walter camp’s daily dozen · daily dozen the original daily workout for busy people about the...

WALTER CAMP’S

DAILY DOZEN The ORIGINAL Daily Workout for Busy People

ABOUT THE DAILY DOZEN

Walter Camp’s Daily Dozen workout routine is a program

of exercises devised nearly one hundred years ago to give

you a 'running jump-start to the serious work of the day!'

He devised 12 simple exercises that would be quick,

simple, and of equal use to everyone, regardless of size,

shape or current level of fitness.

© Richie Neville 2018

AN INTERNAL FORCE FITNESS PUBLICATION

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.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval

system, without prior written permission from the author.

1 Walter Camp’s Daily Dozen

© Richie Neville 2018 | INTERNAL FORCE FITNESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................... 1

What is Walter Camp’s Daily Dozen? ..................................................................................................................... 2

Frequently asked questions .................................................................................................................................... 3

What kind of exercises are they? ....................................................................................................................... 3

Will these exercises make me fit? ...................................................................................................................... 3

How do I use this book?...................................................................................................................................... 3

The Daily Dozen Exercises ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Preparatory Exercises: ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Hands .................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Hips ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Head .................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Progress Check! .................................................................................................................................................... 12

Part 1: ................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Grind ................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Grate ................................................................................................................................................................. 15

Grasp ................................................................................................................................................................. 17

Progress Check! .................................................................................................................................................... 19

2 The Original Daily Workout for Busy People

WALTER CAMP’S DAILY DOZEN | The ORIGINAL Daily Workout for Busy People

WHAT IS WALTER CAMP’S DAILY DOZEN?

WALTER Camp’s Daily Dozen workout routine is a series of exercises devised nearly one-hundred years ago to

give you a:

“RUNNING JUMP-START TO THE SERIOUS WORK OF THE DAY!”

As an advisor to the United States military during World War One, Camp (along with many others) was SHOCKED

at the physical condition of the young men brought in for physical examination. He set about devising twelve

simple exercises that would meet certain criteria:

I need the Daily Dozen to:

Last NO longer than eight or ten minutes once or twice per day.

Be SIMPLE to learn.

ELIMINATE exercises or movements that we perform daily anyway.

Be so simple to remember and complete that there becomes no excuse NOT to

do them!

Make the exercises of equal use to EVERYBODY regardless of size, shape or

level of fitness.

NOT leave you so tired after doing them that you are too tired to do

anything else!

And that’s just what he did!

Before we start I should tell you there are actually FIFTEEN exercises in the Daily Dozen! As it developed from a

best-selling pamphlet/book to a best-selling record set, Walter Camp made some changes to one of the sets. I'm

including the extra set of exercises here (because they are worth doing!), but also keeping the other set (because

they are worth doing too!).

I will also detail some variations, extra exercises and other little tips and tricks to make the Daily Dozen the

COMPLETE exercise program it was always meant to be.

Please remember there is a SERIOUS difference between 'fit' for health purposes and 'fit' in the slang sense of

the term. To be healthy does not require being 'ripped' or what magazines would consider 'hot', and a person

can be more physically fit with less muscle tone than a person with 'insane' definition.

GIVE THE DAILY DOZEN JUST TWO WEEKS, THEN SEE FOR YOURSELF WHAT

PROPER EXERCISING CAN DO FOR YOU.



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT KIND OF EXERCISES ARE THEY?

ALL the exercises in the Daily Dozen are standing

bodyweight exercises – what would have been

referred to as 'calisthenics' at the time. You don't

need ANY equipment or prior knowledge, even

training shoes aren’t necessary. Training shoes

disrupt your balance because you are not actually

rooted to the ground, therefore performing the

exercises barefoot will aid improvement to your

balance and coordination.

There is NO jumping or moving around with this

routine, instead all the moves involve simply:

• Stretching,

• Bending,

• Twisting,

• Squatting (bending the knees).

It is an ideal workout routine for people who want

to exercise indoors but do not have a lot of space,

or do not want to make a lot of noise!

WILL THESE EXERCISES MAKE ME FIT?

THE Daily Dozen series of exercises focuses on

improving three things:

• Power,

• Endurance,

• Suppleness.

They also have the added value of improving:

• Posture,

• Coordination,

• Muscle control.

While I would suggest you supplement these

exercises with a brisk walk or some other cardio

exercise, there is no doubt that these exercises,

performed daily and with ENTHUSIASM, will

improve your fitness.

