LIFE BEGINS with a single cell that, when fertilized, begins to divide and redivide. The chromatin in the cell is the substance of heredity. This is the material from which genes and chromosomes are made. Each chromosome contains thousands of genes that are systematically distributed within the chromosomes, each gene being a control element of a specific characteristic. Each gene has a particular function and faithfully plays that part in making the end product in accordance with instructions it receives. Human egg cells contain 48 chromosomes, each of which has thousands of genes. From the moment conception takes place until maturity is reached, body cells continue dividing and redividing, thus multiplying their number.
Growth continues for many years. Man continues to grow even after the age of twenty-five. In later life he shrinks by one centimeter (0.4 in.) in each decade. This shrinkage results primarily from a thinning out of the cartilage in the joints and the spinal column. One who is obliged to remain in bed for several months may actually gain in height due to a rounding out of the intervertebral disks. However, after standing and being on his feet for a while the cartilages become compressed to their former thickness and he settles down to his previous height. Growth varies with the seasons. Children grow more rapidly during the summertime than during winter.
In contemplating the human body David was led to exclaim, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139:14). God made the human body to be admired for its grace, its beauty, and its amazing complexity. He made it to serve as the temple of His Holy Spirit. But mind you, He turned its development over to you and to me. Our bodies have grown, developed, and blossomed forth under our direction. In this respect we are the captains of our ships.
Activity Means Life
Man is a being of activity, and activity means life. When an expectant mother first feels her unborn baby move, she knows it is really alive. A baby is born kicking, stretching, moving, and crying. Children would not grow if they did not exercise, and that is the way they do it. As they grow a little larger they want to kick, jump, climb, and run. Their boundless energy makes their elders tired just watching them.
The minds as well as the bodies of children grow at a rapid rate; yet as they reach manhood and womanhood the activity slows markedly. The mind ceases to expand to the same extent and the muscles become flabby and inefficient.
Since exercise is so essential to youth in order to develop, to attain, and to accomplish, it is even more important for adults in order to keep, to improve, and to enjoy life. When exercise is neglected, body function is affected. We read in The Ministry of Healing, page 238, "Inactivity is a fruitful cause of disease." Science and inspiration have warned that many more people rust out than wear out. Exercise is vital and absolutely essential if your body and mind are to reveal the glory of God.
Physical inactivity produces deterioration of body functions. The lungs become inefficient, the heart grows weaker, the blood vessels become hardened, the whole system for delivering oxygen shrivels up. Inactivity will cause yawning at your desk, feeling drowsy all day, being "too tired" to play with your children. Just too tired to breathe.
We sometimes hear the slogan "Wake up, shape up!" Perhaps it should be reversed shape up in order to wake up. We are counseled in the book Education, page 209, "Physical inaction lessens not only mental but moral power." Exercise is as vital to man as sun is to plants. Without it we cannot have abundant health, and without health we cannot reach the level of moral and spiritual vigor God would have us achieve.
Four Types of Exercise
Let's consider briefly this matter of exercise. Actually there are four different types of exercise. Isometric exercises contract individual or groups of muscles with very little movement, and therefore they demand but little oxygen. Isometric exercising is done by pitting one set of muscles against another, or exerting force against an immovable object. This type of exercising can eventually produce muscles such as those seen in the so-called muscle-men, but it has no effect on the pulmonary and vascular systems, and no appreciable effect on the general health.
The second type is known as isotonics. This variety contracts muscles and produces movement. Good examples of these are calisthenics, weight lifting, and some of the milder sports such as shuffleboard, horseshoes, and croquet. This type of exercise is good as far as it goes. It provides exercise for a wider range of muscles. Some of you may say, "I get plenty of good out of my calisthenics I can do twenty-five situps, twenty-five pushups, and can lean over and touch my toes forty times." But the question is, How long does it take you to do it? This is the problem.
Now let's take a look at the third variety, anaerobics. This type of exercise is obtained in one or two ways. Either the exercise demands a moderate amount of oxygen but is cut short voluntarily, such as running up a flight of stairs, or it demands an excessive amount of oxygen but is cut short involuntarily, since the body just can't take it. An example of the latter may be the all-out effort required to make a one-hundred-yard dash in minimal time, ending in exhaustion.
