Ill 



SOUND BODIES 



THERE is still another aspect of physical 

 well-being that demands attention from who- 

 ever would invite health, with its attendant 

 prospect of happiness. It is not enough that the body 

 should be well nourished and free from the taint of 

 vicious habits of indulgence ; it is requisite also, in this 

 age of sedentary occupations, that direct attention 

 should be given to the needs of the muscular system. 

 The generality of the men and women for whom these 

 pages are written are engaged in occupations that re- 

 quire mental rather than physical effort; and it is safe 

 to say that a large proportion of them have muscular 

 systems that are in a state of greater or less disrepair. 



The basis for this predication is found in the simplest 

 of physiological facts, the fact namely that the mus- 

 cular system of man, like that of every other animal, 

 is so constituted that it develops if used and degenerates 

 if not used. A muscle that lies quiescent becomes flabby 

 and ill-nourished ; ultimately it degenerates and shrinks 

 in size. But let the muscle contract from time to time, 

 which is the only thing that any muscle can do directly, 

 and it grows, thrives, and becomes strong and healthy, 

 provided, of course, that other conditions are favor- 

 able. But these simple physiological facts would be of 

 no great significance in the present connection were it 



