Sign inInspired by Radio Taiso. Built to move in the UK.
In Japan, at set points in the day, people stop what they're doing, stand up and move through a short shared series of movements. It's called Radio Taiso — broadcast on NHK Radio since 1928, a daily ritual shared by schoolchildren, office workers and retirees alike. It isn't training. It's a national habit of moving together, at the same time, until movement stops being something you have to schedule and becomes something you just do.
Bringing the Radio Taiso philosophy to the West — making movement a daily habit for everyone, not just the already motivated.
What's in a name
Ugo comes from Ugoki (動き) — the Japanese word for movement. It's the same idea that powers Radio Taiso: a simple, shared act of getting up and moving. We shortened it to something short and sayable in English — a name you can call out across a co-working space — but it still carries the same meaning: move.
A national habit — proven to stick
Radio Taiso isn't a niche practice. It's a near-century-old public health ritual that has kept a whole nation moving — and its design is the blueprint Ugo builds on.
30 million
attendance cards printed for Japanese schoolchildren to stamp at early-morning routines — a gamified loyalty loop decades before apps existed.
Three minutes
The whole routine is short enough to do behind a desk — planting your feet in one spot, no equipment, ideal for office workers and retirees alike.
Since 1928
Broadcast almost every day for nearly a century — stopped only briefly after WWII to revise a few movements. A habit that outlasts any gym membership.
"I would not feel comfortable standing up abruptly and doing a stretch at work by myself. But when we all do it together, I don't feel shy."
— Michiaki Araki, on the communal power of Radio Taiso (BBC Worklife)
Source: BBC Worklife — "The lifelong exercise that keeps Japan moving", June 2020.
The habit loop, proven at scale
Rewarding attendance isn't a gimmick — it's the engine behind the most sticky daily habit in the world. Duolingo turned a hard thing (learning a language) into something 34 million people do every single day, with the same mechanics Ugo brings to movement.
34 million
people open Duolingo every day — a daily audience built largely on a streak system and friendly nudges, not willpower.
Short & game-like
"Short, engaging lessons and game-like elements" keep users coming back — the same "achievable, fun, low-barrier" design Ugo borrows from Snax.
800-day streaks
Users celebrate hundreds of days in a row — proof that a visible progress loop turns a one-off into a lasting habit.
"To keep people coming back daily, Duolingo created a streak system and fashioned characters… that send daily practice reminders."
— BBC Worklife, on the formula that made Duolingo a daily habit
Source: BBC Worklife — "Good, free, fun: The simple formula that has made Duolingo a daily habit for millions", October 2024.
Getting started is hard. Keeping going is harder.
In cities like London, staying fit and healthy has never been more difficult — or more complicated. Affordable gyms are scarce, healthy food is expensive, and the fitness culture that dominates social media and studio classes has become intimidating, intense, and exclusive. CrossFit, Hyrox, and the hierarchy of the gym floor send a clear message to anyone who isn't already fit: this isn't for you.
So people don't start. Or they start, and then they stop. They walk into a gym with forty pieces of equipment and no idea where to begin. No programme. No guidance. No community. Just a step machine they use every day because it's the only thing they know how to operate.
And even for those who do get started, a second problem kicks in — the sunny day, the missed session, the slow progress that makes effort feel pointless. In Japan, Radio Taiso solves this by making movement communal, daily, and embedded into the rhythm of life. In the West, we don't have that. We have gym memberships that go unused, fitness apps deleted after two weeks, and wellness benefits nobody reads.
Nobody is making fitness genuinely accessible to the people who need it most. And nothing is giving people a compelling enough reason to keep going.
One system, one mission.
Ugo is a single platform that gets people started — and then gives them a reason to keep going. Snax is how you get moving. Ugo is the network that rewards you for showing up.
Snax — gets you started
A beginner-friendly coaching system that breaks every workout into short, achievable Snacks. Warm, engaging, and doable anywhere, anytime, with minimal equipment. No gym needed. No experience required. It's the way in — the first step that makes showing up feel easy.
