Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success

by Kelly Miller; Joseph R. Gay

When we say “regular practice” we mean that if it is desired to maintain the body in a good condition for the uses and occupations of life, exercises must be practiced every day—not once in a while, or at random.

The man or woman whose muscles are trained in line with the occupation pursued for a livelihood, is better fitted to become perfect in that occupation than one who does not take exercise, or not enough to keep his usable muscles well trained. Nobody can play the piano perfectly unless the muscles of the fingers, hand, and wrist have undergone a severe training. It is the same with driving a nail, digging a garden, singing a song, or anything requiring muscular exertion, the muscles put into use must be trained, or there is no perfection in the work.

The first and most important muscle training, in fact the very essence of physical development, is in breathing. The lungs must have oxygen to supply the blood, and the oxygen being in the air we breathe, the more we can put into the lungs, the better for development.

In breathing, the muscles of the chest are expanded in proportion to the length of the breath taken. The lungs should be filled to their full capacity, and this can only be done by taking long, deep breaths, slowly and evenly, swelling out the chest to its widest extent.

The inspiration of the breath should be commenced slowly and continued evenly until no more air can be inhaled. Then the respiration, or breathing out should be slow and continuous until you feel the necessity of taking another breath.

To breathe properly, there must not be anything to restrict the swelling of the muscles of the chest. Any posture that will give these muscles free action is proper. Standing, lying, arms extended, held over the head, head thrown back or forward, are all suitable positions for deep breathing.

One point to be always borne in mind, is to breathe deep and full whatever work you are engaged in. In running, the breath is apt to come in short, snappy volumes, or panting. In hard muscular work with the arms it is customary to measure the breaths by the exertion employed in the work. All this is not conducive to deep breathing, and it may be overcome by a little practice. Try running and at the same time breathe slowly and deeply and you will run faster and tire out less quickly.

Always breathe through the nostrils and never through the mouth. If you have to open your mouth to breathe, it is either habit or because the nostrils are clogged. In the latter case they should be cleared out to permit drawing in a deep inhalation of air through the channel nature intended.

The exercises for breathing should be preliminary to any other exercise of the muscles. The reason for this: Every exercise or movement of the body either when at work or at play, consumes or burns up a certain amount of the tissues of the body and these used up tissues must be replaced, or nature will very soon call a halt and refuse to permit you to do any work or play—the body becomes used up. The waste of the body is replaced by the oxygen taken into the lungs through breathing, and a person may eat all sorts of nourishing foods, and take all kinds of remedies to restore his weariness and bring him up to his work, but none of them will be of any avail without the air drawn into the lungs by the breath. There is where the stomach, the blood, the liver, the heart, etc., obtain the essential element of oxygen to stimulate them into activity.

With our breathing regulated, the next step is to begin developing the other muscles of the body. There is at this point a good rule to follow which is: Train every muscle of the body uniformly to acquire a general development along every organ and muscle. This general muscular training should be begun with the child at an early age, and be conditioned upon his strength for their quantity of exercise. So a weak person can not stand as much or as strong exercise as a stronger person. Every one must be his own judge in this matter. Many noted men have brought on a fatal illness from over exertion or over exercise at a late age when their system was not prepared to withstand violent methods. It is said that James G. Blaine began a course of gymnastic exercises in the belief that he would gain strength, but it killed him. The younger a beginning is made at gymnastics, the better it will be in after life.