Stretching

Stretching: 20th Anniversary (Stretching)

When Bob Anderson first published Stretching in 1980, the fitness movement was new to most Americans. The term aerobics had just been coined in 1968, and few people outside bodybuilding circles had heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger yet.

Now, fitness is such old hat that it's even had a backlash or two. Lots of the original ideas have been called into question, including the preeminence of aerobic exercise. But flexibility is bigger than ever; Pilates and yoga are two of the fastest-growing fitness programs in the U.S. in the early 2000s. The type of stretching Anderson recommends--called "static," meaning you sit in one place and hold the stretch for a specified amount of time--isn't exactly trendy, but it remains the most accessible way for entry-level exercisers to improve their flexibility. (Or, perhaps more important, to keep from losing whatever flexibility they have as they get older.)

Those who already have the version of the book that's been put out by Shelter Publications since 1980 won't find a whole lot that's new in this 20th-anniversary version. Some of the simple drawings by Anderson's wife, Jean, have been updated to show athletes in sport-specific outfits doing stretching routines, and there are more routines than before. The new edition includes routines for children, stretches to do in front of the TV, and some exercises to do before and after gardening. Plus, the old staples remain--stretching routines for all muscle groups, and pre- and postplay sequences for common sports (football, baseball, basketball) and a few uncommon ones (equestrian, motocross, rodeo). He's also created routines for sports that barely existed in 1980, such as snowboarding, triathloning, and inline skating.

The constant in Stretching is ease of use. Anderson doesn't need a lot of complex explanations because the drawings are so easy to follow. He makes it clear that stretching should make you feel better, not worse, and that it's not a competition. Any little bit you can do is better than not doing anything. That's a timeless message, which is why his book has been such an valuable reference for the past 20 years. --Lou Schuler

Stretching Anatomy

See inside every stretch--and maximize flexibility! Stretching Anatomy will arm you with the knowledge to increase range of motion, supplement training, enhance recovery, and maximize efficiency of movement. Youll also gain a detailed understanding of how each stretch affects your body. Stretching Anatomy is like having an X-ray of each stretch, only better. Not only do you see full-color illustrations of the muscles in action, but you also find out how changes in position can alter the muscle emphasis and difficulty and how variations can improve safety and effectiveness. Each exercise includes detailed instruction on how to stretch, when to stretch, primary and secondary muscle emphasis, and which muscles are activated for support. Stretching programs provide three levels of difficulty, including light stretching that can be used as a warm-up or to aid in recovery from soreness or injury. And summary movement tables show how to customize stretching programs to focus on key problem areas.

The Anatomy of Stretching

Books on stretching are common, but The Anatomy of Stretching takes a more fundamental approach than the others, taking the reader inside the body to show exactly what is happening during a stretch. At the heart of the book are 300 full-color illustrations that show the primary and secondary muscles worked in 115 key stretches arranged by body area. Author Brad Walker brings years of expertise—he works with elite-level and world-champion athletes, and lectures on injury prevention—to this how-to guide. He looks at stretching from every angle, including physiology and flexibility; the benefits of stretching; the different types of stretching; rules for safe stretching; and how to stretch properly. Aimed at fitness enthusiasts of any level, as well as at fitness pros, The Anatomy of Stretching also focuses on which stretches are useful for the alleviation or rehabilitation of specific sports injuries.

Natural Flexibility: The New Risk-Free Alternative to Stretching

Natural Flexibility, a new title by Dr. Charles Kenny, introduces progressive sequential isometrics (PSI for short), a new alternative to traditional stretching, which combines principles of Pilates, Martial Arts, Dance, and Gymnastics into a work-out that allows you to strengthen your body and increase your flexibility simultaneously. Traditional stretching has come under scrutiny recently as a possible contributor to injury in athletes.

