But this treatment must not be supposed to apply to all cases, as there are constitutions which might require one totally different in so far as diet is concerned. Indeed, the trainer's judgment must be exercised here with the greatest caution, for to be unable to discriminate between constitutions, or to determine the quantity and quality of the food, as well as the quantity of exercise necessary in every individual case, would be to fail signally in his profession, and to be liable at any moment to do almost irreparable damage to his man.
Although the implements of training proper to the muscular development of ladies may be lighter than those suitable for gentlemen, yet they are all modeled after the same fashion. Of course, it would be quite unnecessary and indeed wrong to subject the gentler sex to the excessive exercises necessary in the case of those who are supposed to be engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with the world, or any of those vocations which require iron brawn and muscle in their successful pursuit. Still, the principle running through both modes of training is the same, and the treatment moderated only in the one case, to meet the necessities of sex and organization. But, as already laid down, I hope impressively, no matter how lovely or symmetrical the form, to secure strength and consistence the muscles must be well trained and the bath constantly used, if health and personal beauty are to be secured permanently. We are not to suppose, however, a lady needs that degree of physical culture that would enable her to lift two hundred weight in one hand and flourish it above her head, but we are to expect that she will keep her frame in a condition that will enable her to endure any moderate degree of fatigue without the slightest inconvenience, and that a brisk walk of three or four miles will only serve to sharpen her appetite rather than to prostrate her for a whole afternoon.
There is no enjoyment of life without health; and there can be no health where physical culture is neglected. To be sure, there is a certain class of beings who believe they are possessed of health so long as they are able to move about without any great trouble to themselves; but let these once taste the sweets of well-trained muscles and steady nerves, and they will soon begin to find that they had only been vegetating previously. How culpable, then, would it not be on the part of any person of ordinary understanding to neglect the means of health and strength and comfort placed within the reach of even the poorest in the land? For it will be remembered, I have stated plainly, that every man and woman in the world is a gymnasium, so to speak, to himself or herself, and that there is not in this or any other country a single household, gentle or simple, that has not within itself more than one implement of physical culture. Any one can improvise a club, a pair of dumb-bells, a bar, or something answering to weights and pulleys. Every person can manipulate and exercise his own muscles; can use the sponge bath, and, in most cases, obtain pure, fresh air, posturing, throwing back his shoulders and thus expanding the chest; stooping, swinging the arms and legs to and fro; hanging by the hands, sustaining the whole weight of the body from time to time, and taking long gulps of fresh air, and relaxing them as long as possible on the lungs, are all modes of educating and strengthening the muscles. And although the exercises thus accomplished may not be as effective as those under the direction of the accomplished trainer, yet they are in the right direction, and cannot fail, if persisted in, to culminate in the happiest results.