(photo by Maia Hall via https://voyapon.com/japans-historical-radio-workout/)
Have you ever heard of rajio taisō, or also known as the Japanese radio exercise?
Rajio taisō is a three-minute exercise of short circuit of dynamic stretches, joint mobility drills, and bodyweight exercises in time to broadcasted piano music (Mark Sisson, n.d.).
It consists of arm circles, bending over, toe touching and more.
This exercise can be done standing or even sitting on a chair.
There are two versions of the Rajio taisō.
Rajio taisō 1 is the most popular and used. Rajio taisō 2 is more complex and fast moving.
In Japan, Rajio taisō 1 is broadcasted on NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, four times a day. Starting at 6:30 am, except Sunday’s and the TV version airs three times a day, except at weekends (The Guardian, 2019).
In the article, “Listen, bend and stretch: how Japan fell in love with exercise on the radio”, Justin McCurry explains “Rajio taisō has even gained popularity in Brazil, Peru and other countries with large Japanese communities.”
Every day in the morning, seniors, workers, and school kids all across Japan follow this radio exercise.
(all 4 photos are not WCHMS owned. Photo top left – by The Straits Times via https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-limbers-up-with-monkey-bars-radio-drills-for-company-employees, top right – by Kenji Hall via https://monocle.com/film/affairs/tune-in-and-work-out/, bottom left – by Best Living Japan via https://bestlivingjapan.com/radio-calisthenics-in-tokyo/, bottom right – by Maia Hall via https://voyapon.com/japans-historical-radio-workout/)
It’s a great way to start the morning with a quick warmup that gets the blood flowing and heart rate up.
Is there any scientific evidence that Rajio taisō helps with health?
There isn’t any popular or known scientific evidence that this particular exercise helps with anything specific.
Although, from the article, “Rajio Taiso: Why You Should Start Doing Light Morning Workouts”, Mark Sisson explains “there have been observations of Japan and neighbouring countries with the same or traditional morning exercises having fewer diseases caused by physical inactivity compared to other countries that do practice.”
Another popular observation is that people who exercise this way for just a few minutes a day have improved bone density, reduced risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack, and are generally in better physical shape than other people their age who don’t exercise (Mark Sisson, n.d.).
Overall, keeping your body moving and blood flowing is important in daily life. Especially with ageing, it is more frequent forgetting exercise is important in maintaining health.
(photo by YABAI writers via http://yabai.com/p/3444)
Why not try it? It’s only 3 minutes!
Do it every day like the others in Japan!
Click here for the three minute video.
References:
Hall, P., & Hall, M. (2020, July 22). Japan’s Historical Radio Taiso Workout. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://voyapon.com/japans-historical-radio-workout/
Hermesauto. (2017, June 15). Japan limbers up with monkey bars, radio drills for company employees. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-limbers-up-with-monkey-bars-radio-drills-for-company-employees
Listen, bend and stretch: How Japan fell in love with exercise on the radio. (2019, July 20). Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/20/japan-love-mass-radio-exercise-rajio-taiso
Primal, G., Bruinenberg, J., Venema, V., Michele, Charlotte, Turtleboy, . . . Dylan, D. (2019, September 18). How Light Morning Workouts Can Improve Your Day. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://www.marksdailyapple.com/rajio-taiso-why-you-should-start-doing-light-morning-workouts/
Radio Calisthenics in Tokyo – Where To Do Radio Taiso in Tokyo. (2020, February 06). Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://bestlivingjapan.com/radio-calisthenics-in-tokyo/
Tune in and work out – Film. (n.d.). Retrieved August 05, 2020, from https://monocle.com/film/affairs/tune-in-and-work-out/
Writers, Y. (n.d.). Radio Calisthenics: Exercise the Japanese Way: YABAI – The Modern, Vibrant Face of Japan. Retrieved August 05, 2020, from http://yabai.com/p/3444