married, their
time is practically their own. If weak at the start, let them, after
gradual exercise begins to make them stronger, take more besides the few
minutes at rising and retiring, and the hearty constitutional afoot. If
their walking is done in the afternoon, let them set apart half an hour
in the latter part of the morning (if possible, with another girl
similarly placed) for work which shall strengthen the arms and the whole
trunk. If there is a good gymnasium convenient--especially if it has a
teacher of the right stamp--there will be the best place for this work.
But if not, a little home gymnasium like that suggested later in the
chapter on that subject, and which every girl ought to have, would be
the place. Very soon this extra work will tell. Look what the four hours
a week, just with two-pound wooden dumb-bells, very light Indian clubs,
and light pulley-weights, did for a youth of nineteen in one year![C]
An increase of an inch in height, of one and a half around the upper
arm, of three and a half inches in the girth of the chest, of fifteen
pounds in weight--would not these work marked changes in any young
woman, and would they not nearly always be most desirable changes? It
is not a matter of inches and pounds alone. This increase of girth
and weight is almost sure to tell most beneficially on the health
and spirits as well--in short, on the general vigor.
If, with the increase in size and strength, care has been taken to
practise special exercises to make and keep her erect, to at all times,
whether sitting, standing, or walking, hold the head and neck where they
should be, there is not much doubt but that, even in one short year, the
difference in any girl, not strong or straight at the beginning, will be
very marked. It really lies with young women of this class to make
themselves physically--in proportion to their height--what they will.
Is there any need of pointing out to a spirited girl the value of a sound,
healthy, and shapely body? Is there any sphere in woman's life where it
will not stand her in good stead, and render her far more efficient at
whatever she is called on to do--as daughter, sister, wife or mother,
teacher or friend? Nor is the benefit limited even to her own lifetime, but
her posterity are blessed by it as well. Would she like to have inherited
consumptive tendencies, for instance, from her parent? Will her children
like any better to inherit the same from her? In our Christian lands, we
find, if history be correct, that the great men have almost invariably had
remarkable mothers, while their fathers were as often nothing unusual. The
Sandwich Island proverb, "If strong be the frame of the mother, her sons
will make laws for the people," suggests truths that will hold good in many
other places besides the Sandwich Islands. Let every intelligent girl and
woman in this land bear in mind that, from every point of view, a vigorous
and healthy body, kept toned up by rational, systematic, daily exercise, is
one of the very greatest blessings which can be had in this world; that
many persons spend tens of thousands of dollars in trying to regain even a
part of this blessing when once they have lost it; that the means of
getting it are easily within the reach of all, who are not already broken
by disease; that it is never too late to begin, and that one hour a day,
properly spent, is all that is needed to secure it.
FOOTNOTES:
[B] See (page 169) how Mr. Bryant used those morning minutes,
and how well he was repaid for it, too!
[C] See page 147.