Stretch to Win [Paperback]

Ann Frederick (Author), Christopher Frederick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Leave the old static stretches, muscle tightness, and movement restrictions behind. Stretch to Win presents a complete flexibility training system—a proven winner for today's athlete. This is the new way to both loosen up and perform your best.

Learn the dynamic exercise techniques that most closely represent the movements and loads that will be required of your body on the court, field, course, track, or mat or in the water. After you complete a simple self-evaluation, a special science-based stretching matrix enables you to tailor a program specifically for your body, your sport, your position, or your event.

Authors Ann and Chris Frederick have trained many elite and aspiring athletes to achieve optimal muscle and joint function. Now you can stretch to win and enjoy the same results champions in all sports have achieved through this modern, customized flexibility training program.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Flexibility is a key to an athlete's success. The advice, exercises, and programs in" Stretch to Win "will enable your body and mind to be balanced and connected so you can perform your best.""
Donovan McNabb
Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
Five-time Pro Bowl selection
"""Stretch to Win "has been a tremendous asset to me. I always had trouble with my hamstrings, but after working with Chris and Ann I was able to compete without pain. I use the routines every day, and they help me stay injury free.""
Sanya Richards
2004 Olympic 4x400-meter gold medalist
2005 world outdoor 400-meter silver medalist and U.S. outdoor champion
""The artistry and rhythm of the Fredericks' approach to stretching are supported by the science of flexibility. The debate may continue over the efficacy of stretching, but in the real world of athletics, the Fredericks' method answers the challenge and meets the need of certified athletic trainers and certified massage therapists.""
Benny Vaughn, LMT, ATC, CSCS, NCTMB
Athletic Therapy Center
Fort Worth, Texas
""Making the Stretch To Win System an essential part of my off and in-season training has maximized my athletic performance and has eliminated major injuries so that I'm able to play my best at each and every game.""
Na'il Diggs
Green Bay Packers

Review

"Flexibility is a key to an athlete's success. The advice, exercises, and programs in Stretch to Win will enable your body and mind to be balanced and connected so you can perform your best."

Donovan McNabb
Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
Five-time Pro Bowl selection

"Stretch to Win has been a tremendous asset to me. I always had trouble with my hamstrings, but after working with Chris and Ann I was able to compete without pain. I use the routines every day, and they help me stay injury free."

Sanya Richards
2004 Olympic 4x400-meter gold medalist
2005 world outdoor 400-meter silver medalist and U.S. outdoor champion

"The artistry and rhythm of the Fredericks' approach to stretching are supported by the science of flexibility. The debate may continue over the efficacy of stretching, but in the real world of athletics, the Fredericks' method answers the challenge and meets the need of certified athletic trainers and certified massage therapists."

Benny Vaughn, LMT, ATC, CSCS, NCTMB
Athletic Therapy Center
Fort Worth, Texas

"Making the Stretch To Win System an essential part of my off and in-season training has maximized my athletic performance and has eliminated major injuries so that I'm able to play my best at each and every game."

Na'il Diggs
Green Bay Packers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 1 edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736055290
• ISBN-13: 978-0736055291
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Stretching

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Stretching Resource I've Encountered, April 25, 2007

By 

Scott Styles (Darien, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stretch to Win (Paperback)

This book provides:

1. A systematic approach for identifying your movement restrictions and designing a program to resolve them

2. Clear instruction on effective stretching, with a focus on developing the right combination of mobility and stability

3. Specific guidelines for incorporating soft tissue work with a therapy ball into your exercise program

My personal experience applying just the stretching guidelines has been the following:

1. My hips have opened quite a bit. I can comfortably drop into a deep squat.

2. Foot pain I have had for almost a year is quickly going away

3. A shoulder problem I went to physical therapy for but never quite finished fixing is rapidly improving

I've got the recommended equipment for the trigger point therapy on the way (a $10 Footsie roller and a $15 Fitball). If it does as much for me as the stretching has, I'm going to be a very happy person.

On a professional basis, I've been certified by the ACSM as a Health / Fitness Instructor since 2002. I was certified by ACE as a Personal Trainer in 2000. I've read a number of other stretching books and watched several DVDs. This book is the clearest out of any of them, and is one of the few to recognize being overly flexible is just as bad as not being flexible enough. It's also one of the few to address the concept of promoting soft tissue quality to reduce risk of injury.

Considering the price relative to other fitness products on the market, everyone should own a copy and apply the guidelines. Diligent attention to a sound program of mobility work will have more immediate impact on quality of life and ease of movement than just about any other form of exercise.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Nonsense Guide To Stretching Optimally, July 18, 2009

By 

William G. Pratt (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stretch to Win (Paperback)

Stretch To Win certainly delivers a very comprehensive overview on why and how to stretch using the Fredericks' Stretch To Win system. The book opens with chapters relating the anatomy of stretching to the basic fundamental principles of the system. It then offers the reader a chance to assess their own personal flexibility imbalances prior to describing how to correct imbalances and how to perform each stretch appropriately.
As a Personal Trainer, I have used the principles of undulating stretching with success on clients and myself. The book is geared towards athletes, but anyone who wants to improve their overall flexibility and joint health would do well to follow the instructions in this guide.
Two things I think they could have included more on however are: 1) A more indepth explanation on why it is important to stretch using different velocities surrounding practices & games, and 2) An emphasis that the practitioner learn more about basic anatomy and physiology as some of the knowledge given assumes an understanding of which muscles are which and what their function is.
Overall, this guide (although primarily intended for athletic competitors is usable by anyone) provides a clear, well-researched program for developing a flexibility program that suits the needs of anyone looking to enhance their own pain-free range of motion. It is useful for people looking to form their own program as well as trainers, doctors, and therapists who wish to use the techniques given on their own clients and patients.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new way of thinking about stretching, July 21, 2007

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stretch to Win (Paperback)

Over the years it has become a standard mantra that people should "stretch" to help performance and prevent injuries. On the other hand, recent research has cast doubts on the usefulness of "stretching."

This book provides a good resolution to the stretching dilemma. It recasts "stretching" as a series of fluid, wave-like activities for improving mobility opposing the old "stretch and hold" protocol that so many of us have struggled with for years. The movements are performed in synchronization with breathing and at varying tempo for different purposes.

One interesting aspect of this approach is that it takes a big step toward bridging the fluid, rhythmic emphasis of traditional Eastern practices like Tai Chi and Yoga with the Western functional methods.

The biggest weakness of this book from my perspective was that while it emphasizes the importance of sequence, it did not really give enough detailed examples to help me sequence my own flexibility routines, I found myself guessing in various places. The book suggests working from the core outward but does not indicate how to relate each movement to how far it is from the core, and so on. As a result, I have enough information from this book to know how to do the movements and roughly how to structure my stretching, but it leaves me having to do a lot of experimentation on my own.

Still, the approach in this book is heads and shoulders above the previous generation of "stretch and hold" poses, and I highly recommend it for all athletes and martial artists.