EXERCISES TO PRESERVE YOUTH

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 3, Issue 2, 1 August 1924, Page 46

EXERCISES TO PRESERVE YOUTH

f T is a trite saying that a woman is as old as she looks; it would be more 1 to the point to say that she is as old as her muscles allow her to be. If she keeps the muscles of her face and figure firm and taut she will look youthful, no matter how many birthdays she may be able to look back on. Exercise and exercise alone will succeed in keeping the muscles in perfect condition, and it is invariably the woman who is inclined to take tilings too easily who allows herself to grow old in this way. SPECIAL EXERCISES By constant activity the muscles of young people are kept firm and taut. As a woman grows older and becomes less active it is necessary that she should practise a course of special exercises every day in order to preserve the elasticity of all the muscles of the body. The muscles which age most quickly are those which control the face and neck, and the woman who wishes to remain youthful must exercise her throat every night and morning. Standing erect and with the shoulders well thrown back before a mirror, she should clench the teeth and extend the head as far as possible, first outwards, then upwards, throwing the head well back. Then, with the teeth clenched, she should turn the head first towards the left, looking as far over the shoulder as she can, then towards the right, looking over the right shoulder. Each of these exercises should be repeated for ten to twenty times both morning and evening. It is a good plan to place one hand firmly at the back of the neck while practising these exercises, to increase the resistance of the muscles. THE VALUE OF SKIPPING To keep the body muscles in good condition skipping will be found excellent. Crawling round the room on all fours is highly recommended by many leading American beauty specialists, but this form of exercise does not appeal to the average woman. An efficacious and simpler exercise consists in standing behind a chair or at the foot of a bed-rail. Place the hands lightly’ on the rail and bend till sitting on the heels. Rise and repeat. At first the help of the chair or rail will be necessary, but as the muscles grow more elastic it can be dispensed with and the exercise practised in the middle of the room.