It has been found in sports and athletic games that over-developed biceps, startling pectoral muscles, and tremendously muscled legs are a disadvantage rather than an advantage. The real essential is, after all, the engine, the part under the hood, as it were—lungs, heart, and trunk. Finally, if we give a man endurance and suppleness he becomes more available in time of need.

Another point of equal importance is that the setting-up exercises should be rendered as simple as possible. If we are obliged to spend a considerable period of time in teaching the leader so that he can handle setting-up exercises, extension of the number of leaders is rendered increasingly difficult. If, therefore, we can make this leadership so simple that a long course of instruction is not necessary, we save here, in these days of necessarily rapid preparation, a very material amount of time.

Still, further, it is found that many of the present setting-up exercises made an extraordinarily wide variation of effort between heavy and light men. The light man would put in only a small amount of muscular effort, whereas the heavy man, in the same length of time and under the same exercise, would be taxed far more than he could comfortably stand.

Again, in the point of age, similar variations necessarily exist. Naturally it is out of the question to assume that the youth from eighteen to twenty-five and the man of fifty-five to sixty can take the same amount and the same kind of exercise. On the other hand, if we consider the work each is required to do in his daily routine, we can, so far as the setting-up exercises are concerned, bring the two points nearer together, especially if we regard these setting-up exercises in the proper light—a mere preparation for the more onerous tasks that are to follow.

MODERN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Bearing all these points in mind, we test out the setting-up exercises so that we may obtain a set answering the following requirements:

First—Reduce them to a period of eight or ten minutes once or twice a day.

Second—Make them simple for leaders to learn.

Third—Eliminate movements that, on account of the daily work, are unnecessary.

Fourth—Render them more difficult of evasion or shirking.

Fifth—Direct them specifically in the line of increased resisting power, endurance, and suppleness.

Sixth—Make them of value in establishing co-ordination, muscular control, and more prompt response to command.

Seventh—Equalize them for use by both heavy and light men.

Eighth—Select the exercises in such a way that the set may be of nearly equal value to both enlisted men and officers, as well as to executives behind the lines.

SLACKING IN SETTING-UP DRILLS

Many of us have seen setting-up drills of various kinds. Moving pictures of such drills show in a very striking way how much of the work not only could be slacked, but is being slacked right along. In fact, high officers in our service have become so disgusted with the setting-up exercises as to consider abandoning them altogether. In some stations or cantonments a great many men were tired out with the setting-up exercises; so much so that they had neither life nor vitality for some little time for other work. For the sake of illustration, let us examine one particular movement. It consists of the men lying flat on the ground or floor; then, with straight back, lifting themselves by the arms; finally, giving a jump with the arms and clapping the hands together once, and then coming back to the original position. The non-commissioned officer who was leading this exercise weighed about 138 pounds. It is easy to imagine the contrast between his doing this stunt and a heavy man of 180 or 190 pounds attempting it.

It is unnecessary to describe in detail the parts of the setting-up exercise which tend to develop members which are already pretty thoroughly exercised in the daily routine of work and drill. The average man of the service needs expansion of chest capacity, which adds to his resistive power; a stronger, better-developed back; and suppleness and quickness and mobility of trunk. To develop these qualities we must have exercises which may be continued on board ship or near the front, and which can be carried on without apparatus.



The ordinary system of setting-up exercises has been growing out of favor for some time. Athletic trainers have come to look with considerable suspicion upon the gymnasium-made candidate with big biceps and large knots of muscles. It was also found that, outside of weight-lifting and inordinate "chinning" and apparent great strength on the parallel bars, these men were not so valuable as the lesser muscled but more supple candidates. To put it briefly, it was found in actual practice that what was under the ribs was of more value than what lay over them.

A CALL FOR WORK THAT WILL COUNT

Even at the risk of repetition, some facts should be driven home.

We are now working under conditions that should especially emphasize the fact of time-saving. We must take ourselves seriously, whether we are in the lines or behind the lines.

In the eight million men in this country between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four are the country's greatest executives and financiers. We can no longer give these executives and financiers two months in the South in the winter and a long summer vacation. We can no longer let a Plattsburg camp be a strenuous sifting out, a mere survival of the physically fittest. We need every man whom we can make available, and we need him with his vitality fully preserved and his endurance appreciably heightened. Some are stronger, naturally, than others. In football parlance we are no longer trying to pick a team out of a squad of two hundred men; we are trying to get a hundred and seventy-five out of the two hundred that can stand a fair pace and have enough left to fight with when they get there. Any one who has been in touch with affairs in Washington, any one who has been engaged in our munition-plants and in our factories, any one who has worked upon Liberty Bond drives or Red Cross fund-raising, knows that if we are to support our boys on land and sea, these men who are trying to solve the problems of executive management, and who have the task of raising funds in thousandfold increased volume, must be also carefully conserved. For, after all, even though we spell Patriotism with a capital P and Government with a capital G, even though army and navy orders take precedence, there is one great mistress of all, Dame Nature! And when she taps a man on the shoulder and says, "Quit!" that man stops; and when he offers the excuse that he has done it out of patriotism and loyalty she merely says: "I don't care why you did it, you have finished!" And there is no appeal to Washington from her verdict.

