Exercise - A Shorthand Method

Keeping Fit all the Way
by Walter Camp

(Page 8 of 11)

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 practice 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 coordination 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.

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.

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 practices 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 therefore 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.

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.

Each movement, with the exception of the "Speed Test" (a catch exercise with which any man may test his rapidity of action and coordination), 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."

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 spoke 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 spokes 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. 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.

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.

About the Author

Walter Chauncey Camp (1859 - 1925) was a sports writer and football coach known as the "Father of American Football". Along with John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Glenn Scobey Warner, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most significant people in the history of American football.