(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best stretching & fitness books

It’s used in agility exercises but not as pictured by op. There’s platforms that essentially strap you in 360 where you practice burst like movements such as takeoff running, cutting, and jumping. If you’re concerned with agility you need to understand that agility can improve independently from stability so if training incorrectly then you could be subject to a much higher risk of injury. Exercising with bands can help increase your stability which decreases risk of injury which keeps you practicing harder and improves with time. So directly, yes, indirectly, yes, how you may be considering using them for agility, unlikely. I recommend reading through Delavier’s books to read up more on the subject. They’re anatomy illustration heave and pretty friendly for those not specializing in sports science.

Edit:

For those interested, I’m linking ONE of Delavier’s books on amazon. He is a very talented and committed author who offers the fitness world something unique, please purchase his books if you can. He’s also a very nice guy and will gladly discuss his books with you but he only speaks French. I have all but maybe 4 of his books and I don’t regret spending the money at all, you’ll be a happier healthier athlete for having read his books or at least referenced them.

Delavier, stretching book

And a link to one of the many many items that use resistance bands to increase performance. This one was honestly new to me.

Mass Suit

This was the gold standard for a considerable amount of time for performance related professional grade equipment but the price was too high and cheaper alternatives with similar results(some improvement) are used now. The Vertimax has its place for sure but the cost and space required are usually too much to ask for.

Vertimax website

For those of us who have an offseason - either because weather demands it or because you just choose to work harder in some seasons than others - having a training plan is both critical and awesome. Like many, I mostly referee in the Fall and Spring HS/College seasons, with an occasional youth game outside of that - being in shape for 3-5 games/week is very different than a Saturday or Sunday game. (I do other things, like ski, and adjust accordingly, but this is a basic plan.)

My goal is to continually improve my running endurance and overall fitness without overdoing it and causing injury, plus enjoying what I do.

My plan looks like this:

--3days/week running - every run is challenging in some way. I follow the Train Smart, Run Forever plans (https://www.amazon.com/Runners-World-Train-Smart-Forever/dp/1623367468) - one interval, one tempo, one long - but you can choose something else, as long as they are real work. It's enough to really improve your cardio fitness without reaching injury thresholds.

--2-3 days/week strength training - I tend to avoid significant strength training on my lower body during heavy soccer season - it just creates too much strain and exhaustion. I'm able to more balance that training during the offseason. I always have two days: I sometimes add a third depending on schedule.

--1-2 days/week cross-training. I use a stationary bike - I do this quickly, like a 20min HIIT ride - I enjoy it in small doses. If I have a game that week, I'll generally swap this out.

--1 day rest. (Some of the bike/weight days are the same.)

I'll sometimes mix things up with a group training session of some kind, etc., but this is the basic plan. I love it.

I recommend two things: read this series of articles and get this book. These recommendations are for several reasons.

1. Yoga is not as good for developing flexibility as a dedicated flexibility training program. The same way that if you showed up saying you're super flexible and wanted to develop strength I'd tell you to do weights rather than yoga, I have to tell you this.
   
   
   
2. There is a lot of quacky information on the internet about flexibility. The above guides are motivated by a medical understanding of how flexibility works and develops.
   
   
   
3. Understanding the core principles of how flexibility works will help you tailor a training routine which works with your personal goals and aims. The book, in particular, is highly focused on this. It's like 50 pages of explaining the core principles of flexibility training and 200 pages of targeted exercises.

It’s not a dumb question at all. No one is expected to just know how to do these things. It’ll take some to learn and under stand but there is a tonne of info around, which in itself might make it more confusing for you.

I would recommend this book to get you started. It’s cheap and thorough.

https://www.amazon.com/Strength-Training-Complete-Step-Step/dp/0756654475?ref_=Oct_RAsinS_16642_55

Putting it all together might be more difficult. You might benefit from some personal training. Most gyms do packages. So enquire with someone who genuinely looks like they know what they are doing, someone who looks quite fit, someone you would like to look like physically possibly, depending on your goals.

Your goal should be to learn which exercises, target which muscles in the body, and develop a full body work out plan. A good PT can help you with this spending time in the gym itself and watching what other people do and saying hello, if you are a generally approachable person, someone may offer you to train with them.

Mestre Acordeon's book is a trip but is not technique-based. It's a story of heroism and selfishness like none that I've ever read. In the realm of Capoeira I have nothing but respect for the man but as a family man, if what he writes is true, well...

Anyhow, here is a book that is pretty nice.

And also this is very good for beginner's.

Been working on weight training this off-season. "Starting Strength" seems to be the equivalent of "The Cyclists Training Bible" for general strength training. Everyone should read it. Maybe twice.

