Got a little time to kill? Here’s how to put it to good use.
A team of Japanese researchers has designed a daily workout routine that studies suggest can improve posture, flexibility, balance and agility — and it only takes 10 minutes.
Best of all, you don’t have to wobble on a foam roller or attempt a one-legged balancing act. In fact, the regimen may even win over those who usually avoid exercise altogether.
That’s because the routine is built around four exercises done lying on the floor or a yoga mat.
“We chose the supine position because lying down reduces the postural demands placed on antigravity muscles, such as those in the back and lower limbs,” Dr. Yoriko Atomi, study co-author, told Medical News Today.
“This creates a simpler mechanical environment where participants may be better able to focus on coordinating the core muscles of the trunk with lower limb movement,” she explained.
Over time, the routine is designed to help the body use its muscles better, improving coordination and control.
Atomi said similar exercises “saved” her in her 70s, when lower back pain and knee osteoarthritis made even walking a challenge.
“I have been able to move more energetically and comfortably than ever before over the past 10 years,” the octogenarian told NBC News. “I’ve even been able to jog again.”
But don’t just take her word for it.
Eager to test the routine, Atomi and her colleagues conducted two experiments involving healthy young adults, who alternated between exercise and control periods.
During the exercise phase, participants performed the routine once a day at home for two weeks. During the control phase, they continued their normal daily activities.
At the start and end of each phase, researchers measured the participants’ balance, agility, flexibility and movement stability using a range of physical tests.
After two weeks of the routine, participants had improved flexibility, reaching significantly farther in a seated reach test compared with the control phase.
They also demonstrated better balance and agility, with testing showing greater stability in the head and chest during movement.
“These findings suggest that this short-duration exercise program in a biomechanically safe supine position may enhance postural control and flexibility in healthy individuals,” the study authors wrote Wednesday in PLOS One.
“The approach may also be useful for fall prevention and early-stage rehabilitation.”
But don’t break out the yoga mat for grandma just yet.
The study was conducted in young, healthy participants, so the safety and effectiveness of the exercises in older adults still needs to be studied.
If they do hold up, the routine could offer a simple tool in addressing a major public health issue: falls.
More than 1 in 4 Americans aged 65 and older fall each year, leading to about 3 million emergency department visits annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Falls are also the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults, with more than 41,000 Americans of retirement age dying from them in 2023 alone.
How to do the exercises
Abdominal contractions
Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and hands resting on your stomach.
From there, use your fingers to apply gentle pressure to different parts of your abdomen, engaging your muscles against that pressure for several seconds before relaxing. Repeat three times.
Glute bridges
Next comes a familiar staple.
Start on your back with your knees bent and feet planted. Tilt your pelvis backward and engage your core, then lift your hips off the floor and hold the position for five seconds.
Lower back down, relax and repeat 10 times.
Heel push
Begin by lying on your back with both legs extended and arms by your sides. Bend your left knee to a 90-degree angle, placing your left foot flat on the floor.
Then flex your left foot so your toes point toward your shin, press your heel into the ground and slowly slide it away from your body until your leg is fully extended.
From there, press the heel down again, hold for five seconds, then relax. Switch sides and repeat three rounds per leg.
‘Rock, paper, scissors’ with your toes
The routine finishes with a move inspired by the childhood game.
Begin by lying flat with both legs extended and your arms at your sides. Start by curling your left toes into a “rock,” then lift and extend the big toe upward and back into a “scissors” shape. Finally, spread all your toes wide into a “paper” shape.
Repeat five times with each foot.
