Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100269 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 214 pages

Customer Reviews

Hard Work
Was initially delighted to have been given this book to complement my gym sessions. Knowing it would be technical, I was happily ready for a 'heavy' read. Sadly, you need to be an athlete already familiar with the terminology who has been getting it wrong/wants to get it 'more right' to really profit from this publication. For a committed, articulate and determined non-athlete who realises stretching is necessary, it may well find you wishing you had not ventured into becoming better informed. The different stretching categories are skimmed over and, shared terminology and lack of corresponding illustrations/examples compound the problem. You are left feeling that you had better decide which professional sport you are going to take up before you proceed. I persevered and was enthused to read about the benefits of a morning stretch - but lack of examples and routine left me feeling frustrated and desperately trying to imagine what this might entail - you then find yourself flicking around the book to find examples and all sequence and progression goes out the window. I have no doubt this is a brilliant publication for those in the 'know' - for those who want the 'know', it's a challenge to get the know-ledge.

Over complicated - not as simple as it could be
Good in depth book but the author likes to dazzle with complicated explainations of what is really a simple process. Even though Pavel T books are more expensive (get them from marketplace) they explain things in simple terms. To do the splits in surprisngly easy once you know how and I purchased this book for reference as I can already do them. Personally it is just a little too complicated and over blown when simplicity would have been the order of the day.

Flex to the Max
Revealing some secrets of Eastern European training techniques (remember their Olympic triumphs), Thomas Kurz brings you them from the personal perspective of both athlete and qualified coach. Starting with the theory on muscle make-up and why some people are fast and others can run forever, you also learn to test your own maximum flexibility. Kurz then moves on to the four types of stretching - fully explained with photo examples - and which one or combination will suit you and your sport best, and how to arrange a training program.

Included is instruction on how to, and how often, to stretch, and which exercises to avoid as they are detrimental to maximum flexibility, as well as how one quick set of exercises in the morning will maintain your maximum flexibility throughout the day, by teaching the brain and muscles that capability so they automatically remember it.

And best of all - the author states his method, if followed correctly, will help you reach your maximum flexibility within one month.

As a martial artist I found the information in this book gave me an immediate improvement, without the pain for gain principles usually expected from normal stretching methods in that sport.