Customer Reviews

Stretching

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Stretching improves flexibility and energizes the body, but it is also important for good posture. ~Suzanne Martin

Suzanne Martin has cataloged almost every stretch known to humans in one book. Page after page of head-to-toe stretches are shown in full-color photography. You can either stretch during daily activities or create an entire stretching routine.

Contents:

What Is Stretching?
Head-To-Toe Catalog of Stretches
21-Day Posture Program
Basic Stretching Routines
Stretches for Sports - Tennis, Golf, Swimming
Stretches for Daily Activities - Computer use, Long Drives, Telephone Calls, Lifting,
Standing, Sitting, Hauling.
Stretches for Pregnancy
Therapeutic Stretches for Neck and Shoulders

By stretching the body, you can stay healthy and supple, prevent injury while playing sports or relieve pain and improve your posture. No matter what you hope to achieve, Suzanne Martin's book makes it possible.

Each picture has details, like "where you will feel the stretching taking place." There are also ideas about how stretching can prevent lower back pain or even prevent fluids from being trapped in the lower body (leg swelling.)

Highlights:

A Flexibility Test
Pictures
Modifications of Stretches including how to intensify stretches
Names for all the stretches

STRETCHING is an excellent guide to more stretching techniques than I have ever seen in an exercise routine/stretching routine DVD. The practical stretching, for say computer use, makes this book indispensable.

~The Rebecca Review

I went to several bookstores looking for this book. All I found were similar titles and one very inept salesperson that told me that this book wasn't "out" yet. I found this book immediately on Amazon.com and it was delivered to my door in less time than I spent driving around looking for it. This book is easy to read, has easy to follow instructions and photographs demonstrating the various stretching excersizes. I especially like the organized catalog format that makes it easy to reference.

I read one of the other reviews and would like to say that I am a man and I found this book very helpful. It is a great book for a "weekend warrior" exerciser such as myself. I would reccommend it.

The contents of this book are very good if you can overlook the misspellings and the entirely missing parts of sentences. It's a proofreading disaster! Did the editors etc. ever look at this book before it went into mass production? It makes me wonder if they left out some the important stretching information also!

Saw this book and thought I'd start becoming more flexible this year. It's great for specific areas like after a long drive, doing gardening or after specific workouts. Really enjoying it.

I have lifted weights for years and found that I couln't even touch my toes with my lack of stretching. I purchased this book as a great beginner into trying to get my muscles more relaxed. It gives a simple step by step way to improve flexibility and health. I felt a heck of allot better after using this inside of the first week.

Great variety of stretches. Very easy to follow with the examples. Author is very knowledgeable, just wish there was a DVD that went with it.

I love this book. The pictures are perfect and I love the fact that it reviews stretching for various activities and sports.

I borrowed this book from the library and used it for three weeks before I decided to purchase it. I love the way the exercises are organized and illustrated. The stretches themselves are very do-able and leave me feeling great! I'll be using this book for a long time.

This book did not suit me, because:

1. I am a man, and this book is clearly intended for women. All of the photos are of women, and the choice of topics gives special prominence to issues that interest women. That's fine, of course, if you're a woman. In fact, it's great! But since I am a man, I wish the description of the book had made it clear it was directed toward a particular gender. Frankly, I felt somewhat unwelcome within this book's pages.

2. The author has not understood the adage, "less is more." As a result, the reader is so overwhelmed by various stretches (and stretching regimes) that it's hard to know where to start. There is "head to toe" stretching, "21-days to better posture" stretching, "basic stretching", stretching for tennis, golf, swimming, soccer, etc, etc., "stretching for daily activities", "therapeutic stretching," and on and on. So where should the novice begin? And what should the novice do on a daily basis to increase flexibility? Those questions were never answered.

Although this book didn't suit me, it may work well for many women. It is very richly illustrated with clear color photographs, and the author's attention to pregnancy and post-pregnancy will certainly be appreciated by some. For general readers who just want to increase their flexibility -- and who are looking for a straight-forward program -- there are better choices, in my opinion. "Stretching", by Bob Anderson, is an excellent example.