Civilized man is an indoor animal. We no longer live in tree-tops nor
even in caves, but in houses, and a great many of us spend the larger
part of every year in close, ill-ventilated, overheated rooms. From a
health viewpoint the cave-dweller would no doubt have the advantage
over the average American who follows a sedentary occupation. The
steam-heated apartments of our great cities are thoroughly aired
only on rare intervals, and consequently those who reside therein
often dry up in mind, soul and body along with the furniture.
In order to live in every sense of the word we must become a part of the
great outdoors. Outdoor life adds to one's vitality and vigor. It
increases one's energies and enthusiasms. You cannot be ambitious or
vivacious, you cannot really amount to anything in life, if you
are confined to an overheated flat.
If there is any hobby that is worth while it is one that takes us out-
of-doors. What the attractive features of your hobby may be, is not
of very great importance provided this object is secured. You must be
lured away from your stuffy living rooms and encouraged to breathe the
fresh, pure air of the open.
There are out-of-door exercises of all sorts which are of great value,
but even a seat in a motor car wherein your exercise is
confined principally to increased respiration through the pleasure that
comes with fast riding, is at least of some value. The health of the
nation, as a whole, has been greatly improved by the automobile through
its encouragement of the outdoor life. But if you can join with your
outdoor life some active exercise which will use all the muscles of the
body the benefits will be much greater.
There are various open-air pastimes that can be made unusually vigorous,
and so can be highly recommended if one is possessed of ordinary
strength. Football is perhaps one of the most strenuous of outdoor
games, and is to be especially advised where one has the vitality
and endurance which fits him for an exercise of this character. Golf is
an example of a milder outdoor pastime that is particularly suited
to middle-aged and elderly persons, although young men and women are
benefited by it, too. It affords excellent exercise in walking,
and the swinging of the golf clubs affords more exercise for the chest,
arms and back than is usually supposed. One who is not accustomed to
the game will usually find the muscles of the arms, shoulders and chest
sore or at least stiff from the unusual exercise when first attempting
to play this game.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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