A Home-Made Gymnasium.—By a home-made gymnasium is meant the use of such appliances as the ordinary home will furnish, or as a person, with a little mechanical skill, can supply.
Chair Exercises.—A light chair, grasped firmly by the outer upright supports of the back, with the two hands, and swung vigorously around the head ten to twenty times, first in one direction, then in the other, will afford one of the best simple exercises known. It brings into play the muscles of the hands, arms, legs, and many parts of the body, and if repeated at short intervals will not only increase the respiration and stimulate the circulation, but will also start the perspiration. The intervals should be occupied with exercises that bring into play other muscles, as rising on the toes, stretching the legs, breathing exercises, etc.
Another valuable chair exercise consists in placing two chairs, front to front or side to side, with a space between them of about six inches more than the width of the body. Place the hands flat on the chairs, then slip the feet back, and with the toes resting on the floor and the limbs and body rigid, lower and raise the body several times. For deepening the chest and strengthening the arms and shoulders, this will be found an excellent exercise.
Unless the chair feet are spread, care must be taken to place the hands well within the edge of the seat, to prevent the chairs from tipping over. One chair may be used instead of two, by grasping the sides of the seat firmly and bringing the chest nearly or quite to the front of the seat.
Door-Jamb Exercise, No. 1.—A light form of chest and arm exercise may be had by grasping the side jambs of a door-frame, about as high as the shoulders, and planting the feet a short distance back. Keep the lower limbs and trunk rigid, the head thrown well back, and thrust the body backward and forward from ten to twenty times.
Door-Jamb Exercise, No. 2.—For those having weak chests and weak arms there is no better exercise than that known as the “dips,” for which the parallel bars of the regular gymnasium are largely used. An excellent substitute for the bars may be made by boring a hole about two inches in diameter into each side of the door-frame, about waist high, and fitting to each hole a strong wooden handle or peg. These should project into the doorway with a space of eighteen to twenty inches between their inner ends in which to stand. The exercise consists in placing the hands on the pegs, and slowly raising and lowering the body a number of times by the muscles of the arms alone. At first, some assistance from the toes may be necessary. Soon the arms will be able to do the work alone. Beginning with five lifts, the number may be gradually increased to fifty. It is understood that the pegs may be removed when not in use.
If the disfigurement of the door-frame between two rooms, or room and hallway, is a serious objection, the jambs of a roomy closet door may be used, in which case the closing of the door shuts the holes from sight. Two high tables, or a foot rail of a bed and a table, or box placed firmly upon two chairs—in short, any two pieces that will afford a lift of the body, such as that described, will serve the purpose nearly as well.
Door-Jamb Exercise, No. 3.—By fastening two cleats or supports on the inner faces of the door-frame, with a niche or slot in each, to support a horizontal bar, extending across the doorway near the top, just within reach, a simple but very valuable piece of apparatus is ready for use. For strengthening the fingers and the grasp of the hands, as in swinging back and forth by the arms, and in developing certain arm, back, and abdominal muscles, as in lifting the body so as to touch the chin to the bar, few exercises are better. The latter was a favorite exercise of William Cullen Bryant, and one to which he attached much value. It is attended with some danger, however, and should not be attempted without preparatory drill. The sides of the bar, at the ends where it enters the cleats, should be slightly flattened, so as not to turn with the swinging motion of the body. Two or three sets of cleats may be used, adapting the height to different members of the family.