Before we start I will let Mr. Camp have the last

word regarding the object of the Daily Dozen:

“…TO MAKE AN EFFICIENT WORKING

MACHINE OF THE MAN WITHOUT USELESS

EFFORT, TO INCREASE THAT MAN’S

RESISTIVE FORCE AGAINST DISEASE, TO ADD

TO HIS SUPPLENESS AND ENDURANCE, TO

GIVE HIM POISE AND BALANCE, AND TO

DEVELOP COORDINATION OR CONTROL

OVER HIS MUSCLES. BY DOING THIS, HIS

POWER TO WORK WILL BE AUGMENTED*,

AND AT THE SAME TIME ANY WORK THAT HE

DOES WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED MORE

READILY AND WITH LESS EFFORT.”

*added to and improved!

I have been involved in the fitness industry for over

ten years, and old-fashioned language aside

(including the lack of women in his terminology),

that is still the best explanation of why it is good to

have a CERTAIN LEVEL of fitness. Walter Camp

laughed at people who built muscles that they had

no need of, or made their bodies do things they

would never have any practical use for. While we

don’t need to go that far (I don't see the need to

laugh at anyone!), we DO need to ignore a lot of

what we are told about what we MUST do to be

adequately fit.

HOW DO I USE THIS BOOK?

THIS is perhaps the most important question. The

first thing I would suggest is that you read the book

all the way through, taking a good look at the

pictures. After doing this, ask yourself if it is

something you actually WANT to do. If it is (and I

hope it is!) then I would start by only doing the

FIRST exercise, then adding an exercise every day

until you are doing all twelve/fifteen. This gives you

time every day to get to grips with the new exercise,

while getting all the benefits of the previous ones.

Now, get ready for the grand-daddy of daily

workouts: Walter Camp’s Daily Dozen…



THE DAILY DOZEN EXERCISES

ENGAGING your brain in your fitness regime is an excellent way to ensure the stresses of the day don’t creep in.

Until such time as your brain REMEMBERS what comes next however, here is a handy little list of the movements:

PREPARATORY EXERCISES:

• Hands,

• Hips,

• Head.

PART 1:

• Grind,

• Grate,

• Grasp.

PART 2:

• Crawl,

• Curl,

• Crouch.

PART 3:

• Rotate,

• Revolve,

• Roll.

PART 4:

• Wave,

• Weave,

• Wing.

THAT’S ALL! ONCE YOU’VE READ THE REST OF THIS BOOK AND LEARNE D THE

MOVES, THIS PAGE CONTAINS ALL THE INFORMATION YOU WILL NEED TO DO

THIS FULL-BODY EXERCISE ROUTINE ANY TIME YOU WANT – ALTHOUGH I

THINK YOU’LL BE SURPRISED HOW EASY IT IS TO REMEMBER THE ORDER OF

THE MOVES AFTER DOING THEM A FEW TIMES.



PREPARATORY EXERCISES:

THIS is the set of exercises that Walter Camp removed when he released his new Daily Dozen record set. Part of

the reason is they do not work well on record as they are SO simple, but the main reason is they were designed

initially for GROUP exercising. I believe however that there is no such thing as an exercise that is TOO simple,

and I think each of the following exercises have a value.

I ALWAYS start with these, and sometimes JUST do these three exercises in isolation.

As with a lot of these exercises, the recognised benefits were improved carriage, poise and muscular control:

which were important for military training at the time. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a modern-day purpose

though. As I spend a lot of time sitting down, they’re perfect for me!

I won’t apologise for putting images like this in your head. Laugh and snigger all you want, but your great-

grandparents could kick your ass!



HANDS

EACH exercise in the Daily Dozen starts from the position of attention.

With your heels together, turn your feet out at an angle of

around 30 degrees (the original book called for an angle of

60 degrees, but I find this to be uncomfortable and

wouldn’t recommend anything over 45 degrees).

Your legs should be straight and your knees 'pulled back'

slightly. What this means is that you straighten your legs

almost to where your knees lock at their furthest point. If

you have problems with your knees, it almost goes without

saying to be careful with this exercise, but even this basic

movement is meant to be a stretch, so persevere where

you can. Many activity leaders will tell you if you extend

your knees to their furthest point for too long, it can affect

your blood flow, so be aware!

Now, pull your shoulders back and push them down as far

as you comfortably can, keeping your hands by your sides,

palms against your thighs and your fingers pointing to the

ground.

