Notes Body-Building glossary Barbells — a rod of one meter to which disks of varying weights are attached at each end and lifted with two hands. Dumbbells — two metal balls connected by a rigid handle long enough for the grip of one hand. Machines — exercising machines with weights on cables and pulleys, making it possible to use weight resistance in all directions. Workout — exercise Pecs — pectorals, the muscles of the chest. Squat — to sit on the heels with the knees bent. Bench Press — a lift of weights (barbells or dumbbells) until the arms are extended; whi

The Greek hero Heracles slaying the Nemean lion Strength Introduction Man, and particularly modern man, is the weakest of the large animals. If he has come to dominate the terrestrial creation it is by the power of his mind rather than the strength of his frame. And yet, at the beginning of his long journey on Earth, sheer physical strength was an essential condition of his survival; prehistoric humans ran long distances in search of fire or food and were able to kill animals much larger than themselves. Only the strong tended to survive. As societies developed and men's activities diversified, strength became the goal of specialized members of society su

Notes Life's Chronology of Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1882 Birth of Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Hyde Park, New York. 1900 Studies at Harvard University 1904 Law studies at New York City's Columbia University 1905 Marriage with Eleanor, a distant cousin, niece of Theodore Roosevelt 1910 Enter into the political arena. Elected as a Democrat to the New York State Senate 1912 Re-election. Appointed by Wilson as Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1920 Chosen as the running mate of presidential candidate James M.Cox. Defeat of their team 1921 Stricken by poliomyelitis 1924 Resumes his political career. (Beginning of treatment at

Physical Education in Ancient India India has had a long history of physical education, far more ancient than Greece. But in our times When the Olympic Games occurring every four years have become probably the biggest planetary event, most people know that the Games originated more than two thousand years ago in Greece. In addition, Greeks have given the Western world through many beautiful statues a keen sense of bodily perfection, an ideal of physical beauty unsurpassed to this day. There was such an emphasis on the importance of beauty and physical prowesses that some of the highest honours in Greek society were bestowed on athletes, to an e

Cricket The Jam Sahib of Nawanagar* As cricket is a very special game in India, we felt that, even if we could not hope to bring stories about every possible games, we should at least have one on cricket. We found a very refreshing short essay by A.G. Gardiner about Ranjit Singh, a Prince Batsman who enchanted quite long ago the British and Indian crowds, a legend in the annals of cricket. The last ball has been bowled, the bats have been oiled and put away, and around Lord's the grandstands are empty and sad looking. We have said goodbye to cricket. We have said good bye, too, to cricket's king. The game will come again with the sp

Notes On the positive effect of laughter on health ... While scientists had earlier studied the general effects of laughter on the body, Cousins' experience has spurred the medical profession to new efforts to find out how beneficial laughter is in aiding the body's healing process. Studies have shown that humour has a profound connection with physiological states and that a surprising number of patients have laughed themselves back to health, as Cousins did, or at any rate have exploited their sense of humour as a positive, adaptive response to their illnesses. In fact, a link between humour and longevity has been established. Further, laughter has a definite

Notes Nutrition and the Cell Pushed by the necessity of understanding his diseases and bolstered by his leisure time and insatiable curiosity, western man has used the tools of modern science to probe the mysteries of living matter. Over the last century, medical science has come increasingly to focus on the basic structure of protoplasm. The human body has been examined in increasing detail -— even the inside of what had been considered the smallest unit of life, the cell. Recently our understanding of the events inside the cell has become more and more detailed. The electron microscope has revealed for us the inner structure of the cell's substance and has he

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlova! My life stops as I write that name. Across the daily preoccupation of lessons, lunch boxes, tooth brushing and quarrelings with my sister flashed this bright, unworldly experience and burned in a single afternoon a path over which I could never retrace my steps. I had witnessed the power of beauty, and in some chamber of my heart I lost forever my irresponsibility. I was as clearly marked as though she had looked me in the face and called my name. For generations my father's family had loved and served the theatre. All my life I had seen actors and actresses and had heard theatre jargon at the dinner table. I had thrilled at Father's pr

Running I — P. T. Usha Dawn on a quiet beach in Kerala. The first light shows a narrow sandy path running through swaying palms. A lithe runner in a grey tracksuit comes into view, loping effortlessly ahead of a short rotund man who struggles to keep up. P.T. Usha and O.M. Nambiar make an odd twosome: one five foot seven inches of lean muscle, the other short and running to fat. Ten years ago, when they first came together, the athlete found it difficult to keep up with the coach. Now, with great patience, she tolerates his tortoise-like pace. With long measured strides she darts ahead, then jogs back and exchanges a few words with the coach before pacing fo

The Will to Live and Healing Norman Cousins, author of the book from which we are presenting an extract, was a senior lecturer at the School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, and consulting editor of "Man & Medicine", published at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. For almost all of his professional life, Norman Cousins was affiliated with "Saturday Review ". He became its editor in 1940, a position he held for more than thirty years. Mr. Cousins is the author of eleven books, including Dr. Schweitzer of Lambarene, The Celebration of Life, Present Tense, In place of Folly, The Good Inheritance, and Modern Man Is Obs