Radio Taiso for Strength and Fitness

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2 Radio Taiso for Strength and Fitness Adapted from the Second Radio Taiso Exercise Routine By Richie Neville Copyright (c) 2018 Richard Neville / Internal Force Fitness Disclaimer: Please note that the author and publisher of this book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practising the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a doctor be consulted prior to training. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author.

3 Table of Contents Radio Taiso for Strength and Fitness What IS Radio Taiso for Strength and Fitness? What is Radio Taiso? Morning Exercises for Health and Vigour History of Radio Taiso What are Radio Calisthenics? What are the Fitness Benefits of these Exercises? Does this Mean all Japanese People are Fit? Internal Force Fitness Shake that Body! Swing and Pull. Open and Turn Arm Rotations. Opening the Chest. Flex and Bend. Bend Back and Forward. Body Twist. Hop to It. Turn Your Body into Muscle. Don't Forget the Back. Jumping Jacks. Adjusting Your Breathing. Deep Breathing. Review.

4 What IS Radio Taiso for Strength and Fitness? Having completed the Internal Force Fitness interpretation of the Radio Taiso exercise routine for general well-being regardless of age or gender, you might now want to advance to the slightly higher impact second routine. This second series of exercises places an emphasis on MUSCLE STRENGTH. The dynamic movements will encourage strong, flexible muscles and joints, while at the same time promoting overall HEALTH and VITALITY through good blood circulation. What is Radio Taiso? Literally meaning radio exercises, essentially they are a series of calisthenic (i.e. bodyweight) movements. They are designed to warm the body up as well as raise energy levels and encourage overall good health. The 'radio' part comes simply from the fact the instructions and tempo for performing these exercises are broadcast on the radio. There are three variations of this routine: Suitable for all ages and abilities. To increase strength (this one). Sitting version for the elderly/disabled (OR just people who want to do it sitting down!)

5 So, whether you are looking to banish early morning aches with gentle stretches to loosen your joints, or you just want something to energise you for the working day ahead Radio Taiso could be just the exercise program for you. Morning Exercises for Health and Vigour Exercise routines that can be performed by any age and by either gender for EQUAL benefit are hard to come by. The first Radio Taiso series of exercises is one such routine. Performed with a nice, light rhythm, the aim of these exercises is to allow you to move more easily as you will have well-balanced muscles and nice supple joints throughout your entire body. History of Radio Taiso Japanese radio calisthenics were born in 1928 and have been performed in schools and workplaces ever since for building HEALTH. The program is also used to build a sense of COMMUNITY in neighborhoods, where the exercises are performed all together by young and old alike. So, what is the appeal of radio calisthenics and why, given they were inspired by the exercises broadcast on American radio in the 1920's, do they endure into the 21 st century? What are Radio Calisthenics? In a nutshell, they are simply exercises set to a musical radio

6 accompaniment. Every morning an instructor and music will guide you through the movements. It is a workout that practically every Japanese person knows by heart, having learnt it from a very young age. It is an extremely popular form of exercise in Japan and it is estimated up to 10 MILLION people practice it regularly. It is not quite as common as it was (with some seeing it as quaint piece of nostalgia), but that is as much to do with what killed off the original American version in the 1930's competition & new ideas. The value of the exercises has not changed. The benefits have not changed. It is culture that has changed. That is slowly starting to change back however, as its many health benefits are once again championed. What are the Fitness Benefits of these Exercises? The primary benefit is that they put joints through their full range of possible motion. In most daily life, joint movements usually fall well short of their full range of motion, so muscles can gradually shrink. Simply put your body through a full range of motion every day and you can see how obvious it is that you will keep 'working better' for longer. The exercises can also improve agility and posture which can in turn help with simple things like getting up from a chair, or getting down onto the ground. Furthermore, gentle exercises such as these in the morning gets the blood flowing around your body, which in turn will energise you, loosen your joints and get rid of accumulated stiffness.

7 Does this Mean all Japanese People are Fit? Under 4% of Japanese people are considered 'obese', and while there are of course many factors at play here, the fact so many Japanese take part in a daily exercise routine surely must play a part. Also a great many Japanese people remain 'fitter' for longer i.e. keeping functionally active well into old age. Again, a lifetime of performing stretching and movement based exercises is a likely piece of the puzzle. Internal Force Fitness Since 2012 Internal Force Fitness have been adapting different sets of Chinese calisthenics, and other historical bodyweight only workouts. We have now put together English language versions of the Japanese radio exercises known as Radio Taiso (sometimes written as Rajio Taiso), and you're reading one of them now. Personally I don't bother with the music (I prefer my own), so don't let that put you off. Ready? Let's go...