While regular, passive stretching pulls at your tendons and joints in an effort to increase your range of motion, PSI, as outlined in Natural Flexibility actually strengthens your entire range of motion as it expands it, thereby preventing injury and strengthening performance simultaneously. Progressive sequential isometric exercise provides an alternative warm-up system for athletes and dancers that strengthens and reinforces your body as you prepare for activity.

Natural Flexibility provides exercise and warm-ups for numerous activities, including:

·The Six-Minute Warm-Up: this provides a natural, fast, and safe method for athletes to warm up before any competition or physical activity.
·Wake-up Body Movements: these provide an energizing and invigorating work out first thing in the morning.
·Clock Stepping: a simple exercise that can improve your ability to balance and prevent slips and falls.
·When You’re Sore: exercises to explore your body when you are stiff or sore, to determine if it is safe to continue working out.
·Your Chiropractor in Your Pocket: an easy way to relieve back pain in just a few minutes a day, or even on demand.

The exercise and activities outlined in Natural Flexibility are accessible to all, not just athletes, and provide a simple way for anyone to increase their level of fitness in a safe and healthy manner, without the risks inherent to traditional stretching.

The Genius of Flexibility: The Smart Way to Stretch and Strengthen Your Body

The Technique: RESISTANCE STRETCHING® offers immediate, cumulative, and permanent increases in flexibility, takes the pain out of stretching, and protects you from injuring yourself by overstretching.

The Program: THE MERIDIAN FLEXIBILITY SYSTEM® provides stretches for sixteen unique muscle groups with physiological and psychological benefits.

The Eat-Clean Diet Workout: Quick Routines for Your Best Body Ever (with DVD)

Eating Clean gets and keeps you lean. But if you want your metabolism to burn faster than ever before; if you want to shape the body you've always wanted; then The Eat-Clean Diet Workout is for you.Think fitness comes only with hour upon hour of exercise? Nope! Tosca will show you that you can have a better body than you ever dreamed possible, in 30 minutes a day, four days a week. Don't believe it? You will, 'cause Tosca's workout will get you there.

The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution: The Slow Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week

Join the Slow Burn Fitness Revolution!

In The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution, authors of the three-million-copy bestseller Protein Power team up with leading fitness expert Fred Hahn to revolutionize the way America gets strong, lean, and healthy. The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution lays out the accumulating body of scientific evidence that shows the spend-hours-in-the-gym approach to exercise is over. The Slow Burn exercise routine gives great results in just 30 minutes a week. With Slow Burn, you will:

*Get strong fast
*Increase bone density and ward off osteoporosis
*Improve cardiovascular health
*Enhance flexibility
*Say goodbye to lower back pain
*Increase your metabolism, and
*Make your body a powerful fat-burning machine

Slow Burn promises a leaner, fitter, stronger you with a realistic workout that lets you have a great body and a life!

Ultimate Flexibility: A Complete Guide to Stretching for Martial Arts

Ultimate Flexibility is the book you've been waiting for. More than a collection of exercises or an explanation of technique, Ultimate Flexibility is a complete guide to stretching for martial arts, from the very basics of why you should stretch to detailed workout guidelines for every style and level of martial arts practice. Written by acclaimed author and martial artist Sang H Kim, Ultimate Flexibility is your guide to achieving maximum flexibility in your training. Begin with an in depth look at the hows and whys of flexibility and stretching. Learn about the many types of stretching, which methods are best for beginners, when to graduate to advanced techniques and why you should completely avoid certain types of exercises. You'll also find information that you wont find in any other martial art book, including a detailed exploration of how your body works for or against you in your training and how flexibility can make you stronger and faster. Building on this foundation, Sang H Kim teaches you nearly 200 flexibility exercises that he has personally used to achieve the highest levels of flexibility. You'l get detailed instructions, workout planning guides, goal setting tips, difficulty levels, injury prevention and recovery, and over 400 photos to guide you. Special bonus sections: 10 Tips for Full Splits, 20 Tips for High Kicks and 10 workouts for specific martial art types.