THE BIG PROBLEM

We shall soon hear the call for more men, men to fight and men to support the men who fight. The game is on. We are all in it now, either on the field or on the side-lines. We need to train for it fast and we have no time to waste. For, after all, it is condition that tells. It is the man who can stay, who can work at highest efficiency, and who can hold out the longest who is going to be most valuable. If we save even ten minutes a day in the setting-up exercises, we save, with a hundred thousand men, 16,666 hours daily toward perfecting their other knowledge. If we can make an able officer or a competent executive last a year longer or even six months under the increased strain, it gives us a year or six months more in which his understudy can gather the necessary experience to take up his task.



Millions of our youth are going out to fight, but disease and exhaustion will kill more of them than will the guns of the enemy. Thousands of men of the best brain-power in this country are going into committee-rooms and conferences every day from nine in the morning till twelve at night to devise better and more efficacious means of stopping the progress of the Hun. If these men's brains are of value, and we know they are, then the more clearly they act and the longer they last, the better for the country.

THE NEED FOR A CONDENSED SYSTEM OF CALISTHENICS

The demonstration, with a group of busy business executives and professional men, of the possibility of physical fitness at a small expenditure has been already mentioned. This idea has spread and many units of the Senior Service Corps have been organized. The writer's services were later on drafted into national work. At the call of the Secretary of the Navy, he was asked to take a position on the Naval Commission to develop athletic sports and games and physical fitness in our men at the various naval stations. In one week alone requests came from over four hundred communities to establish units of this work among business and professional men. Finding that it was impossible to answer all these calls, the writer devoted himself personally to a class in Washington, consisting of several Cabinet members, officials of the Federal Reserve Board, and others, and these men profited extremely from the work. But this should be done on a far larger scale.

The Hon. Daniel C. Roper, who was a member of the original class in Washington, requested the writer to come down and spend a month or six weeks in Washington, to organize drill groups in the various departments, several of them, like the Department of the Interior, having received requests to the number of three hundred or four hundred from men who wished to make themselves better fit physically for the work of these strenuous days. This, together with the demands from so many communities throughout the country, show that we are all now awake to the necessity of this cardinal feature of the nation's welfare, the physical fitness and stamina of its youth and men. This new gospel cannot be spread by one individual missionary, although there is little doubt that, wherever the story is told, thousands of our overworked and under-exercised men are glad to avail themselves of the opportunity.



This is the reason why the author has been led to devise a set of exercises that can be put in small compass, as regards both instruction and time required. Here follows a brief syllabus of the plan, in the hope of placing it within reach of men who can afford but little time for anything outside of their pressing office duties. We can no longer take delightful vacations of indefinite length to restore our waning vitality. The country needs every man and needs him at the best of his power.

A REASONABLE PROGRAM

No matter how driven a man may be, it seems only reasonable to think that he should be able to spend ten minutes twice a day on a condensed system, or setting-up exercise, adding to it an outdoor walk of half an hour. By this means he can keep himself physically fit to bear the burdens which are falling more and more heavily upon the shoulders of us all. The men who are going to the front first should have every chance of conserving their vitality and increasing their resistive forces. Those of us who must do work behind the lines should be kept equally fit for that larger work without which the machine must inevitably break down. The method is scientific and it has been tested on men of all ages from eighteen to seventy. It embodies the elimination of all wasted effort and concentration upon points of approved and essential worth. It is as much a man's duty to make himself fit and to keep himself in that condition as it is to carry on any other part of his work. This method should be adopted not only in every department at Washington, but throughout the country; it should be taught in our schools and colleges, and so thoroughly that never again in a world-wide crisis shall we find ourselves physically unprepared.



CHAPTER VIII

Vacillation and doubt are poison to the nerves.

This is the reason why it is advisable to teach co-ordination, prompt response to the command of the brain over the muscles, and the general sense of self-control which comes to a man when he has only to think in order to turn that thought into quick action. One of the penalties of the executive position is that, although the man begins as a disciplined private, when he goes up higher and gradually reaches the point where he gives commands only, and never has any practice in obeying them, he gets the habit of pushing buttons to make other people jump, while there are no buttons pushed to make him jump.