8 Shake that Body! An easy move to start with, you are simply going to shake your whole body by bouncing up and down gently. Unlike in the first routine where you are encouraged to bounce into the air however, this time you only need to come up on to your toes. Position 1: With your feet together, come up on to your toes and at the same time lift the shoulders slightly, letting the elbows naturally rise and come out to the side a little. Position 2: Drop everything! Let the arms and shoulders drop quite heavily and (where possible) come down with a solid 'thud' on to the heels. Review: What we are trying to do is waken and loosen the whole body, encouraging the release of all that stored POWER within you. Classically, this exercise allows the internal organs to MASSAGE one another and is viewed as being beneficial for the spine, the nervous system and in promoting good poise and balance.

9 Exercise. 1: Shake the Body. Repetitions: 8 bounces is sufficient for the purposes of this routine, but equally you can benefit from performing this exercise for a full minute.

10 Swing and Pull. This next combination of moves is going to stretch the arm and leg muscles as well as encourage the blood to circulate throughout the whole body. It is worth noting here just how different the emphasis is with these exercises as opposed to the western exercises you are more familiar with. In nearly ALL of the Internal Force Fitness exercise routines we talk about BLOOD FLOW, and INTERNAL MASSAGING. We talk about HARMONY and how things FEEL. Best of all however (in MY opinion anyway) we fit all of these things in without compromising STRENGTH and POWER. Position 1: With your feet together and your toes pointing out slightly, lift your arms and cross them, right over left, so your elbows are around six inches from your chest. Make light fists with your hands and aim to have your right elbow on top of your left elbow aligned with an imaginary center line running down your body. Take a nice breath in as you come into this position and pause for a second or two to enjoy the first little stretch in your upper arms. Position 2: The second position is basically a CONTROLLED swing. It is always very tempting to make use of gravity when exercising, but a powerful movement combined with gravity can lead to overextending and even straining a muscle. From position one, you are going to slowly and forcefully swing the arms down and around in a large arc, opening the hands as you do so, until both arms are straight up in the air and the palms are facing one another. Once

11 the arms are raised past the point of the waist, come up onto your toes in time with the raising of your arms. Exhale as you execute this position. Position 3: Now it is time to pull. Close your fists and turn the hands so the palms are facing forwards. In your mind I want you to imagine you have a handle in each hand and that handle is attached to a pulley with a weight on the end. Without the leg involvement it is not unlike the lat pull-down exercise you may have seen at the gym, or you could even view it as being an 'empty' variation of the pull-up exercise. With INTENT, you are going to pull the arms down until your fists are level with your ears, and at the same time pull your ENTIRE upper body down by bending your knees slightly, and lowering your heels to the ground. Reverse the process to the starting point of position three (arms straight, back on tiptoes), and then repeat one more time. Position 4: After the second repetition, straighten the arms again and do the REVERSE of position two; Swing the arms down and out in a nice controlled arc until your right elbow is on top of your left elbow again. Review: There will always be debate about whether IMAGINING resistance is as useful as using REAL resistance. I think for the vast majority of people that just want to FEEL better then, yes, it is. I base this belief on one thing: how it FEELS. Try this exercise with no intent at all just lift and lower your arms with no extra energy in them. Now to be honest, I STILL get something out of this

12 because any move that gets your arms above shoulder level is likely to feel quite difficult at first. Next however, try it with imagined intent. When you raise your arms, you are fighting through the thickness of the air (imagine it is water in a pool if that helps). When you pull down, you are pulling against weight make it hard on yourself! Finally ask YOURSELF how it felt. Good? Bad? Nothing? Whatever your answer, that is the answer to take away, because YOU are all that matters. Exercise. 2: Swing and Pull. Repetitions: Repeat the whole sequence four times.

