Robert Robert - Scouting for Boys

But what a terrible time they must have had!

Three weeks had passed since the attack, and the great part of that time Selous had been alone—hunted, starving, bitterly cold at night, and in sweltering heat by day.

None but a scout with extraordinary endurance could have lived through it, but then Selous was a man who as a lad had made himself strong by care and exercise. And he kept up his pluck all the time.

It shows you that if you want to get through such adventures safely when you are a man and not be a slopper, you must train yourself to be strong, healthy, and active as a lad.

The Wrong Way to Endurance

A man told me recently with great pride that he was teaching his son endurance by making him do long marches and bicycle runs. I told the man that he was likely to do just the opposite for his boy—that the way for a lad to gain endurance was not by trying to perform feats, as these would very probably injure his heart and break him down, but by making himself strong and healthy, by good feeding and moderate exercise, so that when he became a man and his muscles were all “set” he could then go through hardships and strains where another weaker man would fail.

Exercises and their Object

There is a great deal of nonsense done in the way of bodily exercises—so many people seem to think that their only object is to make huge muscle. But to make yourself strong and healthy it is necessary to begin with your inside and to get the blood into good order and the heart to work well. That is the secret of the whole thing, and exercises of the body do it for you. This is the way:

(a) MAKE THE HEART STRONG to pump the blood properly to every part of the body, and so to build up flesh, bone, and muscle. Exercise: The “Struggle” and “Wrist Pushing.” See page 220.

(b) MAKE THE LUNGS STRONG to provide the blood with fresh air. Exercise: “Deep Breathing.” See page 210.

(c) MAKE THE SKIN PERSPIRE to get rid of the dirt from the blood. Exercise: Bath, or dry rub with a damp towel every day.

(d) MAKE THE STOMACH WORK to feed the blood. Exercise: “Cone,” or “Body Bending” and “Twisting.” See pages 210

and 211.

(e) MAKE THE BOWELS ACTIVE to remove the remains of food and dirt from the body. Exercise: “Body Bending” and “Kneading the Abdomen.” Drink plenty of good water. Regular daily “rear."

(f) WORK MUSCLES IN EACH PART OF THE BODY to make the blood circulate to that part, and so increase your strength.

Exercise: Running and Walking and special exercises of special muscles, such as “Wrist Pushing” (page 220), etc.

The secret of keeping well and healthy is to keep your blood clean and active. These different exercises will do that if you will use them every day.

The blood thrives on simple good food, plenty of exercise, plenty of fresh air, cleanliness of the body both inside and out, and proper rest of body and mind at intervals.

Six Exercises for Health

It is possible for almost any boy, even though he may be small and weak, to make himself into a strong and healthy man if he takes the trouble to do a few body exercises every day. They only take about ten minutes, and do not require any kind of apparatus.

They should be practised every morning, the first thing on getting up, and every evening before going to bed. It is best to do them with little or no clothing on, and in the open air, or close to an open window. The value of these exercises is much increased if you think of the object of each move while you are doing it, and if you are very particular to breathe the air in through your nose

and to breathe out through your mouth.

Here are some good exercises. It strengthens the toes and feet to do them barefooted.

1. For Head and Neck—Rub the head, face, and neck firmly over several times with the palms and fingers of both hands. Thumb the muscles of the neck and throat.

Brush your hair, clean your teeth, wash out your mouth and nose, drink a cup of cold water, and then go on with the following exercises.

The movements should all be done as slowly as possible.

2. For Chest—From upright position bend to the front, arms stretched downwards, with back of the hands together in front of the knees. Breathe out.

Raise the hands gradually over the head and lean back as far as possible, drawing a deep breath through the nose as you do— that is, drinking God’s air into your lungs and blood. Lower the arms gradually to the sides, breathing out the word “Thanks” (to God) through the mouth.

Lastly, bend forward again, breathing out the last bit of breath in you, and saying the number of times you have done it, in order to keep count.

Repeat this exercise twelve times. Remember while carrying it out that the object of the exercise is to develop shoulders, chest, heart, and breathing apparatus inside you.

In the pictures, an arrow means drawing in the breath through the nose; an arrow with a circle means breathing out through the mouth.

Deep breathing is important for bringing fresh air into the lungs to be put into the blood, and for developing the size of the chest, but it should be done carefully, and not overdone. It is done by sucking air in through the nose until it swells out your ribs as far as possible, especially at the back; then, after a pause, you breathe out the air slowly and gradually through the mouth until you have not a scrap of air left in you, then after a pause draw in your breath again through the nose as before.

Singing develops simultaneously proper breathing and development of heart, lungs, chest and throat, together with dramatic feeling in rendering the song.

3. For Stomach—Standing upright, send out both arms, fingers extended, straight to the front, then slowly swing round to the right from the hips without moving the feet, and point the right arm as far round behind you as you can, keeping both arms level with, or a little higher than, the shoulders. Then, after a pause, swing slowly round as far as you can to the left. Repeat this a dozen times.

This exercise is to move the inside organs such as liver and intestines, and help their work, as well as to strengthen the outside muscles round the ribs and stomach.

While carrying out this exercise, the breathing should be carefully regulated. Breathe in through the nose (not through the mouth), while pointing to the right rear; breathe out through the mouth as you come round and point to the left rear, and at the same time count aloud the number of the swing—or, what is better, thinking of it as part of your morning prayer with God, say aloud: “Bless Tim,” “Bless Father,” and any of your family or friends in turn.

When you have done this six times to the right, change the breathing to the other side: breathe in when pointing to the left rear, and breathe out to the right.

4. For Trunk—”Cone Exercise.”—Standing at the “Alert,” raise both hands as high as possible over the head, and link fingers. Lean backwards, then sway the arms very slowly round in the direction of a cone, so that the hands make a wide circle above and around the body, the body turning from the hips, and leaning over to

one side, then to the front, then to the other side, and then back. This is to exercise the muscles of the waist and stomach.

Repeat, say, six times to either hand. ‘With the eyes you should be trying to see all that goes on behind you during the movement.