Topic spans: 1968 - 2000
Getting Physical: Canada's Fitness Movement
In the 1970s, Canadians went from couch potatoes to super jocks. Well, not quite. But at least during that decade they did start to get up and get fit. It was thanks to nagging TV ads, the example of an active prime minister and embarrassment compared to some very robust Swedes. But the nagging hasn't been entirely successful. Thirty years later the average Canadian is still overweight and spends more time on the sofa than at the gym.
6 television clips
7 radio clips
5 Basic eXercises
Broadcast Date: Aug. 16, 1961
In 1961, tired and listless Canadians head home after work to plop down in front of the tube. Royal Canadian Air Force to the rescue! The RCAF has developed 5BX, a set of exercises sure to give the nation twice as much energy. For years, the RCAF has used the 11-minute-a-day regime to get into shape no matter what the locale. 5BX has six levels and combines a series of strenuous exercises like running, squatting and pushups.Champion athletes use level six and housewives get an extra minute in level one. On CBC Radio, Wing Commander J.K. Tett says after two weeks you're bound to have a "pretty stiff workout."
5 Basic eXercises
• The federal government's first fitness initiative was researched in the 1950s by the RCAF. It resulted in the 5BX program.• The program became famous worldwide. Even Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, regularly performed the exercises.
• The intensity of the exercises varied from level one to six. In the most complicated level, a person scored an A+ for performing many repetitions of five complicated exercises and a one-mile run in 11 minutes.
• The RCAF changed its name to the Canadian Air Force in 1968.
• According to the Canadian Air Force website, the Forces no longer use 5BX. The unsupervised exercise program was later considered dangerous and became invalid with advancements in physiology.
5 Basic eXercises
Medium: Radio
Program: Assignment
Broadcast Date: Aug. 16, 1961
Guest(s): Wing Commander J.K. Tett
Host: Maria Barrett, Bill McNeil
Reporter: Clel Bryant
Duration: 5:29
Last updated:
March 7, 2003
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13 clips in this topic . page
Television
7:03
A fitness expert demonstrates some easy exercises to help women stay fit and trim after the holidays.
Topic
From stimulants to steroids, growth hormones and even gene therapy, high-performance athletes routinely risk everything in their quest for gold. Canada has had its share of drug headlines, from disgraced Pan Am...
5 Basic eXercises.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: March 7, 2003.
[Page consulted on Feb. 9, 2010.]