13 Open and Turn Arm Rotations. The shoulder joints and all of their surrounding musculature are not only easy to train, but also easy to strain. Give NATURE a helping hand and keep the joints soft, supple and lubricated, while ALSO keeping the muscles strong and taut. This exercise is going to prevent shoulder stiffness by fully stretching out the muscles of the chest and shoulders. Position 1: This is the 'opening' sequence. From the attention position (that you should be used to by now) raise both arms forwards until they are straight out in front of you. Your hands are in light fists with the palms facing one another. Position 2: As if you have grasped an imaginary handle with each hand, keeping your arms straight, pull forcibly out to the side and back as far as you can. Pause at the furthest point for a second or two then return to the front before repeating one more time. Position 3: With the arms still out in front and the hands in a light fist, lower the arms straight down to the sides, and then continue the arc backwards until both hands are twelve inches or so behind your back. Don't try and bend forwards to get your arms further back, that's cheating! Position 4: Lift your arms back up in the same arc as before, but this time keep going until your arms are straight up in the air. Look up to between your hands and FEEL the stretch. Come up on your

14 tiptoes if you feel comfortable balancing. Position 5: Come back down off tiptoes (if you went up in the first place), and look to the front again. Now 'turn' your thumbs inwards so your palms start to turn out and lower your arms down to the sides in a sideways arc. At the bottom of the arc continue the movement and raise the arms up as in position one. You have basically made a big 'U' with each arm. Exercise. 3: Open and Turn Arm Rotations. Repetitions: Repeat this whole exercise four times. Review: This exercise could be summed up as; Up & Out, Down & Back, Up & Over. It is THAT simple. Your shoulders simply cannot

15 support any other kind of movement; this encompasses their FULL range. As you get comfortable doing this exercise, try opening and closing your fists at various intervals. When your hands get to around waist level for example when pushing behind the body, release the fists by flinging open the hands as if you were flicking water off each finger. Feel which different muscles get used, and which you like best!

16 Opening the Chest. Like the best kind of chest, when you work on opening your own up you will feel the TREAUSRE within. A firm and powerful looking chest gives you shape, poise and to use an old-fashioned term now: bearing. This next exercise is going to open the chest up, remove accumulated daily pressure and get your respiratory system working exactly how it should. Essentially it is a deep breathing exercise, but performed correctly it is going to benefit you so much more. A variation of this exercise was a favourite of Mr. Charles Atlas himself famed for his powerful chest! Position 1: With feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart you are going to 'swing' your arms up into the arms folded position from the 'attention' position. Your right elbow is more or less on top of the left hand. Your hands should be in light fists (if you can't quite manage to get into this position at first, simply put your left forearm on top of your right forearm and lift both arms as high as is comfortable). Make it a nice fast-paced swing and breath OUT as you do so. You should be aiming to keep the stomach muscles tight, and the body upright, but let the chest sink inwards. Position 2: From the end of position one, you are going to RELEASE the arms, letting them fall down and 'uncross' in front of

17 the body. At the same time, turn your palms to face the front. Lift the chin slightly and look to the sky as you take you take your hands out to the sides, palms facing forward, until your arms are hanging at a 45-degree angle from the body and are pushed back so you can feel the stretch in your upper chest. Position 3: From the end of position two, turn the palms to face the sky and POWERFULLY keep raising the arms in an arc until they are up and out in a 'star' formation. Your upper chest should be tilted upwards like your chin. It is as though you are inviting the sun/sky to FILL you with good energy. Take a deep breath in and FILL the lungs as you do positions two and three. Basically, positions two and three combined are you throwing the arms outwards and upwards from the sides (if you are doing this in a room, then you are reaching for the top of the wall either side of you). Position 4: Now you are basically going to reverse all of everything you have just done, so you can do it again and get even MORE goodness inside of you. From the end of position three, turn both hands to face out and like a bird spotting its prey, you are going to lower your arms in a 'swooping' motion, at the same time letting the weight of your falling arms lower your head and upper back slightly. (Let the 'falling' motion push the air out of your lungs.) Swooping motion: Look at a spot around 60 cm in front of you, and lower your arms in an arc on either side of your body. Keep the

18 arc going in front of the body and let your arms cross in front of you again (like in position one, but with head down and bent forward slightly). Position 5: From the end of position four, let the arms fall to your sides and raise the head and the upper body to return to position one, ready to repeat the whole thing again. Repetitions: Repeat four times. Exercise. 4: Opening the Chest. Make all of these movements as slow and controlled as you can. Review: We could easily have included this in an arm stretching routine, or as a shoulder release exercise, AS WELL AS a chest opening exercise. When we talk about COMPLETE and FULL BODY workout routines in 3-5 minutes, this is exactly how it is possible; COMBINATIONS of movements, both ancient and modern, many of

19 which you will recognise, simply put together in such a way as to AWAKEN and ENERGISE you without the need for excessive cardio or heavy weights. Mr. Atlas used to say do this until tired and if you particularly enjoy it and wish to practice it out of series, then you could do just that! END OF FREE SAMPLE

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