The Whartons' Stretch Book

One of the dirty secrets of the fitness world is that for all the talk about the importance of stretching, many athletes and other fit people don't bother with it. It's hard to gauge the benefits, and it seems as if the time could be better spent running, lifting weights, or perfecting sports skills. This sentiment is expressed by Dr. Bob Arnot in the foreword to "The Whartons' Stretch Book," and he says that the Whartons changed his mind. He went to them with a stiffened hip that he thought needed surgery, but after a regimen using the active-isolated stretching technique, his flexibility in that hip had increased 40 percent.

Active-isolated stretching is very different from what your high-school gym teacher made you do. Rather than holding a stretch for a half-minute, you hold it for just two seconds. This prevents the muscle from activating an instinctual braking device to keep itself from overstretching. Traditional stretching forces that braking to occur, and the Whartons think that's not only counterproductive, but dangerous. If you force too deep a stretch while the muscle is doing all it can to keep itself from being stretched, something's got to give. And a torn muscle will repair itself with scar tissue, ultimately making that muscle less flexible.

The Whartons--a father-and-son personal-training team who've worked with many pro athletes and Olympic medalists--show you how to use their stretches to prepare for dozens of sports, from aerobics to wrestling. Nonathletes get an entire section of the book, which describes stretch routines to get your body feeling better after prolonged driving, sitting, standing, and word processing. The routines are a bit on the longish side--20 minutes or more--but it doesn't seem like much time when you think of how long you have to live in your body, and how much better it will feel if you keep it supple and flexible. --Lou Schuler

Whether you're a serious competitor or weekend warrior, you know that proper stretching before and after your workout can improve your performance, increase your flexibility, help prevent injury, and make you feel better. But did you know that the traditional way of stretching -- lock your knees, bounce, hold, hurt, hold longer -- actually makes muscles tighter and more prone to injury?

There's a new and better way to stretch: Active-Isolated Stretching. And with The Whartons' Stretch Book,  the method used successfully by scores of professional, amateur, and Olympic athletes is now available to everyone.

This groundbreaking technique, developed by researchers, coaches, and trainers, and pioneered by Jim and Phil Wharton, is your new exercise prescription. The routine is simple: First, you prepare to stretch one isolated muscle at a time. Then you actively contract the muscle opposite the isolated muscle, which will then relax in preparation for its stretch. You stretch it gently and quickly -- for no more than two seconds -- and release it before it goes into its protective contraction. Then you repeat. Simple, but the results are outstanding. The Whartons' Stretch Book explains it all.

Part I contains the Active-Isolated Stretch Catalog, with fully illustrated, easy-to-follow stretches for each of five body zones, from neck and shoulders to trunk, arms, and legs -- over fifty stretches in all. Part II offers specific stretching prescriptions for over fifty-five sports and activities, from running, tennis, track, and aerobics to skiing, skating, and swimming. You'll also find advice on stretching for daily activities such as driving, working at a desk, lifting, and keyboarding. Part III discusses stretching for life, with specific recommendations for expectant mothers and older athletes. It also includes specific stretching exercises that could help you avoid unnecessary surgery.

Give Active-Isolated Stretching a try for three weeks. You'll never go back to your old stretching routines again.

Stretching Scientifically: A Guide to Flexibility Training (4th Revision ed)

Use our method to attain maximum height in your kicks and to be able to kick at that height with no warm-up!

Learn:
* How to stretch safely and quickly to achieve and maintain your maximum flexibility
* How to make your muscles grow stronger and longer so you stay flexible all the time
* How to do splits even if you are over 40 or 50
* How to kick high and do splits with no warm-up
* How to develop each of the three kinds of flexibility—dynamic, static active and static passive—to suit every athlete's needs
* What exercises are "no-no's" if you want to stretch your muscles
* All the factors limiting flexibility
* Brilliantly simple tests of hip joint mobility and muscle length that dispel common misconceptions of what limits flexibility the most