Customer Reviews

Stretching for 50+: A Customized Program for Increasing Flexibility, Avoiding Injury, and Enjoying an Active Lifestyle

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

 

 

This is a wonderful book. As the result of an accident many years ago I was introduced to stretching to limber things up, and for the past fifteen years (I'll be 90 in a few months) I have been diligent in streching five time per week. Have gone to stretch classes, done yoga, read seveal books, have seen tapes etc. etc; and , believe me, his book is far and away the BEST and most COMPLETE work on the subject. No matter your age if you follow these exercises wisely you will avoid the slouch, the stoop and the general structural limitations and weaknesses which come with advancing age. And if you're over 60 and do the exercises regularly you'll have some fall protection (and remember that falls are the common fatal disease of the elderly.) We can't do anything about our genetics but we can use what we're given at birth with wisdom. Great Book!

I'm 55 with severe lower back pains, trying to avoid surgery. I've tried 2 different physical therapists and multiple chiropractors, so I've done a fair amount of stretching before reading this book. However, in the first section of this book (through page 18) there were several tips that are priceless (e.g., the difference between Active and Passive stretching; recommending several stretches for warm-ups and several others for cool-down; an analogy with "taffy" illustrating why warm-ups are important). In addition, for the next several pages there is a list of several issues people have (back-pains, hip problems, knee problems, etc), and which exercises are best for people with these problems.

There are 2 issues I've got with the book, which kept me from giving it a perfect 5. First, there is no clear indication of which stretches are "Active" vs "Passive". Second, this book would be as close to perfection as possible if there were icons indicating which exercises were Active, which were Passive, which were particularly recommended for warm-up or cool-down, and which were specifically useful or contra-indicated for people with the various issues such as back-pain, neck problems, hip problems, knee problems, etc.

Even with these 2 issues, I heartily recommend this book for anyone who needs to who is ANY age who wants to start or continue stretching but has the slightest doubts about how to proceed.

I hope the author fixes these 2 issues and either posts the keys on a website or publishes a new version of the book. I know I'd buy it!

Well written, common sense approach to stretching and avoiding injury due to common misconceptions about technique. Highly recommended!

Very nice, very clear. VERY gentle mild stretching for beginners, good idea, feels good. good photos too. I'm not an "expert" in stretching, and there may be some instances where "perfect form" is neglected. But this is so gentle and elementary, nobody's going to get hurt here. We enjoy it.

I am 70 and this book is amazing to/for me. The excercizes are easy and seem to be helping me. I am very stiff, particularly in the lower back, due to arthritus and I am feeling better after only two weeks of excercizes to date, and I think I will stick with them.

As mentioned before, our family really enjoys all of Dr. Karl Knopf's exercise and health books. This is one of the best stretching books you will ever find. If you have not worked out or if you are recovering from an injury, then stretching and Yoga-like exercises are a great way to get started, stay limber and approach weight resistance exercises correctly. Stretching For 50+ takes you through motions, angles, and reps; while offering isolated stretches for specific body parts as well as stretches for compound areas of multiple movement. Dr Knopf give you reasons to perform the stretches correctly. Again, do not buy other authors who happen to publish books for college kids or gymnastic exercise fanatics and then reword the text for the 50+ crowd. Dr Knopf has a long history and long list of success at his university, his studios and with the groups of adults he actually works with every single day. Dr Knopf provides a realistic hands-on approach, which is so much better than other authors and books who really do not care to serve the 50+ exercise crowd.

This is a book that I first checked out at our local library. The book I received has all the same content, but it looks like someone copied all the pages which are filled with black and white photos on a copier. The quality of the images was really disappointing.

The price I paid was the original price of the book, so it's not like I was getting a deal on it.

It was very disappointing, and I would have returned it if it wasn't for the hassle.

I purchased the Kindle version of this stretching book. I had my doubts about how easy it would be to learn stretches from the Kindle format, but I decided to give it a shot. I'm a tad over 50, have reasonably good eyesight (wear 2.0 readers) and found that for several reasons this book was essentially not usable in the Kindle format. I normally keep my Kindle on a slightly larger font than it ships with. Because of this pages with diagrams became misaligned. The title, pictures and instructions were on multiple pages. The charts in the book for various conditions (i.e., stretching for arthritis) indicate the pages that the various stretches appear on in the print version, not the Kindle version. The problem is that on the Kindle you need to know the location (and not page number) for each stretch. I started to bookmark each stretch I wanted to do. Add that to the misaligned pages and you've got a heck of a lot of work to do. The size of the diagrams/pictures just don't work either. You can zoom in, but every time you move to another page you have to re-zoom. I wound up returning this purchase and am ordering the hardcover. I liked the way the book was set up with sets of exercises for various conditions, but it is simply not set up for Kindle. In addition, some of the suggestions (take a warm shower or take a walk before stretching) are nice ideas and are perhaps practical for retired folks but not me. Another suggestion- don't mask pain with painkillers. Sorry sir, it would be nice in theory for many this is a quality of life issue.

For those who are mature or feel they need more range of motion, try these stretches.

I bought this for my father (61 years old) and thought this book would help him learn how to stretch. He has always been asking for books about stretching and I thought this would be a great beginner book for him. He was very happy to get this book. There are helpful pictures and great explanations in the book.