“Rajio taiso”, or radio calisthenics, is a short exercise routine broadcast daily on Japan’s national radio, streamed on YouTube, followed in parks and schools every day – sometimes several times a day – by all generations of Japanese people.
There are three routines in rajio taiso. The first, “dai-ichi”, is the one that every person in Japan will be most familiar with. Taught from a young age in school, this routine is designed to be accessible to anyone. The second, “dai-ni”, and third, “dai-san”, increase in physical activity and are aimed at younger crowds.
Rajio taiso encourages using only the momentum and weight of your own body without the need for any equipment. The three minute exercise mostly require planting your feet in one spot, shoulder-width apart. This makes it ideal for office workers, school children, the young and the elderly to do from behind desks, in groups, at the park, at home – anywhere.
Dai-ichi is made up of 13 movements and begins with gentle raising of the arms above the head. In movement two, arms start crossed across the chest and are swung down like pendulums until they finish outstretched either side. This is accompanied by a gentle bob of the knees – hardly enough to break a sweat.
By movement 11, exercisers move on to modest star jumps in time with music. This is about as rigorous as the routine gets. The last two movements repeat steps one and two to allow for some time to cool down.
