Meat Stew and a Nap: the Sumo Fitness Dvd

It probably wasn't what Jane Fonda had in mind when she pioneered the home workout craze: fitness advice from grossly overweight men whose training regime includes taking a nap after a huge lunch.

But in their latest effort to fight the flab, overweight Japanese are turning to the behemoths of the sumo ring, who have released a DVD of simple exercises they claim keep them supple and, yes, fit.

Sumo Health Exercises features professional sumo wrestlers, including the 140kg (22 stone) Hokutosho, demonstrating 12 sets of stretches, squats and splits.

Despite their impressive girths, sumo wrestlers are fitter than most people think. "For their size, many wrestlers have a low fat ratio. They're professional athletes, after all," Hideki Yazaki, of the Japan Sumo Association, told Associated Press.

The sumo association says the exercises strengthen the back and legs, and can be performed by children and adults alike. "They're fun, so we hope parents can get kids to do them instead of playing computer games all day," Mr Yazaki said.

The DVD, which costs 2,625 yen (£11.95), includes the squats which the grapplers perform before each bout, as well as a ceremonial move that involves raising an outstretched leg sideways while using the other leg to balance.

But the sumo route to health is not all hard work. The DVD includes a recipe for 'chanko nabe', a meat and vegetable stew that wrestlers tuck into after morning practice and before that nap.

The DVD could boost the ancient sport's popularity, which has suffered of late, in part due to the absence of a homegrown 'yokozuna', or grand champion.

Asashoryu, the current sole 'yokozuna', is Mongolian, and the most popular wrestler on the circuit, the handsome and relatively svelte Kotooshu, hails from Bulgaria.