by David Swyer

Created on: October 21, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2008

In this great country of the United States of America, millions of our citizens are focusing on physical conditioning. Some would like to get in shape, while others just wish to keep in shape. There are those who want to get into better shape and some who are looking to build themselves into magna shape.

It was only a few years ago and I was able to run every day. Those were the times when I could easily keep a slim waistline. Now that I am older, I am not as agile and have reached the walking stage. Sometimes, as I walk, I find myself reminiscing about the good condition I achieved in those days of yore when I was in grade school and high school. I attended grade school and high school in the 1930s and 1940s. This is what I remember about how we kept ourselves in such good trim.

When I was in grade school and high school in the 1930s and 1940s there were very few overweight students in either of the schools I attended. You may wonder how we accomplished this fete since there was no modern equipment for doing so.

I can tell you one thing that after school, we did not go home and dump ourselves in front of a television set. The reason for this was that television sets for home usage did not yet exist.

We either invented our own games or played some of the old-time activities, which were all played outside. Younger children played hide and seek, kick the can or had fun playing tag. The older guys played football in the sandlot. The girls played hopscotch or skip rope. later in the evening, after eating supper, many of us would congregates on someone's front porch and have fun talking about all kinds of things or telling scary stories.

Another thing to remember is that we rarely ever went anywhere in a car. We would either walk or ride our bicycles. If our parents needed something at a grocery store we would get there by walking or hopping on our bikes.

On the weekends we would walk to the movie theater or meander to a friend's house to spend the day playing.

During school time, everybody attended a daily gym class. One of the best bodybuilding apparatus found in the gym were the ropes that hung from the ceiling of the gym. Everyone was required to climb the ropes using their hands and legs. For many this was not an easy task, while others who were stronger did quite well. I believe that this exercise built every muscle of the arms, shoulders and back in addition to the legs, which were used to push your self up the rope.

On some days during gym class, we played volleyball or did physical exercise, such as jumping jacks, push-ups and races from one end to the gym to the other.

The high school I attended was a four-story structure. The classes we were assigned could have been on any floor of the school. Therefore, we, daily, were going up and down stairs from one class to another. There was an elevator, which was only used by a child in a wheelchair or by faculty.

There was also a swimming pool in our school, which we used two times a week. Of course, this was not a coed class. The boys went on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the girls swam on Mondays and Wednesdays.

To conclude this narrative, we would, at the end of the school day all walk home. Back in those days, we did not have to work at staying in good trim. It was a part of life.

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