Ugo — keeps you going
The rewards network built on top of Snax. Any activity counts — a Snax session, a run, a walk. Turn up and you move closer to a real reward from a local vendor. The habit forms. The motivation stays.
1 · Get started
Snax makes the first session feel achievable.
2 · Show up
Every activity you attend moves you forward.
3 · Get rewarded
Ugo turns attendance into real local rewards.
Snax gets you started. Ugo keeps you going.
The evidence
Small bursts of movement work — the science backs it
Our approach isn't a hunch. Researchers studying everyday activity have found that short, frequent movement — not just long gym sessions — is what changes health outcomes.
Three or four short bouts
Adding just three or four bursts of intense movement, one to two minutes each, can make a big difference to heart disease risk and life expectancy.
"Active couch potatoes"
"Thirty minutes in the gym is only a tiny part of it. What about the other 23-and-a-half hours?" — Dr Jo Blodgett, senior research fellow, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, UCL.
Move more of your day
Guidance in Canada and Australia flips the message: aim for under eight sedentary hours a day. There's no golden rule — the more you move, the better.
Break the all-or-nothing mindset
"Micro workouts completely lower the barrier to entry… they help you build a consistent movement pattern that fits into real life." — Dani Coleman, head trainer at Pvolve.
Five per cent fitter in 20 seconds
People who snacked exercise into their day — climbing 60 stairs in roughly 20 seconds — improved their aerobic fitness by around five per cent, according to research cited in Vogue.
Three minutes an hour, twelve weeks
Sedentary office workers who took three-minute movement breaks every hour saw better HDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure and a smaller waist — with over 80% sticking to the programme (BMC Public Health).
Sources: BBC News — "Not a fan of the gym? Why you should try 'exercise snacking'", February 2026, featuring research from University College London; Vogue — "Snack Workouts: Why Short Bursts Of Exercise Are So Effective", 2026, featuring research from BMC Public Health and expert commentary from Pvolve and Pearls From a PT.
The NHS is rolling out the same idea — with walking
The reward-for-movement model behind Ugo isn't just our bet — it's the direction the UK's biggest health bodies are heading. In July 2026, NHS England announced Movement 26.2, a "marathon a month" walking challenge that asks people to walk roughly 26 miles a month — about 30 minutes a day. It's the first NHS-backed scheme to offer rewards for doing exercise, and proof of concept that the approach works at a national scale.
The scheme was developed for NHS England by Sir Brendan Foster, founder of the Great North Run, working with Sir Keith Mills, who created the Air Miles loyalty programme. It delivers two promises from the government's 10 Year Health Plan for England — "a new health reward scheme to incentivise healthier choices" and a campaign to "motivate millions to move more on a regular basis."
1 in 6 deaths
UK deaths are linked to physical inactivity, according to NHS England — the health case behind the new walking scheme.
11.8 million
adults in England — nearly a quarter — did less than 30 minutes of activity a week in the year to November 2025 (Sport England).
£0.9bn a year
the estimated cost of physical inactivity to the NHS (GOV.UK) — why a low-cost, habit-forming scheme is worth backing.
Marathon a month
Walk 26.2 miles in a month — about 18 minutes of brisk walking a day. No daily minimum; only the monthly total counts.
An NHS Points Scheme
Rewards are modelled on supermarket-style loyalty programmes — digital streaks and badges first, then vouchers and retailer discounts. Just like Ugo.
Streak culture
The NHS is deliberately tapping "streak" habit-forming behaviour — the same loop that powers Duolingo and that Ugo brings to movement.
"If someone walks 30 minutes five times a week, they could gain up to four extra years of healthy life."
— Sir Brendan Foster, founder of the Great North Run, leading the NHS Movement 26.2 walking campaign
"Making movement part of everyday life again in a way that feels simple and achievable."
— Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England chief executive, on the Movement 26.2 scheme
Sources: BBC News — "NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day", July 2026; Motion — "Movement 26.2: What It Is and How It Works"; GOV.UK — 10 Year Health Plan for England.
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