99.1 - Recommendations (Stretching)
Description
This article is from the Stretching FAQ, by Brad Appleton Brad_Appleton@ivhs.mot.com with numerous contributions by others.
99.1 - Recommendations (Stretching)
My best recommendations are for `Sport Stretch' and `Stretching
Scientifically', followed by `Health & Fitness Excellence', `SynerStretch',
or `Stretch and Strengthen'. `Mobility Training for the Martial Arts' also
has quite a bit of valuable information and stretches. `The Health for
Life Training Advisor' has a *lot* of information about stretching and
muscle physiology, but it is not strictly about stretching and contains a
*ton* of other information about all aspects of athletic training and
performance (which I find to be invaluable). If you don't want to get into
too much technical detail and are looking for a quick but informative read,
then I recommend `Stretching Without Pain'. If you really want to delve
into all the technical aspects of stretching, including physiology,
neurophysiology, and functional anatomy, then you must get `Science of
Stretching'. If you want to know more about PNF stretching, then
`Facilitated Stretching' is the book to get. If you are looking for yoga
or active stretches you simply must take a look at `ExTension' (also your
local library probably has quite a few books and/or videotapes of yoga
exercises). If you want to know more about muscle anatomy and physiology
but don't have a lot of technical interest or background in those two
fields, `The Muscle Book' is highly recommended.
Many of the other books don't have as much detail about stretching and what
happens to your muscles during a particular stretch, they just present (and
illustrate) a variety of different exercises. Also, most of the stretches
presented in these books are to be performed alone. `Sport Stretch',
`SynerStretch' (both the videotape and the book), and `Mobility Training
for the Martial Arts' present stretches that you can perform with the
assistance of a partner.
In general, `Health For Life' (also known as `HFL') and `Human Kinetics
Publishers' have a tremendously wide variety of technical, no-nonsense,
exercise related books and videotapes. I would highly recommend contacting
both organizations and asking for their free catalogs:
Human Kinetics Publishers
1607 North Market Street
P.O. Box 5076
Champaign, IL USA 61825-5076
1-800-747-4457 (US)
1-800-465-7301 (Canada)
Health For Life
8033 Sunset Blvd., Suite 483
Los Angeles, CA USA 90046
1-800-874-5339
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