WORRY AND FEAR

Now as to worry. It has been said, and not untruly, that one of the very largest causes of worry is bodily weakness. And in more than a majority of cases this weakness comes from poor physical condition. A good digestion and proper elimination seem to make the organism move smoothly, not alone with muscles, but with nerves. Hence if we get the engine right, the lungs doing their duty, the skin acting as it should, and the bowels and kidneys taking off the waste products, we generally find a robust man, little given to that most expensive habit, "worry."

Fear is the forerunner of illness.

There is nothing quite so effective in producing a bad condition of the human system as fear, and this fear is what worry develops into; later it becomes pure, downright cowardice.

Worry makes cowards. If a man has enough worry and anxiety, fear follows in its wake, and then the man becomes a mental and moral and often a physical coward.

THE FATAL MISTAKE

The average man, when he is pressed to overwork, thinks that by cutting out some of his exercise and devoting that extra time to his work he can accomplish more. There never was a greater mistake; in the long run this method is the most expensive of all. No factory manager would think of running his automatic machines twice as long with half the amount of oil, and yet that is just what the man is trying to do in this case. The result is that he gradually piles up the various toxic products within himself until self-poisoning is inevitable. All his organs struggle to eliminate these poisons, but, being given no assistance, they gradually become less and less efficient, and then begins the payment of the penalty, for Nature never forgives this kind of treatment. From a practical, useful running machine he retrogrades into something fit only for the scrap-heap. The history is the same in all cases, although it may be more or less prolonged. The discomfort, occasional slight illnesses, the gradual loss of effective thought and power to concentrate, lack of appetite, unreasonable temper, insomnia, nerve diseases, and perhaps a complete nervous and physical breakdown if the conditions are not recognized in time, are the varying punishments inflicted by Nature.



I have referred to Nature's order, "You must earn your bread by the sweat of your brow." Almost every one, in these modern days of civilization, is earning his bread in some other way; well, he must make up for this by some kind of exercise or else Nature will surely take her toll. When men were earning their bread by the sweat of their brows they were not always sure of getting a surplus of it, and that was not a half-bad thing. In fact, it was far better for the race than present conditions under which so many men have given up physical work altogether. But instead of cutting down on their food they double up on it.

SOMETHING OUT OF A BOTTLE

The usual temporary panacea for these ills of the flesh is to get some so-called "specific" in the form of a medicine and gobble it religiously. Thousands of men and women, who are unwilling to take five or ten minutes' exercise two or three times a day, will swallow something out of a bottle on a spoon before each meal, with a splendid satisfaction and confidence. Perhaps temporarily it produces improved results. At any rate, it gives a sense of mental satisfaction, and that something stands off the trouble for a while. There is still another method which has some show of reason in it, although, after all, it does not compare with the wiser, saner course. A man or woman is persuaded that if he or she will only give up some particularly attractive self-indulgence the result will be increased health and vigor. For instance, there is a common belief that tea or coffee is the cause of many ills. Perhaps this is true, but the giving up of tea or coffee will never cure the ills that come from lack of exercise, loss of fresh air, over-eating, and over-indulgence. The mere fact that a person is giving up something that he likes does not make him immune to the penalties which he incurs day after day by other offenses against the laws of Nature.

CONSERVING THE PRESIDENT'S HEALTH

Rear-Admiral Carey T. Grayson, personal physician and health director to President Wilson, says:

"You may make the statement, in so many words, that physical exercise has been the means of making a normal, physically perfect man of the President. And when a man is in a normal condition he is in perfect health and physical trim. That was the initial intention in this case, just to make the President physically fit, and to keep him so."

Richard M. Winans says:

"The Admiral told me that when he first took charge of the President, Mr. Wilson was not a little averse to taking any sort of exercise. However, Doctor Grayson early succeeded in impressing upon Mr. Wilson that good health was an absolutely important factor in dealing with the grilling duties which would face him during the coming four years, and that his physical well-being was vital not only to himself, but to the welfare of the entire country."

The President has a dislike almost akin to abhorrence for mechanical appliances intended to exercise the muscles of the body. There is not a dumbbell, or an Indian club, nor a medicine-ball, nor a punching-bag, nor a turning-bar, nor a trapeze, nor a lifting or pulling apparatus, nor a muscle—exercising machine of any sort or description in the White House. The only mechanical device used by the President is a simple, unoffending golf-club.



Aside from his work in the open air, Mr. Wilson takes a number of physical exercises indoors, very few of which have ever been described in print. Some of these exercises are taken as a substitute for outdoor recreations at times when weather conditions are too extreme. But the major part of them, and especially the more unusual of these exercises, are regularly practised as a part of his daily routine. As a matter of fact, they are pretty closely dove-tailed in with his office work.

