Stretch to Win

I read many stretching books in college while getting a Exercise Science/PE degree. Each one was absolute garbage and a waste of time. Until I read this book I pretty much dimissed stretching as a waste of time and a proper dynamic warm-up would be just fine. This book changed my my opinion on the importance of stretching.It explain why most stretching routines are outdated and can make you more tight. This book goes into great detail about how to find tight spots in your body that might be limiting your performance. The limits could be caused by injury, age, overuse etc. It also goes into great detail to explain tightness and pain at one point might be caused by from another point in the body. Case in point is I'm a competitive powerlifter. My hip has been very tight and has limited my squating. I did the self diagnosis testing and foudn out I had knots in my glutes which caused tightness in my hips. I took time and did a warm-up and some sport specific stretches before lifting as well as throughout the week when i was not lifting. Made a huge improve in my ability to squat without pain and allowed me to set up better on the bench press.I will say do not buy this book if you cannot think on your own. If you are the kind of person that follows workouts blindly from a magazine than you won't like the fact you have to think on your own. You will find plenty of ineffective stretching books out there.

This book provides:1. A systematic approach for identifying your movement restrictions and designing a program to resolve them2. Clear instruction on effective stretching, with a focus on developing the right combination of mobility and stability3. Specific guidelines for incorporating soft tissue work with a therapy ball into your exercise programMy personal experience applying just the stretching guidelines has been the following:1. My hips have opened quite a bit. I can comfortably drop into a deep squat.2. Foot pain I have had for almost a year is quickly going away3. A shoulder problem I went to physical therapy for but never quite finished fixing is rapidly improvingI've got the recommended equipment for the trigger point therapy on the way (a $10 Footsie roller and a $15 Fitball). If it does as much for me as the stretching has, I'm going to be a very happy person.On a professional basis, I've been certified by the ACSM as a Health / Fitness Instructor since 2002. I was certified by ACE as a Personal Trainer in 2000. I've read a number of other stretching books and watched several DVDs. This book is the clearest out of any of them, and is one of the few to recognize being overly flexible is just as bad as not being flexible enough. It's also one of the few to address the concept of promoting soft tissue quality to reduce risk of injury.Considering the price relative to other fitness products on the market, everyone should own a copy and apply the guidelines. Diligent attention to a sound program of mobility work will have more immediate impact on quality of life and ease of movement than just about any other form of exercise.

As a runner I purchased this book in hopes to understand why, how and when to stretch. The book answered the how and why in detail. As far as when, well that is what this book is all about. There is no one answer. The book tries to offer you a way to customize your own stretching program based on your needs. It walks you though a thorough assessment to help guide you on what stretches you would want to perform before and after your event or exercise (ie. running). Where the book fails is the ability to really implement a customized program. After reading it the entire book I was left with more knowledge but very little on implementation. I did incorporate many of the stretches in the book in my routine and changed a few things before and after my run as far as the type of stretches. I would suggest this book for anyone looking to put meaning to the stretches.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I read the entire book in just over a week, I couldn't keep my head out of it! I learn about my body and where I hold pain and tension and I was able to treat myself when I practiced the material within the book. My body and performance has improved tremendously and I have already started implementing some of the material with my own clients.

This book basically just introduces a different way of doing the stretching movement and coordinating it with your breathing. It's not a radically different approach. Certainly not as different as doing isometric stretches or PNF stretches for those who have only done static stretching in the past. The book's biggest failure would be its lack of information on developing your own sport specific program. From reading the book's description of itself, one gets the impression that you could develop a program that would be best suited to your favorite sport. There is a section in the book that lists many sports/activities and what sorts of movement patterns need addressed by stretches. There is another section that lists out all the various stretches, but there isn't a section that correlates the two. It's up to you to figure that out. There are some "sample routines, but these are generic and not sport specific. There is a video,  Flexibility For Sports Performance (Sports Conditioning)  that goes along with the book. While the book is ok overall, I highly discourage anyone from getting the video.

Wonderful well done.

Can't say I didn't like the book, though there was a lot unnecessary theory in it. Though, as a stretching routine book, it is quite complete. Just started their workout after a week or two of reading, let's hope to see some results soon.

The book is easy to read and has a lot of information on deep fascia stretching. I was looking for new information but I saw a lot of stretches I have seen before. Still, plenty of pictures and easy to implement the techniques with some practice.

This book was recommended to me by a physiotherapist after I injured my IT-band running a marathon. It goes through, with excellent clarity, the importance of stretching and how to do it properly.A fantastic read once you get past the hard-sell American marketing rhetoric that floods the early chapters (I've already bought it - stop selling it to me!) Their approach seems more holistic than other books on stretching that I've compared it with. They are almost Yoga-like in their methodology; they argue not just for a focus on the muscle or joint that is injured or that you want to stretch, but for the need of a fuller working in and around the area with stretches involving the connective tissue and periphery muscles as well.The early chapters do give a good understanding into how muscles are affected by training and after provides a guide to self diagnosis in the chapter on "Personal Flexibility Assessment". I diagnosed my IT band and they stressed the need to create a regime to gradually lengthen and loosen the muscles/connective tissue so I've been using the chapter on Restorative stretches. The first 8 or so stretches of which focus heavily on the hips and hamstrings and I've already noticed a massive difference. I can put more weight on it though I'm still not 100%, but I've noticed increased flexibility and rapid recovery.

Amazing book would recommend anyone who takes their personal development very serious within the fitness industry to purchase this. Great explanation on how to truly stretch and how to assess a client or yourself, gives detailed step by step explanation on what to look for and why.Has helped me massively and along with clients.

This is a very well written book, serious and clear and well illustrated.

Good if you have a lot of time on your hands. It's a hard read for someone like me who just wants to stretch to prevent injuries running & playing football. You'd be better off seeing a sports therapist as I've found out.

if you are exercising you need this book, for all the personal trainers out there you need this book, basically everyone needs this book. this will dramatically improve your flexibility