Customer Reviews

Stretching: 30th Anniversary Edition

5 star:		(139)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I liked this book on stretching for several reasons. The first is its simplicity. The pictures and instructions are very straightforward, making it quite easy to do basic stretches. Stretches are given for just about every muscle and limb you'd ever want to stretch and the author has even included some suggested stretching routines for various sports. Whether you're a competetive athlete, business person or housewife, I feel that this is book will have something to offer everyone making it a very handy and "flexible" book. Also recommend Treat Your Own Spinal Stenosis for anyone with back pain looking for more specific stretches and/or exercises.

I've used this book for several years in all the sport activities that I have been involved in. From my teenage years to my early 30's - I have found the stretches in this book to be a worthwhile endeavor. The author provides several stretching routines for a wide variety of activities. Secondly, there are drawings, which demonstrate the correct way to do these stretches. Stretching is an important part of any exercise regime and this book helps out by providing a necessary guide to stretching. The author points out the dangers of overstretching and gives the reader good advice for their regimes.

This is a great book on stretching. It offers pictures and explanations on every different exercise. Furthermore, it provides a stretching workout for almost every sport and situation. The book's main focus is on dynamic stretching and it doesn't go into different methods that can be more efficient(ex: Propioceptive neuromuscular facilitation), but it remains a great book for all. I am a health care practitionner and I find this book great because it is easy for me to show my patients different workouts for their individual needs!!

If you are looking for a book on stretching, go no place else, this is it. While there are other new theories on proper stretching technique for specific results, or muscle fibers or sports, this book and the techniques it teaches are widely considered the mainstream of stretching technique.

You will find stretches for almost every single muscle in your body. Diagrams of each stretch show proper stretching technique and where the tension should be felt. The book runs through each of the main stretches, suggests a program for everyday stretching, and has a number of sport-specific programs. Yes, the pencil diagrams are corny, but as soon as you get over that, you will realize there is a wealth of information in here.

Should you do yoga or stretching? Yoga w/ a tape or a class is certainly a mind/body event that many people enjoy as a part of their fitness routine. But for a fitness regimen, a 20 minute stretching routine every morning or night has advantages over yoga. Yoga is essentially stretching exercises combined with isometric weight resistance. But yoga can often overextend or place undue stress on the ligaments/tendons and often the positions are not stretching the full length of the muscle, and if they are the positions often stretch the muscle to its limit immediately, rather than gradually, which has been shown to provide better flexibility results. With regard to the isometrics, if you are looking to build strength and/or muscle you need the progressive weight resistance that free weights or machines will provide - the isometrics will not provide significant results.

Stretching on a regular basis (along w/ aerobics and eating right) will leave you feeling relaxed and energized and if there is one stretching book you should own, this has got to be it.

I'm a fitness professional and I've been scouring bookstores for a decent stretch book that I could use to plan comprehensive stretch routines for my classes. Finally I found it. Stretching by Bob Anderson is the best stretch book I've found yet for my purposes.

The illustrations are quite good. They show a man with longish, curly hair wearing a wool ski hat--which struck me as funny. But then again, it was published in the 70s.

I like how this book is organized. It's separated into parts of the body, i.e. legs, neck etc. It also outlines sports specific stretch sequences which is helpful for the general public.

I don't like the fact that you have to read the text of each stretch to learn which specific muscles each stretch emphasizes.

Overall, I intend to use this book to plan stretch routines routinely. If you're a fitness professional looking for a stretch reference book, this is a pretty good one.

A basic reference book of stretching exercises used to stretch different body-areas before and after sports and/or daily activities. The pictures are very well-done and are especially descriptive with arrows illustrating clearly the correct movement when doing the stretch. My favorite 2 pages in the book are "Everyday Stretches" used for 10-15 min per day to fine-tune your muscles and reduce stress. These daily exercises are clearly outlined with pictures and can easily be completed once a day even with a busy lifestyle!

In the good old days of typewriters, carbon papers, and stencil sheets, literary authorship served society at highest ethical, scientific, and artistic standards. In contrast, today's word processors and graphic software attracted to the field of book publishing plenty of con artists and commercial profiteers. This book on stretching by Anderson demonstrates the utmost dedication of its author to public welfare. Without sophisticated cameras or elegant graphing capabilities, the author was able to present all aspects of motion of human stretching by relying on hand-drawn sketches.

And what sketches? All his males wore vegetables-dried hats (trade marked Bob Anderson). Travelers wore proper attire; sun glasses and ties. Athletes from different sports wore proper costumes for weightlifting, wrestling, swimming, or figure skating. The angles, curves, and proportions of his candidates are flawless. Such dedication to presentation of artwork allows the author to engage his gifted talent in mastering his subject in believable and respectful fashion.

Then, there come the scientific contribution. The author reasonably covers the various physiological facets of stretching.

1. Stretching enhances mind over body control and tunes up performance.
2. Stretching overcomes muscular overtone and stress.
3. Stretching prevents injury and stiffness.
4. Stretching enhances awareness of body motion.
5. Stretching strengthens muscles by avoiding shortness of tendons and maintaining proper range of motion.
6. Stretching enhances physical performance as we age. All animals stretch frequently and instinctually in order to stay mobile.

Each stretching exercise entails a shadowed area where its effect is expected without arcane scientific jargon. The depth of knowledge of the author is demonstrated in the diverse combination of complex planes of motions, wide ranges of motion, and logical sequences of executing exercises. It recommends few minutes of warming up before commencing stretching.

In conclusion, you should consider this book an essential reference not only for stretching but also for strengthening and overall conditioning. It even could be used as a substitute for all other exercises if the reader is interested in healthy and fit living but dreaming to get to the Olympics.


Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

An excellent book! The stretches are described and illustrated in a way that enables even the most inflexible reader to do them. Several stretches are shown for each area of the body, then routines for different activities such as running, bicycling, walking, or even watching TV (!) are shown. This book was extremely helpful to me not only in my chiropractic treatment, but also in my new walking program. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel after a few simple stretches. I have recommended this book to many people, and do so again here.

This book is complete, simple, effective. I have prescribed it for patients from 25 year old triatheletes to 90 year olds rehabbing from a hospital stay. I (50 year old too-sedentary doc) use it daily. Its the best.

Excellent content. Many stretches, reasonably well-organized, and displayed using simple diagrams.

What I don't like- There are many effective stretches that aren't included. Especially: Isometric Stretching is not mentioned. Isometric stretching is considered (at least by the author of "Warrior Speed") to be by far the most effective way to increase your flexibility. It seems kind of ridiculous to me that it isn't covered in this book.

Overall its a great book, although you'll find plenty of info elsewhere that is not covered by this book. (Therefore it shouldn't be considered a *complete* guide to stretching IMHO.) A large section of this book is dedicated to sports-specific stretches, but you'll probably find this section almost useless compared to other books specific to your sport of choice.