FLEXING EXERCISES

However, if the President really has a favorite among his various physical exercises, it is said to be that of "flexing." This he employs almost entirely as an indoor exercise, and it perhaps is the one he practises more often than any other.

"Flexing," as Doctor Grayson put it into its simplest every-day term, is nothing more nor less than just good, old-fashioned "stretching" expressed in a scientific and systematized form of exercise. It is the most generally and commonly executed muscular exercise, and it is practised by nearly all the animal kingdom.

President Wilson uses his flexing movements with a careful regard to system, and a great deal more regularly and frequently than any other of his varied physical exercises. Particularly during his periods of concentration, when at work at his desk in the preparation of his messages to Congress or in the drafting of notes to foreign governments, the President, at short intervals, will either settle back in his chair and flex his arms and hands and the muscles across his back and chest, or he will rise and stand erect for a more thorough practice of the flexing movements for a period of a minute or more. At these times he will throw his body into almost every conceivable posture—twisting, turning, bending, stooping, the arms down, forward, back, and over his head, the muscles of the limbs and entire body flexed almost to the point of tremor, the fingers spread, and the muscles rigidly tensed.

In the opinion of Doctor Grayson, if business and professional men, particularly those who work at high tension in the cities, would pause in their work at frequent intervals during the day and give a few seconds of their time to the energetic practice of the flexing or stretching exercises, there would soon come to be not only less, but, possibly in time, no cases reported of this or that noted man, the famous lawyer, merchant, or financier, dropping dead at his desk or in his home or in the street, on account of apoplexy caused by hardened arteries.

One of Mr. Wilson's principal physical movements is that of body-twisting. With the toes at a slight outward angle, the heels touching and the body erect, he begins the movement by twisting the body a little more than half-way around; then swinging back in an arc, at the same time bending at the hips, until he has completed the circle and reached a hip-bending position, with the fingers of one hand touching the floor, the other extended vertically. This gives a stretching movement to all of the muscles of the torso, side, back, and abdomen, as well as considerable play to the muscles of the legs and arms.

THE UNPLEASANT SELF-AWAKENING

We as a nation, through the revelation of the draft, have been suddenly thrown upon the public screen as physically deficient. And that, too, when the echoes of the Eagle screaming over successes in the world Olympic games had hardly done sounding in our satisfied ears. Naturally, we don't like it. Deep down in our consciousness we are not only dissatisfied with the picture, but we feel that somehow it is distorted; we are hoping to prove that even a photograph does not always tell the truth, at least not the whole truth. Yet in this search for the truth there are some facts that we must face and admit. The first of these is that as a race—blended, if you please, but still the people of a nation—we are ambitious and hurried. We act a great deal more than we think. Cricket is too slow for us; only baseball has the fire and the dash we like. We haven't quite enough time even for that, and so we begin to leave the stands before the game is over, craning our necks as we walk along toward the exits for a last glimpse, and then rushing madly to get on the first car out. All this is typical of our life. We have had a measure of benefit from our athletics. They are a spur toward physical development as long as they last. But no sooner are school-days drawing to an end than we begin the mad rush—toward what? To see how fast we can make money or name or position. We take a final look backward at the last inning of these sports of ours, and then we rush out into the world of American hustle. The lucky ones prolong their playtime a little by a college course, but they, too, finally abandon sport in favor of business and let themselves go slack until they lose condition. A week or two in the summer, a fort-night's orgy of exercise, and then back to the grind of factory or desk. How can this way of living keep even a young man fit? Golf has been a godsend to the older man whose pocket-book can stand it, but what about the youth? And when pressure comes on the older man he quickly gives up his golf at the demand of business.



WHY MEN DON'T KEEP FIT

Men who have really kept themselves fit are few. Those who have conscientiously started in to do this and then abandoned it are a host. There are valid reasons for this lamentable state of affairs.

First—Because the antiquated systems under which these men have attempted the task have

(1) Occupied too much time; (2) Left men tired instead of refreshed; (3) Exercised muscles which get all they need in a man's ordinary pursuits.

Secondly—Because the instructors who have taught these systems have laid stress upon

(1) Mere increase in size of the muscles; (2) Ability to do "stunts" which are of no practical use to a man; (3) Unnecessary use of apparatus.

Thirdly—Because they made necessary the services of a teacher to

(1) Lead the exercises; (2) Keep track of their number and variety; (3) Give special treatment to produce results.

But these mistakes are in the past. Let us look toward a brighter, saner, and more productive future.



