My go-to physical exercise book for many years. Programs structured by age and physical shape, simple programs that were doable, and measurable. I never progressed very far, but the book helped me stay in a better shape. ( )

Even though my mom was never in the Royal Canadian Air Force, she is Canadian and was a pilot and this book (but 1962 version) was in a box with old photos that I was organizing into albums. I thought it would be interesting to look at what was recommended for the Air Force at the time and maybe borrow some home-based exercises.

The women's fitness regime is laughable for a healthy, young woman for the exercise adaptations gentle enough for the younger elderly, but it's handy if you have health issues and need a gentler ease into an exercise routine. On the other hand, the women's book has twice as many exercises as the men's, but those extra five exercises are stretches and toning exercises that even men would benefit from--suppleness goes a long way to preventing injury and helping age-related health issues.

I like how the routine increases through different levels and then after so many levels you graduate to a new chart with more levels. Each chart comes with slightly harder variations of the same exercises, so in a way you have a routine but at the same time you're "mixing it up."

I also laughed a few times because of the language use. These days you probably won't see a government manual for woman capitalizing "FAT" when talking about bodies. The modern political incorrectness puts older works into a humorous light. ( )

Two books in one, two famous basic plans

XBX 12-minute-a-day plan for women.
5BX 11-minute-a-day plan for men.

'Physical fitness makes us work better, look better, and feel better. All of us should have enough self-discipline to spend a few minutes each day exercising. The RCAF program is an excellent method of attaining and maintaining fitness.'-Charles B. Wilkenson, Special Consultant, President's Council on Physical Fitness.

Contents

The XBX plan for women
Physical fitness-what it means
Why you should be fit
Your appearance
Weight control
Diet
What you can do about fitness
How yo ucan use XBX Why XBX was developed
Why XBX was developed
How XBX was developed
What the XBX plan is
How XBX works
What the exercises are for
What the charts mean
Your fitness goal
Live to be fit and be fit to live
Rest, relaxation, and revitalization
Exercise and the heart
Exercise, strength, and endurance
The 5BX plan for men
The 5BX plan
5BX means five basic exercises
Why should you be so concerned about physical fitness?
You can collect valuable dividends of physical efficiency from your daily activities
Physical fitness
How fit should you be?
The contribution of sports and other activities to basic physical efficiency
Common sense about exercise
Warming up
Weight control-exercise
What is it?
How to begin
How to progress
Your physical capacity level
Here are a few tips

When I decided to get back on a regular exercise plan in 2003, I went to a used bookstore and sought out the RCAF exercises that my father and I used to do back in the ’70s. Talk about a blast from the past. The two gender-specific exercise plans have experimental-sounding Space Age names — XBX for women, 5BX for men — and the campy cartoons are also typical of the period. The women’s program has some quaintly sexist touches, like charts for keeping track of one’s hip, waist, and bust measurements. Despite this, my sister decided to track down a copy of these exercises after I told her about mine. In its day, this program caused a sensation throughout the English-speaking world. I remember reading about a political prisoner in South Africa who kept her morale up by doing the RCAF exercises in her cell. Years later, in 1989, I got to know an evangelical minister from Poland who had mastered all the men’s exercises, including the commando-style push-ups where you lift your hands from the floor and clap. I don’t know whether he followed the RCAF exercises or an identical Warsaw Pact knock-off. (Or could it be that the RCAF copied a plan designed by the Poles? The truth is out there somewhere.) Anyway, in case I doubted his skills, he did a quick run-through of all the exercises on the spot. I was impressed.

Old but still useful, from one who has used it for 30 years. ( )