Books on muscles and flexibility

Started by irongymnast, August 19, 2009 · 4 Replies · 3,681 Views

irongymnast

I need 2 books.

1. One that discusses how every muscle is named in the human body and what exercise (bodyweight is preferred) can trigger that muscle. With illustrations.

2. One that discusses flexibility, how to improve flexibilility, exercises and general info on it.

I did some searching and I've found the following that look good:

for 1:

- http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Training ... 736063684/

- http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Strength- ... 071475338/

and maybe

- http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Muscl ... 579547699/

for 2:

- http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Stretchin ... 556435967/

- http://www.amazon.com/Stretching-Anatom ... 736059725/

Has anyone read any of those or have any kind of recommendation on either of these topics?

Daniel Hines

For flexibility, try Stretching Scientifically by Thomas Kurz. It covers all kinds of flexibility, with sections on static passive, static active, dynamic, and isometric stretching, as well as how to develop the splits. The 3rd edition is good, the 4th edition is much better.

Bryan Augstein
irongymnast said:
I need 2 books.

- http://www.amazon.com/Stretching-Anatom ... 736059725/

Has anyone read any of those or have any kind of recommendation on either of these topics?

I own this one. It's more of a combination of the 2 ideals you listed. It shows stretches, and an extremely comprehensive list of what muscles are stretched, going from muscles stretched the least to muscles stretched the most. The pictures are very accurate, and can help to show you where you should be feeling the stretch. The only con is that it isn't a very long book and doesn't list a great deal of stretches.

It's section on how to improve flexibility isn't that lengthy, but then again, it shouldn't have to be.

Jason Stein

My friend,

Tom Kurz's "Secrets of Stretching" is a great nuts-and-bolts guide to stretching, improving flexibility, and designing intelligent stretching practices.

jason