Morning broadcast — 3 minutes, 13 movements, 0 equipment

The three-minute morning exercise Japan has done for almost a century

Radio Taiso (ラジオ体操) is Japan's daily radio calisthenics: thirteen gentle movements, one cheerful piano march, three minutes, no equipment.
Press play, follow the figure, and you've done your morning exercise.

RADIO TAISO · Good morning!

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How to follow along

  1. Stand up and claim an arm-span of space. Coffee tables are the leading natural predator of the morning exerciser.
  2. Turn on the radio and press play. The needle sweeps through all 13 movements — the stick figure knows them all. Copy the stick figure.
  3. Move with the counts of eight. If you lose count, relax: it starts over at one, forever, like all good things.
  4. Finish the routine to earn today's stamp. This is the same motivation technology that has powered Japanese summer vacations since the 1950s. It works on adults too.

Why do millions of people do Radio Taiso every morning?

Because it works by being easy: three minutes of full-body movement, light enough for any age and any fitness level, done at the same time every day. The habit, not the intensity, is the point.

Since 1928, Japanese mornings have started with this broadcast — in parks, schoolyards, and factory floors. Neighbors gather at 6:30 a.m., kids collect attendance stamps over summer vacation, and companies still run it before shifts. It stretches every major joint, wakes up circulation, and takes less time than brewing coffee.

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