A few months ago while in Helsinki, Finland, I visited a magnificent monument erected to honor the world's fastest human runner. While training for foot races he discovered that he was able to develop greater endurance by running at top speed for a while and then slowing down to an easier pace to rest and then resuming his speed again. His competitors were running to the point of exhaustion and then in a few hours repeated the process. His technique brings us to the fourth type, aerobics. Aerobics means with oxygen.
We have heard much of aerobics since it has been popularized by our friend Kenneth Cooper. Aerobics is the ideal type of exercise since it demands oxygen without producing an intolerable oxygen debt ending in exhaustion and a cessation of activity.
As the body becomes accustomed to this type of exercise, the lungs develop the capacity for taking in more oxygen and putting out more carbon dioxide with less effort. The heart grows stronger, pumps more blood with less strokes. Blood vessels dilate and contract, thus providing better circulation to the muscles and organs of the body. Facilities are improved to purify blood and to deliver it to the cells of the body where its oxygen combines with foodstuffs to produce energy.
Some activities include all four types of exercise. Take golf, for instance. As you stand there and line up your shot, you grip the driver and tense your arms. This is isometric. Then you swing, bringing the club down on the ball, pushing your shoulders through an arc and pulling your hips. That's isotonic. As you start walking for the ball, holding your breath, fearful you'll not find it, that's anaerobic. But then after the third hole, if you're still keeping at it, taking aim, driving, walking and breathing, that is aerobic.
Benefits of Exercise
Meaningful physical activity strengthens our voluntary skeletal muscles, bones, and our hundred joints. Exercise increases our general efficiency, and also stimulates our entire system, our internal organs, and our senses to function better. As we breathe deeply, oxygen goes into all parts of the lungs, even up into the apices. Remember, it is the apices where tuberculosis frequently starts, and tuberculosis germs do not thrive in the presence of oxygen. Vigorous exercise increases our oxygen intake sixteen-fold.
The heart's efficiency is improved by exercise. All muscles require exercise to maintain health; the heart muscle is not an exception. The average person has a resting pulse rate of around 72 beats per minute. With exercise this rate may go to 180. The well-conditioned heart while resting will beat 50-60 times per minute, will speed up to 130 or so with exercise, and then drop back to normal within two or three minutes. Through exercise it is possible to reduce the heart rate by at least 20 beats per minute, 1200 beats per hour, or 28,000 beats per day. This amounts to more than ten million beats a year. And besides this, the heart is able to function more efficiently and carry more food and oxygen to the tissues of the body, thus providing increased stamina, endurance, and strength.
The relationship between exercise and digestion is pointed out as follows: "Exercise will aid the work of digestion." --Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 530. Good digestion requires good circulation of blood. Good bowel action requires strong abdominal muscles. Keep active and be regular. "Exercise aids the dyspeptic by giving the digestive organs a healthy tone. ... A short walk after a meal, with the head erect and the shoulders back, is a great benefit." --The Ministry of Healing, p. 240.
Dr. Mervyn Hardinge, dean of the School of Health, Loma Linda University, unequivocally states, "Walking is the best exercise." Brisk walking can accomplish about as much as jogging without the attendant dangers. Jogging, of course, is very popular. Karl Shiflet is reported to have quipped, "Jogging keeps the spring in your step from becoming rusty." --Reader's Digest, October, 1971, p. 83.
Fourfold Blessing
One of the most neglected means of health insurance is exercise, even though it is the most reliable of all. Exercise provides a fourfold blessing that may be yours for the asking. Exercise faithfully as you follow other rational health habits and you will find:
1. Your mind will expand.
2. Your body will become stronger.
3. You will get along better with your fellow men.
4. Your character will be enriched and your spiritual concepts strengthened.
If you have been negligent in exercising, turn over a new leaf and start today. Walk briskly for ten minutes, the first thing in the morning. In ten minutes you should be able to walk approximately one mile maybe not the first time you try, but work up to it. Return home, bathe, eat a good breakfast, including fruit and foods prepared from whole grains. Take another walk in the evening, and you will find you will sleep better, you will feel better, and you can think better. Walk faster, then jog awhile, if you're sure your heart can take it. Your strength will build as you continue your program. Do not overdo at first. Remember you are to train, not strain. Go easily, but keep going.
Through better living, some of the joys of heaven can begin now. Heaven will be a place of health and activity. In preparing for that heavenly home and eternal life, we are charged to maintain our body temples in good condition; and remember, exercise is one of the essential means of attaining optimal health.