My back is my main limiter. I had a bad case of thoracic hyphosis (aka "nerd neck") so I needed to fix that and train up my upper-back muscles in order to be able to safely squat heavy. I'm thinking the added strength and mobility will help for holding my head up after long hours on the bike.

I've brought my Bulgarian squat up from 3x5's at 80 lbs to 3x5's @ 130 lbs. I've also brought my weight up by 7 lbs, so I guess I'll be carrying that around. But it's pretty flat where I live and race so I wouldn't mind trading some W/KG for some raw watts.

I'm planning to continue building strength through base and switch to more speed/power movements during build. I'm going to incorporate the fast lunges described in Maximum Overload (terrible book, fine idea) for blocks of 30s to 5m. I think that will be a good accessory to VO2max intervals. Hard days will get harder, so easy days will need to get easier.

Flexibility Express: Thomas Kurz
Great dvd with a good work out program.




Power-Flex Stretching: David De Angelis
Great Ebook with alot of info, well worth the read.




Legendary Flexibility:Jujimufu
Good ebook.Has a work out routine and also alot of info.

That's the third time I've seen that book mentioned so I will have to check it out.

Our library has his earlier book but not that one, will have to break down and buy it (every dollar is like one more dollar I needed to save for shoes, lol)

They do have this one for free online reading though, checking it out now
https://amazon.com/dp/1583335382 - funny how he mentions LSD running which is the "old school" stuff I was trained on

Buy this book. it is written for cycling but the concepts are the same. I have used these theories on Endurance HR training to put up my best times with the least amount of training,in everything from 5k's to 50mile ultras, by training smarter. You need a full year to make it stick though, but you will never regret it.

OK, I am the absolutely WORST about stretching. I just hate taking the time to do it. But I do have a great book on the subject. This is it. It contains clear, full color photographs and descriptions of various stretches and they're categorized by body part. It also has a number of stretching routines already laid out for you, including ones specifically for improving posture and for people who strength train.

Also, here's a good read on anterior pelvic tilt.

Edited to add a very important and.

There's a book out, ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life which I've been reading which gets into it. It's a legit thing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFU624S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I have given this book to most of my male family members and friends. A good reference a solid novice plan as well. Also gives a lite glossing over of nutrition.

You should check out the book the flexible golf swing. Had a similar problem when I changed up my swing and have suffered from back issues for a long time. A lot of it was I did not have the proper flexibility to swing the club with proper mechanics. This book is about stretching and developing the muscle groups needed to swing the club. It has done wonders for my swing and the ability to get my hips rotating without lots of tension on the lower back

The Flexible Golf Swing: A Cutting-Edge Guide to Improving Flexibility and Mastering Golf's True Fundamen tals https://www.amazon.com/dp/1623361397/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tPg8AbVS7E8XT

here's a pretty good book on the subject

Noted and added to my list, thank you.

It must be good, if there's a copy for £2,499.50

So, this is probably as good a time as any to admit that I own this book.

I have been unable to touch my toes since I was six. About three months ago, I got serous about researching flexibility. I found /r/flexibility, where they recommend Kit Laughlin's book Stretching and Flexibility. He has a unique approach for adults to increase flexibility. The short of it is that traditional static stretching primarily preserves flexibility, but doesn't effectively increase it. In two months of applying his material, I have actually reached a point where I can touch my toes, so it's working for me.

I really enjoyed "Going Long" a collection of feature stories from Runners World over the years.
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Long-Oddballs-Comebacks-Adventures/dp/1605295337/ref=pd_sim_14_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=515LjM2-i6L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=144BFFX4PXMXSZNY5K4Z

There is a book of essays, produced by Runners World called 'Going Long', that contains an essay called 'A Six Minute Difference' by Cynthia Gorney, which is about a runner called Janet Furman Bowman that went M->F, you may find it interesting.

Just found it online - http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/6-minute-difference?page=single

Running for Mortals by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield (amazon link) helped motivate me.

Relevant.

For when you're too out of shape to dance with cats and need to get fit.

Stretching Anatomy by Arnold G. Nelson and Jouko Kokkonen

Delavier's Stretching Anatomy by Frederic Delavier

Anatomy of Stretching by Craig Ramsay

Prescriptive Stretching by Kristian Berg

I did notice a couple of books available as ebooks:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Capoeira-100-Illustrated-Essential-Techniques-ebook/dp/B008GMSFLA
http://www.lulu.com/shop/neil-gleadall/fighting-on-the-beaches-a-year-of-capoeira-in-brazil/ebook/product-17559209.html

Edit: to add second book

This is a real thing. Seriously.
http://www.amazon.com/Catflexing-Catlovers-Training-Aerobics-Stretching/dp/0898159407