Discussions on this issue are in the full swing so far, but the number of scientists opposing to this practice keeps growing.

There is a suspicion that intensive and rhythmic morning exercises induce and then develop hypertonia. Moreover, no need to be a specialist in medicine to understand the reason of the hypertonia evolution. Think the matter over yourself. When a man has just waken up, his pressure and pulse are a bit higher than in a steady state (sleeping). If a man, having got out of bed, immediately starts doing exercises jerking vigorously and quickly his legs and hands, then his pressure and pulse will instantly rise.

In course of time the organism gets used to such a rhythm and later on, at any abrupt move, scare or worry, the pressure increases at once. Thus the hypertonia is progressing.

There is some truth in this assumption, in fact. If to have a glance at the small domestic animals’ behaviour, they, in contrast to a human being, do no gymnastic “shakes” at all. Having waken up, animals usually only stretch and yawn. Cat’s stretch is the most efficient way to keep fit. Certainly, we have all paid attention how cats either stretching along their forelegs and hind legs, spreading wide the claws, or hogging the backbone upwards as though elongating the spinal bones. By the way, the entire procedure goes smoothly, without abrupt moves, but rather efficiently at the same time. Cat’s pressure and cardiac rhythm practically do not rise during these stretches. But it doesn’t mean that animals do not warm-up themselves and do not train their body. They do it by day, during a buoyant period of their life.

That’s why critics and opponents of the morning exercises advice to do “cat’s gymnastics”, staying in bed, to get fit. Every day’s “cat’s stretches”, the opponents of the traditional exercises state, facilitate to prevent radiculitis and do not encourage the hypertonia development. In the young ages “cat’s gymnastics” stimulates growth.

Back