Flexibility is crucial for optimal movement, training, and preventing pains and injuries. Here’s how to maintain your flexibility.
In the same way that you seek to increase your muscle mass via exercise, you also need to increase your flexibility, particularly if you want to feel good as you age and stay injury- and problem-free in the gym.
Stretching and flexibility exercises are a common starting point for workouts of many types, but there are also entire routines devoted to performing both, and experts believe that are key components of a full fitness plan, along with strength and endurance activities.
You don’t have to practise uncomfortable stretches or become a contortionist in the circus to improve your flexibility. Simply be sure to give your body the care it needs, and concentrate on improving little by little. And the Japanese have the ideal schedule for it, which has been widely adopted for some time.
Due to their daily commitment to healthy behaviours, including flexible work, the Japanese are among the healthiest people in the world (the nation is considered to be one of the “blue zones” of the globe where people have been known to live longer and healthier).
The Japanese way of life will increase your flexibility on a regular basis
According to the BBC, millions of Japanese people undertake a workout known as rajio taiso, or “radio callisthenics,” many times daily in parks, schools, and even offices. This exercise first gained popularity in the 1920s. There are others who think it holds the key to living longer and ageing more well and independently. They discover that this programme not only increases flexibility but also keeps individuals active and healthy, stops discomfort while prolonging life, and keeps them healthy and active. The BBC also explains how the workout programme is broken up into three separate exercises with varying degrees of difficulty: dai-ichi, dai-ni, and dai-san. The last exercise on the list, which needs the greatest effort, is often carried out by younger individuals.
During the three-minute workout, you must move your feet, shoulders, arms, and other body parts while using your body weight. People who work in offices or who spend a lot of time sitting or in the same posture every day are highly advised to do this.
The practice typically consists of 13 movements, making it a full-body exercise.
Dai-ichi is a 13-movement form that starts with a slow rising of the arms over the head, as the BBC describes. The second movement begins with the arms folded over the chest and ends with them extended on each side. A slight bob of the knees, barely enough to induce perspiration, is added to this.
In movement 11, the participants advance to modest star leaps that are timed to the music. This is the most demanding the routine gets. To give the body time to calm down, the final two motions repeat steps one and two.
According to the Economic Times of India, radio broadcasts give listeners instructions to follow, such as, “First, lift your arms and extend your body. Then, rotate your arms. Now gently lean forward while bouncing three times in rhythm. Afterwards, stoop backwards.
The fact that it is a group activity and that the routines are broadcast on the radio in Japan means that people are aware of specific times during the day when they can take a break from their routines to move around and stretch their muscles, which relieves conditions like back and neck pain.