CHAPTER IX

The following chapters give a set of exercises carefully tested upon thousands of men, and these exercises will be fully explained so that any individual reader may practise them daily and secure their full benefit. To each chapter are appended a few health hints, couched in language that is brief and to the point, in order that they may be readily remembered. The object is to make an efficient working-machine of the man without useless effort, to increase that man's resistive force against disease, to add to his suppleness and endurance, to give him poise and balance, and to develop co-ordination or control over his muscles. By doing this his power to work will be augmented, and at the same time any work that he does will be accomplished more readily and with less effort. Finally his cheerfulness will be increased, and those who work with him or under him or about him will be spared the disagreeable experiences that accompany association with a man whose irritability and irascibility have become part of his daily habit.

A SHORTHAND METHOD

We call this system the "Daily Dozen Set-up." It is a shorthand system of setting-up exercises for use on any and all occasions.

The "Daily Dozen Set-up" consists of twelve exercises which, for ease in memorizing, are divided into four groups of three exercises each. Each exercise or movement is given a name, and the names of all the movements of a group commence with the same letter, thus:

GROUP I GROUP II GROUP III GROUP IV

1. Hands 4. Grind 7. Crawl 10. Wave 2. Hips 5. Grate 8. Curl 11. Weave 3. Head 6. Grasp 9. Crouch 12. Wing

These exercises are not difficult nor exhausting, and do not demand great strength for their proper execution. They are designed, both from a scientific and a practical point of view, to give exactly the right amount of exercise to every muscle of the body. They are intended to promote suppleness, and especially to strengthen those muscles which are seldom brought into play in ordinary daily life. A conscientious fifteen minutes a day with the "Daily Dozen" will soon do more for a man than any amount of skilled physical feats or "strong-man stunts." When one first practises these movements their effect will be felt on the little-used muscles of the neck, back, and stomach; yet they will not leave the pronounced muscular fatigue which follows the ordinary exercises and which does more harm than good.

HEALTH MAXIMS

Dress to be cool when you walk and warm when you ride.

Clean skin, clean socks, clean underwear every day.

Getting mad makes black marks on the health.

Sleep woos the physically tired man; she flouts the mentally exhausted.

Nature won't stand for overdrafts any more than your bank.

In a squad it is the job of each individual to make himself fit, for it is his example that helps the rest.

The leader may be no better than you, but some one must give the orders and set the pace.

Two things are essential to a clean skin; one is bathing and a rub-down, but the other is still more important, and that is perspiration.

Food, water, and oxygen are the fuel for running the human machine.

You never saw a dog fill his mouth with food and then take a drink to wash it down.



CHAPTER X

Any setting-up exercises should be preparatory—that is, they should make men ready for the serious work of their day, and in no way exhaust any portion of their vitality. This modern "shorthand" method of setting-up leaves men in an exhilarated condition, and, instead of taking anything out of them, it prepares the body for any kind of work that may be required.

Each exercise starts from the position of "Attention," which is thus described in the army manual:

Heels on the same line and as near each other as the conformation of the man permits.

Feet turned out equally and forming with each other an angle of about sixty degrees.

Knees straight without stiffness.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.—HANDS

The description of this exercise is the same as that given for the military command of "Attention," and the following points should be carefully noted:

It is not difficult to acquire a certain amount of accuracy in this position, but one of the easiest ways of getting men to assume it properly is to tell them to push their necks back. This seems more effective than to speak of holding the chin in with the head erect, or anything of that kind. If a man stands naturally and then forces the back of his neck back against his collar, he comes into very nearly the desired position of "Attention" so far as his head and neck are concerned.

The shoulders should be rolled a little downward and back, for that is the sensation which comes when one speaks of the shoulders being square. The chest should be arched and the abdomen drawn in somewhat. The effect is that of a man standing erect and feeling himself a little taller than usual.]

Body erect on hips, inclined a little forward; shoulders square and falling equally.

Arms and hands hanging naturally, backs of the hands outward; thumbs along the seams of the trousers; elbows near the body.

Head erect and straight to the front, chin slightly drawn in without constraint, eyes straight to the front. (See Fig. 1.)

Each movement, with the exception of the "Speed Test" (a catch exercise with which any man may test his rapidity of action and co-ordination), should be executed in a slow and measured manner. These exercises do not depend upon snap for their effect, but upon the steady, deliberate, but not extreme stretching of the muscles. Any tendency toward hurried, careless execution should be avoided in favor of uniformity of movement.

GROUP I

Hands: This is the same position as "Attention." (See Fig. 1.)



Especial care should be taken to see that whenever, throughout the exercises, this position is taken—as at the completion of each movement—full control is retained over the arms; the hands should not be allowed to slap against the sides audibly.

It is not difficult to acquire a certain amount of accuracy in this position, but one of the easiest ways of getting men to assume it properly is to tell them to "push their necks back." This seems more effective than to speak of holding the chin in with the head erect, or anything of that kind. If a man stands naturally and then forces the back of his neck back against his collar, he comes into very nearly the desired position of "Attention," so far as his head and neck are concerned.

