PHYSICAL FITNESS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21280, 25 February 1939, Page 21

PHYSICAL FITNESS

Further Series of

Exercises

Start on Monday Commencing on Monday morning, a further series of physical fitness exercises will be broadcast from the national stations. The exercises will be as under:— Exercise I: Stand with feet astride—body erect—arms hanging relaxed at the side. Count 1: Keeping the knees braced back, bend the trunk forward, arms still hanging, to a position where the hands are about 12 inches from the floor. Count 2: Now raise the body about 6 inches and allow it to drop downwards, to beat the floor with the hands. Count 3: Raise the body upright, bringing the arms to the upward bend position—as in the diagram—chest up. Count 4: Now lower the arms to the sides.

Count 1: Standing astride, bend the trunk sideways to the left—body square to the front. Reach down the left leg with the left hand—the right arm being in the under-bend position—as in the diagram—hand lightly clenched and well up into the armpit. Count 2: Raise the body upright a little—now swing right down to the left reaching down with the left hand as far as possible—body square to the front—right hand well up Into the armpit. Counts 3 and 4: Now swing over to the right, changing the position of the arms and repeat further over to the right.

Standing astride, place the right hand on the hip. Turning the body slightly to the left and with the arm straight, hand lightly clenched, swing the arm forward, upward and to the rear, describing as big a circle as possible. Do eight circles to the left, then change the hands, left hand on hip, body slightly turned to the right and repeat eight times to that side.

Standing astride, hands on hips, now bend the body forward, circle round to the left, the rear, over to the right and then to the front, and from there repeating the exercise back the other way. Trunk circling—done with a free, rolling movement.

Standing at attention, across bend the arms in front of the body—elbows just below the level of the shoulders—elbows, wrists, and fingers in a straight line. Chest up. Count 1: Now with a swinging movement, straighten the arms level with the shoulders, stretching them as far back as possible. Count 2: Return the arms to the original position.

Exercise VI:

Lie on the back, arms at the side, palms on the floor. Count 1: Bend the left knee to the chest.

Count 2: Point the toes and stretch the leg straight upwards. Count 3: Bend the knee again. Count 4: Lower the leg to the floor. Repeat with the right leg in four counts.

Count 1: Standing astride —body erect—cross the wrists in front of the body, arms relaxed. Turning the body fully to the left swing the left arm to a position midway between sideways and upward stretch, right hand moving up in front of the left shoulder. Count 2: With a swinging movement, turn the body fully to the right, bringing the right arm to midway up and the left to in front of the right shoulder.

Check the carriage. Feet parallel and in line, about three inches apart—weight of the body evenly distributed, no more pressure on the toes than on the heels —knees braced back—arms hanging relaxed at the side—not in front—head erect—held squarely on the shoulders—eyes looking their own height in front—chin in.

Try this in front of a long mirror.