It is more than likely that after doing this simplest of

exercises your shoulders will ache slightly. This is since

most of us walk around so tense, that to actually RELAX the

shoulder muscles and return them to their natural position

counts as quite an intensive stretch.

Without raising your chin, push your neck back as though

you were pushing your neck against your collar (or if you

ARE wearing a collar – simply push against it!).

Look straight ahead of you to an imaginary horizon.

Done that? OK, now unclench your buttocks and you are

standing to attention!

“THE SHOULDERS SHOULD BE DRAWN DOWN A LITTLE AND BACK, FOR THAT IS THE SENSATION

WHICH COMES WHEN ONE SPEAKS OF THE SHOULDERS BEING SQUARE. THE CHEST SH OULD BE

ARCHED, AND THE ABDOMEN DRAWN IN SOMEWHAT. THE EFFECT IS THAT OF A MAN [SIC]

STANDING ERECT AND FEELING HIMSELF A LITTLE TALLER THAN USUAL.”

BONUS* You’ve just done the first exercise! Hands is simply standing to attention. As to time, I would suggest

either around twelve seconds or try saying a little mantra like this one (it saves you counting and is a good mental

exercise):

“WHENEVER I WALK, I STAND UP, WITH MY CHIN IN, MY HIPS BACK AND MY CHEST OUT,

AND THINK HOW TALL I AM!”



I’ve timed this at eight-ten seconds, but YOU can say what you like, for however long you like. There is nothing

wrong with doing this throughout the day for a minute at a time. Breathe normally throughout.

Try this before a big interview, or a meeting, or just when you feel a bit stressed out and

beaten down.

Wondering what on earth difference standing up straight can make? Take a look at this educational poster from

the 1930's:

Standing up straight is one of the easiest ways to make your chest look bigger and your stomach look smaller,

and it is SUCH an easy habit to get into.

Walking 'tall' is also very important for bad backs (and to keep good backs good!), and it is nothing more

complicated than coming up to your FULL height, and keeping your head held high. A good little exercise to try

is this:

Stand with your back against a wall, trying to get as many points of contact as possible (your back is naturally

curved, so don't worry about trying to get your ENTIRE body to touch the wall!). You are now, to all intents and



purposes, standing straight. Now simply walk away from the wall, trying to keep that same alignment. As a

measure of the difference, after a few steps, let yourself 'droop' into your normal position.

Notice any difference?

As your fitness improves you will find your own personal 'straight' – that is the attention position that feels best

for YOU. As a very general rule, work to the 70% rule. This rule simply means that 70% of being absolutely

RAMROD straight is sufficient. Try it yourself. Test out different levels of 'straight' and see how they make you

feel after a few minutes.

SO FAR ALL I’VE ASKED YOU TO DO IS STAND UP STRAIGHT AND THAT’S THE FIRST EXERCISE!

HOW COOL IS THAT! LET’S NOT GET COCKY THOUGH – WE ’RE GOING TO MOVE STRAIGHT ON TO

THE SECOND AND THIRD MOVES IN WALTER CAMP'S DAILY DOZEN PROGRAM...



HIPS

FROM the first position of attention we are going

to go straight into what Walter Camp called

‘Hips’.

Place your hands on your hips, and then push

your shoulders and elbows back until you feel a

stretch across your chest. The basic position is the

same as attention, but the hands are placed on

the hips with the fingers pointing forward and the

thumbs back.

Breathe in and out a couple of times with your

hands on your hips, before exhaling slowly as you

push your elbows back. Repeat 3-4 times if it feels

good!

As with attention, keep your shoulders well back

and keep your neck ‘pushed back’ as if you were

pushing against a collar.

“THE CHEST SHOULD BE ARCHED, AND THE

ABDOMEN DRAWN IN SOMEWHAT. THE

EFFECT IS THAT OF A MAN [SIC] STANDING

ERECT AND FEELING HIMSELF A LITTLE

TALLER THAN USUAL.”

(I know I've used this quote before, but it's a good

one!)

When performing hips (and indeed all of the

exercises) try looking in a full-length mirror, if

possible, to see how you look. With ‘hips’ you

may notice you can push one elbow back further

than the other, this is just one of the many effects

of not stretching every day – we literally get all

twisted out of shape.

Putting your hands on your hips is a very powerful piece of body language. Keep your chin in but let yourself feel

BIG and POWERFUL.

