Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1920)

Ho\v To Be Perfect Tke Bounding Comedian of the films tells this infallible system. By AL. ST. JOHN ARE you too thin or too fat, too tall or too short? Do you know how to keep yourself in trim, how lo be fit? Be a real man ! Be a man of power ! Be a beautiful woman ! Be a perfect thirty-six. You don't need the work and worry of a long course of physical torture. Just a few simple little exercises if properly followed, will broaden your shoulders, deepen your chest, give you the figure of an Apollo, or a Venus. Don't worry about what kind of bathing suits they are going to wear at Palm Beach or Coronado next summer. Follow the physical rules of the famous athlete Professor Al-lah St. John-ski and you will be able to wear any, none or several as the case may be. The only apparatus required for these exercises are a bicycle and a flag pole. They are so simple that a child can master them. Any fat man should try them before breakfast. The advice and illustrations given on these pages constitute his system of keeping fit. Ml 1 mi 'i w'^* % mKS^Kt ^^^^^m^A^^I K^f^^B ^^^P^'^'^KSI ^^■fcscAf^Jl^^^UaKi^ 3 MpllllJla ^^^^^K ^Sh ^2fl| ^^H^^_^''T *" mHs^ R^W^ -MKikfll ff-.-y -. ■'-■T J i^ .. I J i' m mi p^ 1 ^^^ K-.i*>^ ^■h^' 1 --: _ ^ ^^Sf ..... J THIS first e.xercise is probably the simplest form of setting upside down exercises. I recommend tliat you do it daily before breakfast, on the front lann if possible. Place the hands flat uiion the surface, holding the fingers slightly apart. Raise the body slowly and easily to the perpendicular position shown in the accompanying illustration— the knees about 45 degrees. Then empty the lungs completely, being sure, however, not to do likewise with the stomach, while counting eight in a loud voice. Slowly fill the lungs, hold the breath while again counting eight, and during that time gradually stretch the frame of the lungs. Tlili importance of this exercise can hardly be overestimated. It is a sure remedy for fallen arches, ingrowing toe-nails, dislocated joints, old age, water on the knee, baldness, broken collar bones, malnutrition and barber's itch. Bend from the waist and Iilace the hands flat upon the floor in the same position indicated in Exercise I. Be sure to keep the feet flat upon the floor while so doing. Bring the right leg gently over the right elbow with a forward swing, and let it rela.x from the knee, its weight resting upon the arm between the elbow and shoulder. Repeat with the left leg. Do this twenty times at 9:50 o'clock. FOR reducing the weight, this exercise is agreed upon by all experts as the most effective yet discovered by man. I can guarantee that any fat man who will do this thirteen times after lunch and thirteen times after dinner will lose weiglit. Place the stomach flat upon the floor. Raise the head with a snake-like movement, keeping the eyes straight ahead. Throw the legs back, up and over the shoulders, catching the toes in the palms of the hands. The effect will be lost if you attempt to do this one leg at a time, as in. Exercise 2. Begin by doing this five times, holding the position until you count ten. Increase count daily. pUR ladies only. This must be done in * the open air. Keep your mind calm and collected. The bicycle exercises will reduce or increase weight, render the body supple and graceful, decrease the waist measure, give you complete control of your feet and ears and overcome any tendency to selfconsciousness. Take the bicycle out into the yard so that all the neighbors can watch. Mount it as though about to go for a ride. Keeping the hands firmly fastened ujion the handlebars, raise the body to a perpendicular position. ETOR short, fat people only. The position * given is merely the stationary pose. I'he wheel should be pro]>elled rapidly liack and forth. In this position, ride around the block six or eight times a day. It will make you slender and popular. If it is a warm day, be sure to do it about 12 o'clock, and if you do not then feel sufficiently hot, don your fur coat, overshoes, sealskin cap and heavies. If you find the position difficult to assume, try it over on your piano. The hazard is thus increased and circiiJation consequently accelerated. 'T'HIS last of my daily beautifiers, as you * will see, is a shade more advanced than the others. If you will perform this txercise at least three times a week, preferably on a full stomach, it will prove a reasonably complete system of muscular development. Crawl quietly out to the position shown in the accompanying diagram. Then maintain that position for from one to three hours. If you have no flagpole, stick a clothes pole in the side of a mountain or out the window of a twenty-story building. Great care used to keep your balance.