Anatomy of Stretching

A Guide to Increasing Your Flexibility

Craig Ramsay

• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781684120901
• eBook ISBN: 9781607105244
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Anatomy
• Index: Biological Sciences

Get healthy without getting hurt with this guide to warming up, getting limber, and preventing injury before you exercise.

It doesn't matter if you're a fitness novice or an elite athlete. You should be starting each workout exactly the same way, with a stretching regimen designed to warm up your body and help you achieve a new personal best each time. Without the expertise of a professional trainer and without an expert's understanding of muscle anatomy, it can be hard to know what exercises are best. In Anatomy of Stretching, renowned trainer Craig Ramsay shows every exerciser how to get limber and prevent injury.

·In Anatomy of Stretching, you'll learn when and how to do a tricep stretch and a shoulder stretch, when to avoid toe touches and hamstring stretches, and why it's important to keep your neck relaxed during a hip flexor stretch.

·While taking you through each movement step by step, Anatomy of Stretching also goes beneath the skin to allow you to see just which muscles you are working during each stretch.

·Throughout the book, more than 300 full-color images show every pose and every muscle in detail.

Get limber—and get the most out of your workout—with Anatomy of Stretching!

THE STRETCHING SESSION

Like a dance number that moves with a natural grace and flow, so should your stretching routine. But grace and flow only come with practice. Practicing the following routine will benefit you—it will become easier with repetition because it’s designed to flow from stretch to stretch.

Practice the Stretching Session so that you can recall the order without thinking, which shortens the movements between the stretches and creates a connective circuit. With the flow of movement uninterrupted by unnecessary level changes, it allows you to enter into a calm meditative state. You work on the mind as well as the body.

Isolation and Control

When performing this stretch routine, focus on isolation and control. Isolating a muscle helps you understand how it works. You can give it greater control over the stretch, which allows you the time and focus necessary to change and gauge the intensity. For beginners, the fewer muscles you try to stretch at one time, the better.

Controlling your stretch with proper weight distribution, involving the hands and arms, and proper form are important to help you gauge the intensity of the stretch. As you learn to control the range of movement and intensity of the stretches, you will rely less and less on a trainer. The goal here is for you to become a responsible, self-sufficient stretcher.

Holding the Stretch

Unless otherwise...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction: Stretching for a Better Life
• Build a Stretching Routine
• Full-Body Anatomy
• The Stretching Session
• Partner Stretches
• Pregnancy Stretches
• Office Stretches
• Foam Roller Stretches
• Extreme Challenge
• The Quick Stretch Program
• Credits and Acknowledgments
• About the Author