Exercise Plans and Diets

All forms of exercise demand expenditures. This scarcely differs from our normal living pattern. Unless your usual habitat is a most unusual and eye-catching state of naked and suspended animation, you do at least have the expense of clothing and food.

 

How much more you are willing or able to invest in sports will help to determine those activities most appropriate for you. And it is better to know the bad news in advance than after you suddenly realize you are in over your head.

 

Before dealing specifically with the various expenses, there is one cardinal rule: buy safe, sturdy, dependable equipment. A bargain-basement buy may be more than offset by not-so-bargain-basement medical bills.

 

Think of the injuries possible with a pair of flimsy, poorly supported ice skates, brittle ski poles, denuded bicycle tires, and ill-fitting walking boots. Good equipment is not only safe, but, with proper use, outlasts its cheaper counterparts. Insist on the best and purchase it from reliable, experienced people.

 

The expense of outfitting necessarily varies. In bicycling or hiking this is usually nil.

 

Remember, though, that endurance and stamina are integral features of a sport and that these repetitive activities are a source of constant friction between the participant and his clothing. In order to avoid chafing and blisters, clothes should be freshly laundered and well fitting.

 

Baggy clothes tend to “bunch up” in moving areas, while tight clothing restricts free motion. In one of my own sports, long-distance running, I am very careful to purchase suits which neither bind nor droop.

 

A loose shirt feels like sandpaper after about ten miles. And snug shorts can almost dismember one’s lower limbs over a similar distance. But the more generally applicable situation applies to all types of footwear.

 

Once the sportsman is comfortably and safely clothed and shod, his next expense is that of gear. It is unnecessary and even impossible to assess various investments for sports equipment. Bar bells, rifles, trampolins, bicycles, and golf clubs come in varying sizes, shapes, and prices.

 

Each of us knows his own financial limit and should have little difficulty in reaching a decision. In contrast to the purchase of clothes and shoes, here is an area where the frugal buyer can shop around to good advantage.

 

While the caliber of his performance may conceivably be influenced by the cost of equipment, the sportsman is at least not endangered by his wish for economy.

 

The purchase of costly equipment may truly be a silver lining under a gloomy fiscal cloud. A patient in Cambridge once was afflicted with a sudden desire to get back into shape. Forthwith he marched, although a bit unsteadily, to a nearby bicycle shop and purchased a luxurious English Raleigh replete with everything but power brakes and directional signals. In a week the fad had passed and he wished he had his money back. Since return of the bicycle was impossible, he resolved through gritted teeth to get his damn value out of the damn thing. So he rode back and forth to work every day. Curiously enough, he soon was boasting to his friends he loved cycling to the office, wouldn’t be caught dead in those stuffy subway cars, and once again began to feel young. He also was in good shape. Five years later finds him still cycling to work.

 

Hidden or accessory expenses complete the list of costs you may incur. These expenses sneak up unnoticed and can be quite insidious. These are the ones which must be negotiated before you are allowed to attempt your first sweaty effort. Dues and fees allow you entrance to your own arena of sports.

 

Be it the ski tow, skating rink, gymnasium, country club, or hunting lodge, the initial fee is preset and definite. The fee may be handsome or modest, but it is a fee. Be sure to figure this as part of your over-all recreation budget. Do not overlook transportation and lodging costs for out-of-town endeavors. A weekend of skiing in Sun Valley or of moose hunting in Canada might well cover lifetime expenses of local countryside bicycling.