THE TAX-PAYER'S TONIC
By LT.-COL. T. A. LOWE, D.S.O., M.C.
IN countries such as Germany it is the youth of the nation .1. that is interested in keeping fit ; in this country it is the middle-aged. So far as the individual tax-payer is concerned disappointment is already manifest regarding the national " Keep Fit " movement. The very breadth of the scheme has confused the citizen whose difficulty is purely a personal one. He wants to get fit himself, to keep fit, and to spread the gospel of health by means of his own experience and example. He looked to the Government to provide him with this tonic ; it has been withheld.
There appears to be no common doctrine amongst the thirty-one experts composing the National Advisory Council of what the individual citizen may do in his home. Even since the " Get Fit " scheme was officially launched, charla- tans using the prefix " National " have cropped up to sell the public quack medicine. The spate of illustrated articles urging indulgence in contortions which could only be successfully accomplished by professional acrobats has increased rather than abated in the periodical Press. The B.B.C., after years of consultation with physical training experts, have turned down all ideas about instruction by radio, on the grounds of expense. The tax-payer, therefore, has come to the reluctant conclusion that the " Get Fit " scheme is not for him.
No one will criticise the Board of Education 'for stimu- lating and subsidising those institutions that cater for youth. The first steps towards national fitness, it rightly considered, were to support such youth movements as the Boys'. Brigade, the Boy Scouts, the Girls' Friendly Society, the Girl Guides, and both the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations—to name but a few. The work which some of them had accomplished in removing the stigma of " C3 " from the nation deserved official recognition. Besides, they were going concerns, and so far as physical training went they had been co-ordinated by two of the main autho- rities in the country.. Why create 'something new when so much already existed ? .
The truth is, however, that our youth is a trifle bored and would have prefeired 'something new. They are accustomed to having, or have had, the benefit of the organisations which are now officially supported, whereas their parents, many of whom have never had anything at all, turned to the " Get Fit " movement with pathetic eagerness. But you. cannot convert a middle-aged man into a boy scout, nor does he care much about joining a lot of young fellows for gymnastics in a Y.M.C.A. His wife may overcome her shyneSS (under the influence of the fashion magazines), and attend a Health -and Beauty class, but on the other hand her shyness may overcome her—and often does. And so we arrive at an apparent impasse. After a month of visiting demonstrations under various and excellent auspices, watching what is going on, and talking to instructors of both sexes, the solution of the whole problem seems to file easy, cheap, and essentially practical. The Central Council has delegated its authority to twenty-five " Regionals," or branch committees, who will be responsible for large areas of the population. It has appointed, and will maintain for the benefit of these centres, seven travelling representatives who are qualified instructors from the Physical Training colleges. These men and women are at present engaged in training leaders by means of half-day courses where only the merest rudiments of the subject can be taught. They do their best, but they are overworked and the task is hopeless that they are expected to accomplish in the time.
Let the number of these trained instructors be increased to twenty-five (one for each " Regional ") at least to begin with. Let them, as professionals, work out simple tables designed to give the tonic effect the tax-payer longs for. Let them demonstrate on stage, platform and screen how the exercises should be performed, so that individuals could go home and be sure of carrying on the good work correctly. Let them keep consulting hours for free advice and en- couragement.
Every now and then these instructors could return to their training colleges for refresher courses. They could be pooled, or changed from one " Regional " to another according to the demand. They would thus be in touch with the people, and might become the guides, counsellors and friends of thousands. With the medical profession helping in the background, such miracles could be per- formed as are now happening at Aldershot. Less than a year ago the War Office decided to send a squad of thirty- three especially recruited men, who were under the standards laid down by the recruiting authorities, for a three months' course at the Army School of Physical Training. All the recruits were townsmen and their ages varied between 18 and 2o. Most were under weight and under chest-measure- ment, while several had flat feet.
In six weeks time twenty-one of these recruits reached the necessary standard, in twelve weeks over thirty had reached it, and all.theinen with flat feet were cured.
The .result of this experiment has been that a special Recruits' Development Centre has been started, and special tables of exercise emphasising the educational and corrective quality of certain forms of training have been devised. Surely it is not too much to hope that the same principles could be applied to this national health campaign, which would turn it into a really valuable " Get Fit " movement with the patient effort of the individual behind it.
From the health and physical fitness point of view every individual is a separate unit. Mass methods are unsuitable and often dangerous. It is the personal, shining example of the instructor or instructress that leads the pupil onward.
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