Try it to a count of twelve (it's perfectly fine to breathe!!), or chant something along the lines of:

“I DON’T NEED A REASON TO FEEL GOOD – I CAN FEEL GOOD FOR NO REASON AT ALL.”

There are days when I feel quite happy doing this for over a minute!

OK, 2 exercises in – how are you feeling? A little more ‘stretched’ than you thought you might be? A bit

concerned that exercises from one hundred years ago are making you feel the burn by just making you stand up

properly? GOOD!



HEAD

O.K. The 'prep' exercises are almost at an end!

From the second position of Hips you are

going to go straight into ‘Head’.

Raise your arms in an arc out from your sides,

and then bend your elbows until your

fingertips are behind your neck/head, just

about touching (or touching if it helps you).

Keep your elbows pushed well back.

This is a chest stretch, and for all its simplicity,

a remarkably good one. Don't be fooled by

how easy this is, or SEEMS to be; your chest,

shoulders, sides and back are going to be well

stretched by this movement, so be careful!

Keep your hands behind your head and let

your elbows point out to the side. The stretch

largely comes by pushing your elbows as far

behind you as possible, thereby squeezing

your shoulder blades together.

The elbows should be AT LEAST as far back / in

line with the shoulders.

An important thing to remember with ‘Head’

is to keep control of the body. Try not to arch

your upper body to make it easier to pull your

shoulders back. Keep the body in the upright

attention position and FEEL the stretch. It WILL make it more difficult at first, but more satisfying when you feel

the changes in the coming weeks.

You will have subconsciously done a variation of this exercise many times: hands behind the head and just pulling

those shoulders back – simple. Now that you know WHY you are doing it however, and what the benefits are,

don't wait until you've been sat at your desk for eight hours before doing it, take the initiative and do it BEFORE

you seize up!

A nice slow count of twelve will do.

At all times pay close attention to your posture/position and feel free to go through the three preparatory

movements up to TEN times in all – they are not as dynamic as the following moves but are GREAT for

stretching/warming/waking up.

“A STRONG CHEST IMPROVES YOUR BODY POSTURE AND PREVENTS PROBLEMS RELATED TO

BACK, SPINE, NECK, AND SHOULDERS. CHEST STRETCHES, WHEN PERFORMED BEFORE STARTING

UP WITH YOUR EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES, CAN AVAIL MAXIMUM BENEFITS .”



Try this:

Stand up straight in a doorway and place your hands behind your head with your elbows well out (as described

above). Your elbows should rest just inside of the door frame. Now step VERY slightly through the door, so that

the pressure pushes your elbows back. Hold for a count of five, step back and relax. Repeat up to eight times,

breathing normally throughout.

And this:

This exercise is a favourite of mine, and one I perform often during the day. From the last position of 'Head',

make light fists with your hands, then (keeping the hands where they are) bring the elbows in so they are

pointing forwards. In time with a nice deep breath in, lift your elbows as high as they will go while keeping your

fists resting on your shoulders. Lift your chin at the same time. PULL your stomach in and feel your chest EXPAND.

Hold the position and breathe normally five to ten times.

VARIATIONS: (OPTIONAL)

Wide arm chest stretch:

• Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width apart.

• Raise both arms to the side at the height of your shoulders facing your palms upward.

• Now gently move your arms backwards until you feel a stretch in the chest.

• Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and relax.

Pointed elbows chest stretch (similar to Hips):

• Stand straight with your hands on lower back, fingers facing downward and elbows pointing to

the sides.

• Now move your elbows backward until you feel a stretch.

• Hold for 30 seconds and relax.

Hands behind head chest stretch:

• Stand up or sit straight.

• Keep your hands behind your head, interlocking your fingers and elbows pointing to the sides.

• Push your elbows backward as far as possible.

• Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and relax (exactly the same as Head – but done for a longer

period).

DO NOT overstretch – Stop stretching if you feel any sharp pain in your muscles.

I'VE INCLUDE VARIATIONS HERE, NOT TO MUDDY THE WATERS AND CONFUSE YOU, BUT SIMPLY

TO SHOW HOW YOU CAN ADAPT SIMPLE EXERCISES WITH JUST A FEW EXTRA MOVEMENTS AND

HIT ALL KINDS OF NEW MUSCLES. THIS KNOWLEDGE BECOMES IMPORTANT THE MORE YOU

LEARN ABOUT YOUR OWN BODY AND WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT!



