Customer Reviews

Stretch and Strengthen

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book and Judy Alter's earlier book, Surviving Exercise, have the answers I've been looking for. I love to exercise, but I've been plagued with injuries for years. And of course, the injuries set me back and have kept me from exercising as much as I'd like. I've been looking for some sound, scientific information on stretching, but have found very little. I had the feeling stretching would help prevent injuries, but what's the right way to stretch? I had found scientific evidence that stretching can CAUSE injuries, too. It's amazing to me how many books are available about stretching that have no scientific basis whatsoever. Some get their authority from tradition (like yoga) and some are merely the author's opinion. But finally someone has written a book about how to stretch so the stretching actually helps and doesn't harm you. Judy tells you exactly how to do the exercises. Sometimes the stretches are a lot like the ones I've done before, but small differences -- how you hold your foot, the position of your head, whether or not you're keeping your back straight -- can make the difference between hurting yourself with the stretch or helping yourself. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and one of the most important things I recommend is exercise. It makes a big difference in your general attitude and sense of well-being. Alter's book tells you how you can KEEP exercising for your lifetime, without pain or injury. I love this book and highly recommend it.

This book was recommended to a friend by her doctor to help her recover from a car accident. It helped me recover from my car accident, too - even though my accident was in 1969! She explains why one must hold a gentle stretch UNTIL YOUR MUSCLES RELAX - as long as that may take. This is why classes and videos don't work for everyone. At first, it took me almost 2 minutes for each stretch, but I experienced immediate relief from pain before I finished my first time through the Beginners set. An easy to understand book. I buy copies to give away.

This book has really helped me. I'm age 47 and have been plagued by upper back & neck problems; now I manage that condition with both stretching & strengthening exercises based on Alter's book. I've also learned from this book how to position pillows when I sleep, how to manage my son's tendancy for shin splints, and more. I found this book to contain a lot of wisdom, tons of exercises (most are easy to do) very specific to areas of the body or to problems, and written in a clear and very straightforward way.

I own this and have given it as a gift many times. I challenge you to learn and do the series of stretches "For All Active People" every day for a week, and see how much more un-tense and flexible you feel! You may not even be aware of just how tight and tense your muscles habitually are from your everyday living, until you release them with these stretches.

There are also other stretch series included, some examples being for Dancers and Professional Athletes, or People Who Sit a Lot. Alter lists stretches which benefit every part of the body from head to toe, and gives easy to follow instructions on how to do each one, with troubleshooting text on how not to do them as well, and clear line drawings.

I have found that the best time to do these stretches is at night after exercise, then take a hot shower and go to sleep. I wake in the morning feeling utterly relaxed, with my leg muscles twitching as though they'd LIKE to tense up as usual, but can't :-D Unfortunately I am a morning person with a fairly physically stressful job, and am almost always way too tired to do this... it takes me a good 45 minutes to work through the "For All Active People" series. So I usually end up doing them in the morning before work, since that is when I have the most energy. If I'm on the Nordic Track by 5:15 I have time to stretch and shower before running out the door to work :-D

The book description is misleading. It says that "the book fits the individual needs of everyone who exercises, from sedentary beginner to professional athlete", but actually the exercises/ programs described are good for abnormally weak or rehabilitating people only. It becomes evident only when you look at the exercises suggested. The book's description emphasizes explanations of anatomy of exercises (so that you understand what you are doing), but this is also done on the "pre-school level". Skim through the book on Amazon before buying, see the pictures of the exercises. I bought it sheerly based on the average review scoring, and now regret.

My rating of the book based on the fact that the name of the book is misleading - it does not show that it's targeted for a very limited audience. Please notice that most positive reviews for this book are from people who used it for rehabilitation -and maybe for this purpose it is really alright.

I also bought two other books addressing the subject'''''''' '''''''' which I found to be very good, maybe they can be interesting for you too. The book "Stronger Abs and back", though narrowed to the subjects mentioned in its title, is very good. It emphasizes "strengthen" part with enough exercises with pictures and description how to perform them, but also gives good suggestions and illustrations/explanations on stretching exercises for "warm up"/"cool down".

A very good book for stretching is "Stretching, 20th Anniversary Revised Edition". Go see the description reviews. The most comprehensive book on stretching I've seen.

This is a great book for people who are just starting out with an exercise regimen as well as for people who are already active. I used this book to help me train for the Avon 3-Day Walk (60 miles in 3 days) and am proud to say that after doing the stretches in this book (even at the beginner level), I could walk 15-20 miles in a day and never have even shin splints. This is a great way to make exercise (relatively) painless.

These days physiotherapy is becoming rather specialized, with "sports therapists", "dance medicine", etc. Unfortunately, there's a lot of quackery mixed in with some half-useful advice.

"Stretch and Stengthen" is one of the few books on stretching I can give an unqualified recommendation. It was written before the Pilots/Yogurt craze, and manages to avoid all the goofy (and completely useless) mental imagery and holistic gibberish. The routines are comprehensive, thorough, and if followed regularly really will increase your flexibility without decreasing your brain cells.

She gives suggested routines for specific sports and specific problems. I have immense amounts of flexibility combined with insanely tight hamstrings and gait-related issues, and of course I have lower back problems. A combination of daily stretches from this book plus Thai massage has done wonders--I'm truly ache-free for the first time in over 20 years. (And I will also attest that one hasn't worked without the other.)

My only complaint is the book's organization. The routines are listed at the beginning of the book, but the actual stretches are scattered in an rather unorganized fashion throughout. I had to make copies of the individual routines so I didn't have to keep flipping through the book. Not a big deal, but a little annoying.

An easier way to deal with this is to list pointers from each routine to the next one. For example, if you're doing "the tight hamstring routine" the book would then list the next stretch in sequence. One of the other stretching books I've read (perhaps the Fitness stretch book, I'm not sure anymore) did this and it was a much better solution.

In any case, although it'll never be among the most popular stretching/fitness books because it doesn't have any brand-name power, it's really worth the money. It has the most stretches per dollar of any of the books I've read (plus the greatest variety--she even covers doing splits) and she does an excellent job of describing how to perform each stretch along with specific "troubleshooting" tips which I've found enormously helpful. I've read most of the recommended stretching books, and this one has stood out for me.

I used to be unflexible untill I bought this book. Now I'm doing even better in Pointe class then I ever was! My sister read this book and is doing even better in ballet. We were inspiered.

Judy Alter really explained the proper way to Stretch. It helped me to take care of my achilles injury. When will she come out with a video.

This book was wonderful and detailed. Not only is it a great book but it has great pictures of the stretches. I recomend this book to anyone who needs to be more informed on stretching properly. I am a person who works out consistantly but felt like I always did the same stretches and never felt like I was getting all of my muscles. Now I know a lot more and feel I am compitant enough to work every muscle group.