The best form of exercises for purposes of general health are those known as Swedish. No dumb-bells are required, though many people find it easier to practise them if they have a piece of wood in each hand. The number of systems included in this category is legion, and people are often perplexed to know which one to choose. Some friend recommends one set, then another comes along and says that he has derived great benefit from a different set, and a third strongly advocates some other. The fact is there is no advantage in any one over the rest. All are equally efficacious; the great point is to do exercises of some sort. You can easily plan out a set of your own, which will do quite as well as any other.
Whichever are chosen, it is well to do them gently at first, and for a short time only, gradually increasing them as you become more accustomed to the movements.
A good selection to start with is as follows. Stretch out the arms in front, with the finger-tips touching those of the opposite hand. Swing them slowly backwards as far as they will go. Stretch them out again in the same way, and try to touch the toes, keeping the knees straight. Place the hands on the waist and bend the body forwards as far as possible and also from side to side. Lie on the floor and raise the body without the aid of the hands and with the knees stiff. Stand erect and raise one leg slowly, balancing on the other foot.
A few simple exercises such as these are quite sufficient to keep the whole system in good order. Complicated or difficult ones are never necessary. The one great point, more important than all else, is to attend carefully to the breathing while making the movements. Take deep, slow breaths, expanding the chest fully and exhale slowly, always breathing through the nose. If you get out of breath you are either doing the exercises wrongly or breathing in an incorrect manner.
In addition to the above, you can devise fresh ones as you go along. A good plan is to take each joint in turn, and exercise it. Thus, start with the fingers, clasping and unclasping the hand. Then clench the fist and move the wrist up and down. Do the same with the elbow and shoulder, and with the different joints of the lower extremities. Then bend the body backwards and forwards, and the head in the same way. After all that, there will be few muscles in the whole body that have not received their due attention.
The value and the enjoyment of these exercises can be increased very much by getting other people to join you in them. It is easier to persevere with anything if we have the society of others to encourage us. There is a spirit of emulation introduced which is always conducive to success.
Imitation of games.
If you are so fortunate as to have an empty room or shed, there is nothing better than to practise an imitation of some outdoor game, such as playing tennis against a wall. There is a zest about such exercises which makes them more profitable than those which are carried on merely from a sense of duty. One of the finest forms of exercise is that of skipping, both for men and women. The former need not look upon it as a feminine pursuit, seeing that some of the best-known athletes and boxers employ it as a means of training.
It is simply astonishing what a difference exercise, either outdoor or indoor, makes to those who carry it out systematically. After a few weeks pale, languid people begin to acquire a healthy colour and a sense of vigour they have never known for years; dyspeptic ones may forget that they ever had a stomach; whilst headaches that have been a curse for years are sometimes seen to disappear like magic. Life becomes brighter, for health and happiness go together, and the whole outlook becomes more cheering.
Massage.