PROGRESS CHECK!

• Hands – Done

• Hips – Done

• Head – Done

You’ve stood up straight, loosened your shoulders, engaged your core and stretched your

chest. Not bad in a couple of minutes.

Next, we're going to move on to the first section of the main body of the Daily Dozen Exercise program: Grind,

Grate and Grasp.



PART 1:

GRIND

“THE GRIND FLATTENS DOWN PROJECTING SHOULDER BLADES, AT THE SAME TIME LIFTING UP

AND EXPANDING THE CHEST.”

FROM the attention position raise

both of your arms out to the side

until they are at the height of your

shoulders. This is the ‘Cross’

position. Turn your palms up so they

are facing the sky (even doing this

you may feel a slight stretch). Pull

your arms back as far as possible,

without altering your posture -

you'll know what I mean by this

when you try it.

Essentially, you are going to make

circles with your fingertips; first

forwards, and then backwards.

To make the circles, move the

fingertips up and either forwards or

backwards to make circles about

the size of a dinner plate. Your arms

should remain stiff and pivot from

the shoulders.

“IN THE ‘GRIND’, SPECIAL

PRECAUTION SHOULD BE

TAKEN NOT TO LET THE

CENTRE OF THE CIRCLE THAT

THE HANDS ARE MAKING,

COME IN FRONT OF THE SHOULDERS; AN ATTEMPT SHOULD ALMOST BE MADE TO MAKE THE

SHOULDER-BLADES MEET. THIS IS PARTICULARLY NECESSARY ON THE REVERSE.”

In other words when making the circles forwards, be sure to keep your shoulders back. If your chest 'sags'

inwards then you are reducing the work the shoulders need to do, and therefore the effectiveness of the

exercise.

The original Daily Dozen called for ten circles in total, five forwards and five backwards. As a starting point this

is fine (and when done slowly, very effective), but as you advance or even perform this exercise in isolation, then

aim for twelve circles.

My personal preference is to do this exercise with the feet apart but doing it with your feet together will help

improve your posture and balance – but try it both ways and see which works for YOU.



VARIATIONS:

Face your palms down to perform the forward/backward arm circles.

You may also want to stand with your feet a little wider apart – but this is by no means necessary.

This exercise tightens and tones the upper arms and is a great general warm-up exercise. When you are standing

there with your arms out, just FEEL how many parts of your body are being stretched by this exercise. Instant

toning!

Twelve forwards and twelve backwards sorts me right out! Let the breaths come naturally.

Without lowering your arms (ignore the burn!) go straight into...



GRATE

“THE GRATE PUTS A MUSCULAR CAP OVER THE SHOULDER, WHICH AMONG OTHER THINGS

GREATLY IMPROVES ITS APPEARANCE.”

STAYING in the cross position (feet back

together if you moved them for the last

exercise), turn your palms to face down. As

you take a deep breath ‘in’, raise your arms

to a forty-five-degree angle and come up

onto the balls of the feet. Hold to the count

of one, lower your heels and lower your

arms back to the horizontal – NOT to your

sides. Hold the horizontal position to the

count of one then repeat.

“THE CAUTION IN THE ‘GRATE’

POSITION IS NOT TO LET THE ARMS

DROP, EVEN A FRACTION OF AN

INCH, BELOW THE HORIZONTAL.,

AND NOT TO LET THEM GO UP

ABOVE THE ANGLE OF FORTY-FIVE

DEGREES, FOR IN EITHER OF THESE

CASES THERE IS A DISTINCT REST

GIVEN TO THE SHOULDE R MUSCLES.

MOST OF THE ORDINARY EXERCISES

OF THIS KIND CARRY THE ARMS

ABOVE THE HEAD; THIS ALWAYS

RELEASES THE EFFORT OF THE

SHOULDER MUSCLE AND IS

THEREFORE NEARLY VALUELESS AS

AN EXERCISE FOR THESE MEMBERS.”

Raise and lower your arms twelve times. Keep your neck pushed back and nice and upright throughout to feel

the maximum effects.

What you’re basically doing is going from a 'T' shape to standing on tip toes and raising your arms into a 'Y' shape

– but you’re doing so in such a way that requires strength and stability.

Focus on:

• Keeping the arms out to the side in position one.

• Keeping the arms below forty-five degrees in position two (so no more than halfway between the

arms being out to the side and the arms pointing straight up to the sky).

