chest-expander

Updated: May 29, 2025

Let him rise early in the morning, and let him go to bed betimes; and if he be old enough to use the dumb-bells, or what is better, an India-rubber chest-expander, he should do so daily. He ought also to be encouraged to use two short sticks, similar to, but heavier than, a policeman's staff, and to go, every morning, through regular exercises with them.

Pye Henry Chavasse - Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children

I am happy to say that such a case, by judicious treatment, can generally be cured namely, by gymnastic exercises, such as the hand-swing, the fly-pole, the patent parlour gymnasium, the chest-expander, the skipping rope, the swimming bath; all sorts of out-door games, such as croquet, archery, &c.; by plenty of good nourishment, by making her a child of Nature, by letting her almost live in the open air, and by throwing books to the winds.

Pye Henry Chavasse - Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children