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From Editor (That's me) :

REGARDING COMMENTS BELOW - I have read over the internet that in the 5BX Exercise 1 and 4 are okay, that Exercise 2 should be done with knees bent and with arms crossed over chest. Exercise 3 seems to be the one that you must be cautious over.

Like with any unsupervised exercise program take care!

25th September 2003 : Here are some comments I received today from John :

" Exercise 3 is very similar to the inverse dorsal flexion exercises popularised in the Treat Your Own Back programme by Dr Robin McKenzie. I have suffered from Sciatica (lower back pain) in the past - hence the use of the other book. I have been doing 5BX now for 4 to 5 months and got as far as level A- on chart 2 and have had no recurrence of my back problems.

A suitable replacement for the straight sit-ups might be abdomen crunches which is basically exercise 2 on chart 5 but without the twist. I believe I have seen this recommended elsewhere. It is probably Exercise 2 on Chart 3 and 4 which are the most risky for your back."

I personally am comfortable with 5BX but because of what was on the Canadian Air Force website it seemed wise to me to add the extract below.

5BX (This text is taken from the "Air Force Public Affairs Team / Department of National Defence" website

The RCAF 5BX (Five Basic Exercises) program, which was extremely popular during the 1950s, was discontinued by the Canadian Forces over 25 years ago.......While the program's appeal was that it could be done at home without any equipment required, its drawback was that the safety of some of the exercises was questionable if carried out improperly without supervision.

[Editor: As with any exercise program including The Simple Fitness plan if it is not undertaken wisely then damage couyld occur. Note also in the situp exercise on 5BX - bend your knees when you do them]

The 5BX Plan for Men and the 10BX Plan for Women, used to be sold in bookstores. While this document is now out of print, some bookstores may still have them in stock. The ISBN number of the book is 0-660-01362-2.