Richie Neville - Radio Taiso Routine 3: Revitalising Standing or Sitting Exercises: Radio Taiso, #3

Revitalising Standing or Sitting Exercises.

T he following is the third of the famous Radio Taiso exercise routines from Japan (two more slightly more vigorous routines are also available from Internal Force Fitness). It is an exercise program that does not discriminate based on age, gender or disability: it is intended for EVERYONE. No matter who you are, or what your limitations are, the EIGHT exercises in this particular routine will be effective in moving ALL parts of your body, leaving you refreshed and revitalised.

With the minimum of changes, ALL these exercises can also be done sitting down, so whether youre a wheelchair user, or just not quite ready for standing exercises, you can make this routine YOURS.

There are some subtle changes to a couple of the exercises (from those that the Japanese might perform), but this is simply to make it easier for complete beginners to follow along and LEARN. Radio Taiso simply means Radio Exercises and the radio part comes from the musical accompaniment on Japanese radio. The musical accompaniment is not necessary, but some nice relaxing background music makes an excellent addition.

More information on Radio Taiso can be found at www.internalforcefitness.com

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.

Exercises for the Hands, Wrists, Arms, & Shoulders.

A LMOST everything we do during the day involves our hands, arms and shoulders, so lets start by waking those up!

As the hands cannot possibly work ONLY in isolation, stimulating them with movement is going to warm you up and make it easier to perform all the other exercises. Blood flow from the neck to the hands is going to be improved so thats the circulation from your neck, all the way down your arms, and into your fingers! It isnt all about blood flow though, there are bones and joints in there too. Extending the muscles of the hands, arms and shoulders is going to help with the flexibility and strength of ALL these joints.

Starting simple with an exercise like this is also going to give you a chance to work on your breathing, to start getting into a relaxed breathing rhythm in time with the movements.

Starting Positions:

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart OR sit comfortably with your back straight. Hold your hands up just in front of your shoulders, palms facing away from you.

Hands.

Figure 1: Hands

A lternate between making fists and opening your hands and fingers as wide as you can. Repeat eight times.

Maybe this will seem stupidly simple to you, but I guarantee it wont seem that way after youve done eight SLOW repetitions.

Figure 2: Hands variation

V ariation: Instead of opening and closing your hands at the same time, open one as you close the other.

It may seem odd to add a variation to such a simple exercise, but this is a good example of how doing things slightly differently can change the whole feel of something.

Let your imagination kick in too, bring your hand forwards slightly as you make the fist, as if you were grabbing at something. Move your arms as if you were climbing a ladder. Experiment!

Wrists.

Figure 3: Wrists

O .K. hands done, lets move on to wrists: Stretch your arms straight out in front of you now, and bend your (open) hands at the wrists, making a flapping motion with your hands (i.e. as one goes down, one goes up etc.). Each hand should go up and down eight times.

Variation: A good way to advance this exercise (and REALLY tire you out) is to mimic the wringing out of a wet towel.

Focus Points: Dont just stare off into space when youre doing these exercises; LOOK at the muscles and tendons that are moving in your hands and forearms. Youre making them work, and remember, if THEY work, then so do YOU!

Arms & Shoulders.

Figure 4: Arms & Shoulders

W ith your arms still out in front of you from the last exercise, make fists again with your knuckles facing up. Now ROTATE your fists and pull your ELBOWS back and lower your head slightly until you feel the stretch at the top of your chest. Your fists are now knuckles down tucked in to either side of your waist. This is a two-part exercise, and as in any good exercise routine, now you have PULLED, it is time to PUSH.

From the end of the last movement (hands at your waist), open your hands, turn them to face forwards and PUSH slowly but forcefully until your arms are straight out in front of you again. Dont try and overextend and try for super straight, just feel the nice stretch in your arms, shoulders and back area!

Make fists with your hands again and PULL back. Repeat this push and pull motion eight times.

Let your breathing come naturally breathe IN as you pull back, then slowly out as you push forward.

Notes: Again, use your imagination. When pulling back imagine you are grabbing hold of something and then pulling back. Pay attention to how rotating your hands as you pull back affects which muscles are being worked. Notice too how you naturally bend forward a little as you pull backwards. This is all part of your physical EDUCATION!