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Sport Stretch - Michael Alter
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Sport Stretch
by Michael Alter
NEW, 232 pages
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About Sport Stretch
This new edition of Sport Stretch is a complete guide to flexibility for both weekend warriors and elite competitors. It features more stretches than the first edition, a new user-friendly layout, and more background information on the hows and whys of stretching.
The centerpieces of this comprehensive book are its illustrations and step-by-step guidelines for 311 different stretches. The stretches can be used individually or grouped with other stretches to form a personalized flexibility program.
Athletes looking to use the stretches to improve performance in a specific sport will love the book`s Stretching Program section. It`s full of handy tables that detail the most effective exercises for individual sports. There are sample programs for 41 sports in all!
Sport Stretch also provides a selection of "All Star" stretches. These include the single best stretches for 28 muscle groups and the 12 best stretches overall. The exercises are perfect to use for warming up and cooling down.
For those who are looking for background information on flexibility, this book explains the basic principles of stretching and describes how the body responds during stretching. Readers will discover what causes muscle soreness, how increased flexibility translates directly into better performance and lessens the chances of injury, and more.
Sport Stretch has everything athletes need to limber up and play their best. It takes the guesswork out of stretching by providing 311 exercises for 41 sports.
About Michael Alter
A former gymnast, coach, and nationally certified men's
gymnastics judge, Michael J. Alter is an expert on the subject of stretching. He is the author of Science of Flexibility, Science of Stretching, and the first edition of Sport Stretch.
Alter earned his MS in health education from Florida International University in 1976. He taught high school physical education and coached gymnastics for several years prior to his current position in Miami as a high school teacher.
Alter has been a guest lecturer at annual meetings across the country, including the 1994 Chiropractic Sports Science Symposium and the 1992 Scientific Meeting of the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine.
In his leisure time, Alter enjoys bicycling, listening to classical music, working out with weights, and studying sports medicine.
Reviews of this book
"The American Running and Fitness Association has been recommending Sport Stretch since it first came out. This new edition is even better. Alter provides a smorgasbord of stretches, so it's easy to find one that works for you. No matter what your sport is, Alter can help your flexibility, and possibly your performance."
Susan Kalish
Former Executive Director
American Running and Fitness Association
About Stretching
Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle (or muscle group) is deliberately elongated to its fullest length (often by abduction from the torso) in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility and range of motion. Stretching is also used therapeutically to alleviate cramps.
Stretching, in its most basic form, is a natural and instinctive activity; it is performed by many animals including humans. It can be accompanied by yawning. Stretching often occurs instinctively after waking from sleep, after long periods of inactivity, or after exiting confined spaces and areas.
Many athletes stretch deliberately before or after exercise in order to increase performance and reduce injury.
In the literature described by Michael Yessis, there are many beneficial stretches that can improve range of motion (ROM) in athletes, especially runners. In his review, he cites benefits of stretching:
1. may improve ROM
2. reduce risk of injury during activity
3. prevent post-exercise muscle soreness
4. slow delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
To gain these benefits, Yessis describes different forms of stretching along with their individual benefits. He suggests that one stretching exercise may not be enough to prevent all types of injury. Therefore, multiple stretching exercises should be used to gain the full effects of stretching.
Research by Sharman et al. sought to find what techniques elongate muscles through "proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation" (PNF) stretching. They used around seventy sources to compile their data. In this review, PNF stretching yielded the greatest change in range of motion (ROM), especially short-term benefits. Ballistic stretching was also beneficial in comparison; however, PNF techniques emphasize active flexibility and therefore get better results. Reasoning behind the biomechanical benefit of PNF stretching points to muscular reflex relaxation found in the musculotendinous unit being stretched. More common findings in literature suggest that PNF benefits are due to influence on the joint where the stretch is felt.
Sport Stretch
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