Customer Reviews

Stretching, The DVD

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD is based on Bob Anderson's well-known book by the same name. It provides a solid introduction to basic athletic-type stretch, albeit in a rather dry manner.

The DVD is nicely chaptered; I've listed the chapters (along with the times as given on the menu) and added my own short descriptions below.

Getting Started, 7:09. This is a short educational segment about stretching which begins by showing people engaged in various athletic activities and stretches (somewhat dated-looking). Bob Anderson then comes on screen and reviews his philosophy of stretching. He emphasizes that stretching is NOT exercise and that stretches should feel comfortable at all times; he focuses on "easy" and "developmental" stretches as opposed to "intense" stretches. Bob also introduces his two models, Marlon and Debbie.

Neck and Back Stretches, 12:14. In this first segment, Bob leads Marlon through a series of very gentle stretches for the back, mostly from a reclined position. There are no neck-specific stretches, but Bob reminds you to keep your neck in alignment with your back.

Legs, Groin, Hips, and Feet Stretches, 12:30. Here, Bob leads Debbie through a nice series of standing and sitting stretches for the lower body. Most of the stretches are held for a longer duration (about 15 seconds), and Bob also includes instructions on massaging your feet, although only one foot is demonstrated.

Upper Body Stretches, 10:20. This was my favorite stretch segment. Starting from kneeling and moving to standing, Bob again leads Marlon, this time focusing on stretches for the shoulders, neck, and torso; it ends with a nice upper body twist.

Everyday Stretches (A Daily Routine), 12:29. This final segment is instructed by Bob alone via voiceover. Here, Bob includes stretches from each of the above segments to form a nice full-body routine. However, because there are more stretches included, he also moves more quickly through each stretch; I would have liked to see some longer holds here. In addition, I found the music quite distracting and jarring, as it alternated between loud bells/chimes and no music at all, which I did not feel was very conducive to relaxation.

Soemthing about this DVD didn't really "click" with me; as mentioned above, I found it to be quite dry (Bob barely cracks a smile the entire time) and thus not very relaxing. However, this is a solid athletic stretch DVD that could be very useful to someone who is looking for short stretching routines to incorporate into their fitness regimine and/or daily life.

This was origionally odne in the mid 1980s & redone on dvd.
It's your basic set with an in-shape young/middle age woman & in shape senior man demonstrating with Bob Anderson teaching. Bob Anderson is preatty well know & has wrriten a few books on the subject. You'll find his stretcing book is great even with it's simplified drawings that are easy to follow & has many more poses.
His style is very analytical when speaking of the muscles it's helps & sayin gto be 12-14" away from a wall to stretch the shoulders, etc. He's very detailed oriented, but also knows to let the body tell you how far to go, never push yourself & if you yawn when you stretch, you know you opened up & released the area. This proves to me that as anaytical as he is, he's very sensitive to how the body works innately.
The pros are that he's very good teacher, he knows what he speaks of both logically/scientifically & innately for people who like one way or another. He spends time on each stretch, telling you how to stretch it, how long, what to look out for, what muscles it helps, which sports/activites need that type of stretch & more. At the ends he gives a short demonstration on stretches you should do everyday that you can play over & over & follow along.
The cons of this DVD is that it's old, so the music, set & pace of this program is slow & combersome. The production spends a little too much on the intro at the beginning showing various everyday videos of people in daily activities & how stretching is needed for health. Only basic stretches are shown that most people have seen in either beginner yoga classes, gym class or other exercise videos.
This DVD is good for those who never stretch, don't think they need to & don't know how. Also for those who don't want an "exercise" dvd & want a more documentary type of program.

I have this on video already and I am getting on DVD because I have worn out the tape. I use the 15 minute stretch at the end of the video everyday. I have fibromyalgia and have found this 15 minutes total body stretch very helpful to control my pain.

There is a short ~15 min stretching section for your entire body, and several more focused on particular areas. The short section is the quickest and best I've found. Good routine. These are the people who made the classic "stretching" book, that's how I found the dvd.

I have now had the benefit of using this video for one week. It is expertly crafted, easy to understand and follow and best of all: It Works. I have noticced changes in my range of motion following my exercise which I perform every day. I'm 61 and each morning I lay out my mat before the TV and perform the exercises as they are being given. I can pause, restart, whatever I need, or even watch the exercise and then perform it. What's really great is the way the exercises are listed in a table of contents dependent upon which part of the body you need or wish to exercise. By all means buy this dvd--its excellent.

I first discovered Bob's book decades ago, while I was teaching Iyengar Yoga. Some of my students wanted "just stretching," without the philosophy and other hype attached to Yoga. Bob's book was just what they needed. It's basic, safe stretching. No scenic backgrounds, no lobotomized Zen practitioners in rainbow spandex -- just real people doing real stretches.

Bob does seem slightly awkward in front of the camera, and stammers a few times during the first ten minutes of the DVD, but then he seems to get comfortable, and the rest of the information is easy to follow.

If I were asked to recommend a good, basic stretching DVD, or a great warm up for dance or athletics, this would be it. Bob's information has withheld the test of time, and remains relevant, sane, safe, and useful.

I'm a busy(commuting from Long Island into Manhattan every day) 62 year old runner training for this year's Boston Marathon which I finally qualified for by 25 seconds.Since the training mileage already takes up so much of my time I wanted to learn the proper way to do a few basic stretches for running that would help improve my flexibility and avoid injury during training. This DVD is perfect and, along with Anderson's bookStretching: 20th Anniversary (Stretching)has proved extremely valuable since it turns out I had been doing some stretches incorrectly.I highly recommend both DVD and book. They complement one another and are great for people like me who have limited time and want to learn a few stretches focused on specific sports or just everday life.

I bought this DVD to help me learn ways of stretching, as I am an avid cyclist and runner. The methods of stretching are useful, but not any more useful than ANY yoga DVD. The setup is old, humor bad, and it is quite boring. I could only watch it a couple of times. Now I just do a few stretches that I liked from the program. I recommend skipping this DVD.

The best books on stretching are indisputably by Anderson. This DVD, however, is not a duplicate of any of his books. The books are thorough and fairly exhaustive and frequently used by body work and physical therapy professionals; the dvd is introductory and minimalist and designed for, well, new recruits to being a body. You know, people who have an injury or disease that introduces them to stiffness! Very few stretches are given but every area of the body is covered. The instruction is superb as are the demonstrations. If you are new to stretching, recovering from an injury or illness, and have never been an athlete, there is no finer dvd for you. I gladly share this dvd with the public who are just learning to take responsibility for their bodies. It is helpful and kind and not overwhelming. It is probably just what you need. A great compliment to this is the book Stretching by Suzanne Martin. It is a DK book with great color photography, more stretches, yet again for the novice.

This dvd is well done, easy to understand and follow, even for kids. My daughter(10) uses it to help her stretch for dance and she is finding it helpful.