Here's a simple prescription
for good health which
doesn't involve exercises
or workouts at the gym
Family activities, many centered
around the pool, keep the
Richards clan happy and fit.
PHYSICAL
FITNESS
CAN BE
FAMILY FUN
By BOB RICHARDS
Former Olympic Pole-Vault Champion
When I appeared on tlie "Jack Paar Show" not
too long ago, the conversation turned to
physical fitness and comic Johnny Carson re
marked: "Push-ups? I can't do one of them." The
audience quaked with laughter as he went into a
20-minute monologue about how completely "out-of-shape"
he was.
I confess I laughed as heartily as anyone else,
but actually too many Americans disparage physi
cal fitness. They assume that it means the bulging
muscles shown in body-building ads.
But that's not it at all.
Physical fitness can affect your whole perspec
tive on life. A man who feels "in the pink" physi
cally can do more work and adjust to situations
belter than his neighbor who is physiologically
sluggish and run-down. It has been my experience
that a sickly, out-uf-shapc person is a person
struggling socially, economically, and in almost ev
ery other way.
I lecture throughout the country on fitness. After
one of my talks in a large city, a portly man in his
late 30s approached me and said, somewhat trucu
lently: "It must be nice to get into the kind of con
dition that you suggest. I wish I had the time.
Personally, after 10 hours at the office I'm bushed.
And if I did traipse off to a gym, my kids would
hardly ever see me." As a glum afterthought, he
added: "Besides, it's no fun getting into shape."
Without realizing it, he had summarized the
"arguments" against fitness. Most of us hold rel
atively sedentary jobs, and attaining physical fit
"ness in our leisure time can be hard work and
time taken from our families if we make it so.
I've discovered, however, that physical fitness
can be a family project for Mom, Dad, and the
kids and what's more, it can be great family fun.
I don't suggest that families should become pri
vate gym clubs. But by planning family activities
which everyone enjoys and which are healthful, too,
we can all attain physical fitness and as a bonus,
a closer-knit family. There are countless activities
that meet these requirements.
At my house, for instance, a rainy day is the
signal for tumult. From the noise, passers-by
might think that mayhem is being perpetrated.
Actually, we're roughhousing, and we all end up in
a howling mass of twisted arms and legs.
Surprisingly, though, roughhousing is more than
fun. It's great exercise, using nearly every muscle
in your body.
Another family project with the twofold objec
tive of fun and fitness is bicycling. The whole fam
ily gets outdoors to places the family car will never
take them. In some cities, cycling can be danger
ous, but even if the bikes have to be tied onto the
back of the car and transported to a safe area, the
dividends in fun alone make it worthwhile. And
you'd be surprised how much a weekly bicycling
party can do for your health.
Probably the best all-around conditioner is swim
ming. It exercises every muscle in the body.
Most family weekly families have access to a
beach or a pool during the summer months, but
many don't take full advantage of this blessing.
It can be a lot of fun to play water polo or tag
as a family unit much more fun than sitting in a
beach chair, half asleep. Swimming races with the
children (with the proper handicap, depending on
relative ability) are another fine way to have both
fun and exercise. Perhaps a relay race against the
family next door can be planned for the end of
the season (a good reason for everyone to train).
Horseback riding is another activity in the
"fun" category that helps body-conditioning. Some
Saturday, rent horses for the whole family and go
for a brisk ride. Once you've mastered the knack
of riding properly, you'll be developing most of
your muscles.
Hiking, hunting, fishing, camping all potential
family activities are positive steps toward physi
cal fitness. I don't mean automobile trips to some
carefully supervised park with running water and
all the conveniences of home. I mean off where you
have to rough it a bit.
Any of the group-participation sports are good
conditioners, too. Volleyball is one of the best, and
the whole family can play the neighbors, too, if
your family isn't large enough. In Laverne, Calif.,
my home town, doctors, preachers, and lawyers
tried volleyball and, to their astonishment, they got
such a kick out of it that they're now getting up
at 6 a.m. to get in a rousing game before starting
their workday.
Many games considered too "childish" for adults
will pleasantly surprise. There's no loss of dignity
in riding a bicycle with your children or playing
a game of touch football with them. These are not
things to snicker at but rather to applaud.
Any athlete will tell you that getting into per
fect physical shape for competition is a gruelling
business, but attaining good physical health can be
fun if you use your imagination.
COVER:
Larry Stevens and Bob Murray took our
exclusive couer piolo of Mamie Eisen
hower nnd report they've never seen her
lookinij lel!or. Why? Margaret de Mille
nnstrers in "My Friend Mamie" on p. 8.
Family
WaaJily
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WAITER C. OREVFUS Virr l-r, . ..(
PATRICK E. O'ROURKE Adrrrlinnn llirrrlor
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June 26, I960
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