There is no need to say any more about this exercise – it is what it is. What I will say however is:

• Be prepared for your arms to burn.

• Be prepared to be amazed by how poor your balance is.



GRASP

“THE GRASP STRENGTHENS THE MUSCLES OF THE BACK OF THE NECK AND GIVES BETTER POISE

TO THE HEAD. AT THE SAME TIME THE GRASP GIVES CONSIDERABLE MOTION AT THE WAIST

AND SO GIVES STRENGTH TO THE BACK MUSCLES.”

AGAIN, we’re starting from the attention

position, then raising the arms into the

cross position (palms down). Then:

“[P]LACE THE HANDS BEHIND THE

HEAD. WITH HEAD UP AND EYES

FRONT, AND IN TIME WITH THE

COUNTING, “ONE, TWO, THREE,

FOUR,” THE BODY IS BENT

FORWARD FROM THE WAIST AS FAR

AS POSSIBLE.”

So, first of all, from the cross position,

bend your arms at the elbow so your

hands are either behind your head or

your fingers are touching the side of your

head. Stand up nice and straight and keep

breathing nice and deeply; in through the

nose and OUT through the nose (we are

nose breathers – it may be a little difficult

at first, but it will improve over time!).

Movement two is bending at the WAIST

while keeping the head up and looking

straight ahead. If you can’t bend very far

without bending your back – then just

don’t bend very far! This isn’t a points-

based system; you won’t lose marks for

not being able to bend 90 degrees. A greater range of movement will come with time. Bend to a slow count of

four and straighten the same way. Breathe OUT as you bend forwards. (Breathing will come quite naturally with

this one, out as you bend down, then a natural breath in as you come up.)

Keep a little bend in your knees and keep the abdominal muscles engaged.

“IN THE FORWARD MOVEMENT, THE BODY SHOULD COME DOWN PRACTICALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES

TO THE HIPS…”

This is one of those “well, if I could already do that why would I bother doing this routine?” type of statements,

but you need to BUILD up to it and then MAINTAIN it!

“…BUT THE HEAD SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DROP FORWARD. THE HEAD SHOULD BE KEPT

UP, WITH THE ELBOWS BACK AND THE EYES LOOKING TO THE FRONT.”



After returning to the starting position and pausing for a second, bend backwards just far enough to feel a little

pull on the abdominal muscles (NOT a big strain!). Again, the movement is all from the waist. Hold for a slow

count of one and then return to the start position and bend forwards again.

WARNING: THIS EXERCISE INVOLVES THE BACK, AND YOU KNOW BETTER THAN I DO IF YOU HAVE

BACK PROBLEMS. IF IN DOUBT, HAVE A CHAT WITH YOUR DOCTOR!

Keep the movements slow and not jerky and only go as far as is comfortable (either backwards or forwards).

Believe it or not, bending backwards will HELP you bend forwards in the long run as it releases the muscles in

your back.

Repeat five times (five bends forwards, five bends backwards – you’ll finish on a backwards bend).

If bending your neck to keep looking forwards doesn't feel right, then keep your neck in line with your spine

throughout the exercise; so, you will end up looking at the floor. The reason for looking forwards however is

that it is a little 'cheat' to help keep your back straight – so don't worry about not going very far.

You will sometimes see this presented as the 'good morning' exercise, and it remains a hugely

popular strength training technique that can be performed daily. The great Bruce Lee hurt his

back performing this with weight and noted that just the bodyweight movement would have

been sufficient to get the benefits from the movement.



PROGRESS CHECK!

O.K., you’re six moves in to the Daily Dozen routine developed by Walter Camp for the general health and well-

being of the Army, the Navy and the general public ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

Lots of websites claim to present FITNESS SECRETS or FORGOTTEN EXERCISES – a lot of it is hokum! Exercises

simply develop and progress. Remember that Pilates was just a man before it was an exercise. He took what he

knew and developed it, just as Pilates teachers all over the world do now (safety being one of these reasons).

Similarly, these exercises I’m showing you will do the job, but the value of the Daily Dozen, as much as anything,

comes from the concept of performing ten to twelve exercises PER DAY that will not tire you out before you

start, and will work muscles that you don’t work during your normal working day anyway. Once you've mastered

the twelve (or fifteen) exercises here, there is nothing at all to stop you building your OWN Daily Dozen of

exercises that make you feel good.

LET’S GET BACK TO IT ...

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