111 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stretching Scientifically yields phenomenal results, March 22, 1998
By A Customer
I read this book several years ago after starting martial arts training in my later 30's. Prior to following the methods of Stretching Scientifically, I had slightly better than average flexibility. In less than 6 months after reading this book, and most importantly, actually following its methods, I could do the full splits in all 3 directions while simultaneously flattening my body to the ground. Now at 40, I've maintained the stretch, and take full advantage of it in martial arts. I've trained with some great world-renowned martial artists, but have not met anybody who understands stretching the way Thomas Kurz does. This is a great book.
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98 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I read this while still a college athlete, August 20, 2005
I am not out of shape. At 190 pounds - I can bench press 2X my bodyweight, squat 2.5X and run 100 Meters in 10.7 seconds. Why then have I never been able to touch my toes?
I spent years as 22 foot plus long jumper. Nothing my coaches or "Physical Therapists" tried (PNF streching for 3 hours a day, partner stretching, warm ups, warm downs, Yoga etc) ever did a thing to visibly improve my extension. After 8 to 10 years of training 3 hours a day and streching every day I could never do any better than mid shin (and that was after fully warming up).
Kurz's book puts all of my coaches to shame and puts an end to the myth of inborn flexibility. I learned within the first 30 pages what I was doing wrong. Within two weeks of following his suggestions I can now easily touch my toes during the day without any warmup. This is the most flexible I have been in my life despite now being over 30.
The truth is that gaining flexiblity using his methods is much easier than what I was doing for all those years for 0 results. This book works.
It is true that there is a lot of scientific "filler" as one reviewer calls it and a distinct lack of pictures. I imagine it is kind of a dense read for people who haven't studied physiology so they might want to have a dictionary handy. Still, I had no problem creating a routine from the presented material that has produced amazing results.
I'm going to buy the video now. I hear it is pretty dated but If his suggestions worked this well without really knowing if I have been following them correctly I can't wait to get my routine closer to ideal.
-M
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111 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fourth edition gets it the fourth star., December 16, 2003
This review is from: Stretching Scientifically: A Guide to Flexibility Training (4th Revision ed) (Paperback)
*** This review is for the 4th edition, superceding my 3rd edition review.
Buying this new edition, especially since I thought the third edition was a good enough start, was a matter of integrity. I'd blistered the editors for not organizing the book well, and took the author to task for some vagaries in his descriptions and the lightness of graphical assistance, i.e. crummy drawings and mediocre photographs.
I can say that the editors improved the book significantly. The organization of the chapters is now more-logical, and it also begins in a very direct, simple manner that gradually adds complexity as you read. Which is fine, since concepts introduced earlier are laying a foundation of knowledge required for the later , extremely scientific chapter on how muscles, tendons, and ligaments work together to move your body in three dimensions.
I enjoyed the new edition more than the third, and I was very pleased with the updates and corrections. I believe you still need to invest some sweat to extract any value from this, but I would surmise no one is picking this up for light reading: this is an owner's manual for your body in some respects, and it requires hands-on application.
The fifth star is not forthcoming, and I don't think a fifth edition will change this. The photographs and stick figures you loved to hate from prior editions are still here, and I can't help wonder why the publisher didn't just run a contest at SVA or Pratt for book illustrators.
Still, there's less excuses for readers to employ if they can't figure out a good routine after reading this book, and Thomas Kurz's admonishing commentary is hilarious: I can actually see him as a professor taking some of the dimmer student body to task for not fully reading the relevant material. The FAQ section alone is worth the price of admission.
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