The shoulders should be rolled a little downward and back, for that is the sensation which comes when one speaks of the shoulders being square. The chest should be arched and the abdomen drawn in somewhat. The effect is that of a man standing erect and feeling himself a little taller than usual.

Hips: The hands are placed on the hips, with shoulders, elbows and thumbs well back. (See Fig. 2.) The position of "Hips" is that of "Attention" with the hands placed on the hips, the fingers forward and the thumbs back, at the same time keeping the shoulders and elbows well back.

Head: The hands are placed behind the neck, index finger-tips just touching and elbows forced back. (See Fig. 3.)



In the position called "Head" the body is still in the position of "Attention," the neck pushed well back, the fingers and the hands just touching behind the neck, and the elbows not allowed to push forward but kept as far back as the shoulders.

Speed Test: The above three exercises, "Hands, Hips, Head," should be executed but a few times each, being preparatory to the "Speed Test." For this the pupil should concentrate his thought on running through the above set as rapidly as possible, at the same time making each position correct.

HEALTH MAXIMS

Success comes from service.

Don't make excuses. Make good.

If you feel tired, remember so does the other man.

After a hearty meal, stand up straight for fifteen minutes.

Your squad is only as good as the poorer ones. Don't be one of those.

The success of the drill depends upon the concentration of each man of the squad.

If you have a stake in life, it is worth playing the game for all there is in it.

The man who gets things is the one who pulls up his belt a hole tighter and goes out after them.

If you will save your smoke till after luncheon, you'll never have smoker's heart.

A bath, cold if you please, hot if you must, with a good rub, starts the day right.



CHAPTER XI

GROUP II

Grind: (The order is "Shoulder Grind. Ready—Cross. Balance Turn. Grind!") Assume the "Cross"[2] position. (See Fig. 2, Chapter V.) The palms are then turned up, with the backs of the hands down and the arms forced back as far as possible. (See Fig. 4.)



Then to a measured counting—"One, two, three, four, five," up to ten—circles of twelve-inch diameter are described with the finger tips, the latter moving forward and upward, the arms remaining stiff and pivoting from the shoulders. On the backward movement of the circle the arms should be forced back to the limit. A complete circle should be described at each count. Then reverse, going through the same process, the circles being described in the opposite direction.

In the "Grind" exercises special precaution should be taken not to let the center of the circle, that the hands are making, come in front of the shoulders; it should be straight out in the horizontal position; moreover, as the arm goes backward an attempt should be made to make the shoulder-blades almost meet. This is particularly necessary on the reverse—that is, when the hands are coming forward—for here the tendency, unless men keep the shoulders back, is to contract the chest.

Grate: (The order is "Shoulder Grate. Ready—Cross. Grate!") Assume the "Cross" position. Then at a count of "One" the arms are slowly raised, as a deep inhalation is taken, to an angle of forty-five degrees from horizontal; at the same time the heels are raised till the weight of the body rests on the balls of the feet. (See Fig. 5.)



At "Two" the arms are slowly returned to "Cross" as all air is exhaled and the heels are lowered to a normal position. Care should be taken to see that the arms are not allowed to drop below the level of the shoulders or to rise more than forty-five degrees. The arms should be raised and lowered ten times.

The caution in the "Grate" position is not to let the arms drop, even a fraction of an inch, below the horizontal, and not to let them go up above the angle of forty-five degrees, for in either of these cases there is a distinct rest given to the shoulder muscles. Most of the ordinary exercises of this kind carry the arms above the head; this always releases the effort of the shoulder muscle and is therefore nearly valueless as an exercise for these members.

Another fault in this exercise is letting the head come forward. The neck should be kept back all the time.



Grasp: (The order is "Head Grasp. Ready—Cross. Grasp!") Assume the "Cross" position. Then place the hands behind the head. With head up and eyes front, and in time with the counting, "One, two, three, four," the body is bent forward from the waist as far as possible. (See Fig. 6.)



The body is returned to the upright in the same number of counts, and at an unusually slow "One" it is bent as far back as comfortable only from the waist, being returned to the upright at "Two." Care should be taken to see that this motion is slow and not jerky. The entire movement should be repeated five times.

In the "Grasp" position it is not necessary to go to an extreme on the backward movement; only so far as is really comfortable. In the forward movement the body should come down practically at right angles to the hips, but the head should not be allowed to drop forward. The head should be kept up, with the elbows back and the eyes looking to the front.

HEALTH MAXIMS

Vacillation and doubt are poison to the nerves.

Fear is the forerunner of illness.

"Eyes in the boat" is as good a maxim at drill as in a shell.

