Page:How to Get Strong (1899).pdf/217

 and trying to push it before him; striking out in boxing; in fencing; or single-stick; with dumb-bells; or in swimming; are capital; while the drawing of the head and shoulders back swiftly, as in boxing to avoid a blow, can hardly be surpassed as an aid in this direction. In fact the chief cause of being inerect is holding the head forward. If your body would not give; the head, weighing ten or twelve pounds, would tip you over. But instead you sink in your chest and waist, and so cramp and check the action of every vital organ. And happily the remedy is easy. Tilt the head back; not as much as you now push it forward, but even half as much; and the cause of all this expansion is putting your head in a helpful position, instead of in a harmful one.

Before leaving the waist, there is one more set of muscles which demand attention; and if one has them weak, no matter how strong he may be elsewhere; he is weak in a place where he can ill afford to be; and that is in the loins, or the main muscles in the small of the back; running up and down at each side of the spine. In many of the heavier grades of manual labor, these muscles have a large share of work to do. All stooping over, when lifting is done with a spade, or fork, or bar; whether the knees are held straight or bent; or lifting any weight directly in the hands; horizontal pulling on exerciser, pulley-weight, rope, or oar—in short, nearly every sort of work where the back is employed, keeps these muscles thoroughly active. You cannot bend over without using them. Weed