When drinking a glass of water stand erect and take a full breath first; then drink with chest out and hips back and head up.

The men who chase the golf-ball don't have to pursue the doctor.

Two hours of outdoor exercise by the master never yet made him over-critical of the cook.



Nature never punished a man for getting his legs tired. She has punished many for getting their nerves exhausted.

The best record in golf is the record she has made of restored health to the middle-aged.

See how high you can hold your head and deeply you can breathe whenever you are out of doors.

Six to eight glasses of water a day, none with meals, will make you free of doctors.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 2: On the "Cross" position, the arms should be straight out horizontally from the body, with the elbows locked. At the same time every resistance should be placed against the head and neck coming forward at all. These should be held in exactly the same position as at "Attention." The tendency is either to let the arms bend a little, or to let them drop a little below the horizontal, or even to hold them slightly above the level.]



CHAPTER XII

GROUP III

Crawl: (The order is "Crawl. Ready—Cross. Crawl!") Assume the "Cross" position. The left palm is then turned up, and on a count of "One, two, three, four" the left arm is raised and the right arm is lowered laterally until at "Four" the right arm should be in a position of "Hands," while the left arm should be extended straight up, with the palm to the right. (See Fig. 7.)



Then on the count of "One, two, three, four" the body is slowly bent sideways from the waist, the right hand slipping down the right leg to or beyond the knee, and the left arm bending in a half-circle over the head until the fingers touch the right ear. (See Fig. 8.) At "Four" the position of "Cross" is quickly resumed, and at "Two" of the next counting the right palm is turned up and the exercise is completed in the opposite direction.



In the "Crawl" position it is not necessary, in the beginning of the exercise, to slide the hand down the hip any farther than is perfectly comfortable. But this distance should be gradually increased, and it will be found quite easy to do this as the muscles of the side become more and more supple.

Curl: (The order is "Curl. Ready—Cross. Curl!") Assume the "Cross" position. In this movement, at "Cross" the feet are spread until the heels are about twelve inches apart. The left foot remains stationary, the right foot being moved to accomplish this. On a count of "One, two, three, four," at the same time inhaling slowly, the fists and lower arms are bent down from the elbows, which are kept pressed back, and the fists are slowly curled up into the armpits. This position should be reached at "Three," when the head and shoulders should be forced back rather strongly, reaching the limit of motion at "Four." (See Fig. 9.) Again on the count of "One, two, three, four," at "One" the arms are extended straight forward from the shoulders, with the palms down, and exhalation is begun.



At "Two" the arms begin to fall and the body bends forward from the waist, head up and eyes front, until, at "Four," the body has reached the limit of motion and the arms have passed the sides and have been forced back and up (as the trunk assumes a horizontal position) as far as possible. At this point the abdomen should be well drawn in at the finish of exhalation.

(Note that in this figure the feet are together, an incorrect position for this exercise.) For a third time, on a count of "One, two, three, four" the body is straightened, reaching an upright position, with arms straight forward at "Three." "Cross" is assumed at "Four." As the body is straightened from the "Wing" position, a full breath should be taken, the lungs being filled, slowly, to the maximum as "Curl" is finally reached. This breath should be retained and then exhaled as the "Wing" position is taken. Inhale through the nose.



The entire movement should be repeated five times.

In the "Curl" position the head and shoulders should be thrown well back and the fists should go well up into the armpits. Keep the elbows back so that the entire thorax is lifted forward and up; at the same time take a deep inhalation.

Crouch: (The order is "Crouch. Ready—Cross. Crouch!") Assume the "Cross" position. In this movement, at "Cross" the feet are spread until the heels are about twelve inches apart. The left foot remains stationary, the right foot being moved to accomplish this. On a count of "One" the knees are bent, and, with the weight on the toes, the body is lowered nearly to the heels, keeping the trunk as nearly erect as possible. (See Fig. 10.)



This is done at "One," and at "Two" the upright position is resumed.

The entire movement should be repeated ten times.

The "Crouch" position is intended for the acquisition of balance and poise; at the same time it is good exercise for the legs. The back should be kept straight and the balance preserved as the body goes up and down. This will be a little difficult at first, but will soon become natural.

HEALTH MAXIMS

Worry makes cowards.

Happiness comes from health, not from money.

Co-operation with others is the life of the squad.

Drill is a mental as well as a physical discipline.

Work will take your mind off most of your ills.

Obesity comes from overloading the stomach and underworking the body.

Nine-tenths of the "blues" come from a bad liver and lack of outdoor exercise.

Wearing the same weight underclothing the year around will save you a lot of colds.

Your nose, not your mouth, was given you to breathe through.

Short shoes and shoes that don't fit cost a lot in the long run.

Blood pressure does not come to the men who walk a lot out of doors; instead it looks for those who sit and eat a lot indoors.

Two men in an eight-oared shell may be able to go faster than the other six, but they never win the race that way.



CHAPTER XIII

GROUP IV

Wave: (The order is "Wave. Ready—Cross. Arms up. Wave!") Assume the "Cross" position. The arms are then stretched straight above the head, the fingers interlaced and the arms touching the ears. (See Fig. 11.)



On a count of "One, two, three, four" a complete circle, of about twenty-four inches in diameter, is described with the hands, the body bending only at the waist. The trunk should be bent as far backward as forward, and as far to one side as to the other. (See Fig. 12.)



The body should be forward at "One," to the right at "Two," backward at "Three," and to the left at "Four." The motion should be steady and not in jerks.

At "Reverse" the same movement should be repeated in the opposite direction—i.e. to the left.

As the movement is completed for the fifteenth time the body should be brought to an erect position, stretching the arms up as far as possible; and at "Rest" the arms should drop slowly, laterally, to a "Hands" position. Five circles should be described in each direction.

In the "Wave" the tendency is to go too far forward, and not far enough back, the result being an unsymmetrical motion. It is very easy to go forward, but more difficult to make the motion to the side and back. Care should be taken that the arms are kept squarely against the ears. The motion should be like waving the mast of a ship, the hips representing the deck, while the trunk, head, and arms up to the top of the hands, represent the mast. This movement, like the others, should not be extreme at first, but gradually increased after a week or so.

Weave: (The order is "Weave. Ready—Cross. Weave!") Assume the "Cross" position. In this movement, at "Cross" the feet are spread until the heels are about twelve inches apart. The left foot remains stationary, the right foot being moved to accomplish this. On a count of "One, two, three, four" the body is turned to the left from the hips, the arms maintaining the same relation to the shoulders as at "Cross," until at "One" the face is to the left, the right arm pointing straight forward (in relation to the feet) and the left arm straight backward. (See Fig. 13.)



At "Two" the body is bent from the waist so that the right arm goes down and the left up; and at "Three" the fingers of the right hand touch the ground midway between the feet. The left arm should then be pointing straight up, with the face still to the left. The right knee must be slightly bent to accomplish this position. (See Fig. 14.)



At "Four" the position of "Cross" is resumed, and on a count of "One, two, three, four" the same movement is repeated, this time with the left hand touching the ground. Throughout the exercise care should be taken that the arms remain in the same straight line, making no separate movement, but changing their position only as the trunk and shoulders are moved and carry the arms along. After this exercise has been thoroughly mastered, the turning and bending movements made on the counts "One" and "Two" should be combined—i.e., instead of making the entire turn, as described above, turn and bend simultaneously. The entire movement should be repeated ten times.

In the "Weave" care should be taken that the arms and shoulders are kept in one line. The turn begins with the arms horizontal until they are nearly at right angles to the "Cross" position. Then the knee commences to flex and the body bends at the trunk, the hip turning in until the finger-tips touch the floor. At that time the arms and shoulders should still be in the same relative position as at the start—namely, in "Cross" position.

Wing: (The order is "Wing. Ready—Cross. Arms up. Wing!") This is a finishing exercise consisting of deep breathing and is performed slowly. On a count of "One, two, three, four" the arms are raised laterally until they are extended straight upward at "One" and a full inhalation is reached. (See Fig. 15.) At "Two" the arms begin to fall forward and downward, and the body bends forward from the waist up, and eyes front, until, at "Four" the body has reached the limit of motion and the arms have passed the sides and have been forced back and up (as the trunk assumes a horizontal position) as far as possible. (See Fig. 15a.)



On a count of "One, two, three, four" the body is straightened, reaching an upright position, with arms vertically extended, at "Three." At "Four" the arms are lowered to a "Cross" position, but with palms up and arms and shoulders forced hard back. Very slow counting is essential to the correct execution of this exercise. All air should be forced from the lungs as the body bends forward to the "Wing" position, and they should be filled to capacity as the body is straightened and the arms brought down. Inhale through the nose. The entire movement should be repeated five times.

HEALTH MAXIMS

Preparedness is nine-tenths physical strength and endurance.

If you take more food than the digestion can handle, you not only tire the stomach, but the whole system.

Envy, jealousy, and wrath will ruin any digestion.

You'll never get the gout from walking.

Tennis up to the thirties, but golf after forty.

Tight shoes have sent many a man to bed with a cold.

Leg weariness never yet produced brain fag.

Whenever you walk, stand up, with chin in, hips back, and chest out, and think how tall you are.

Courage and concentration will conquer most obstacles.

The hurry of half a squad never brought the whole troop home.

The army must have sound lungs and a good stomach quite as much as arms and ammunition.

THE END