Rating: 
Summary: Where has this guy been all my life?
Review: My mother always said better late than never. This probably best describes how little I really knew about stretching and how much I learned from this book. Easy reading, to the point,and best of all effective. The amount of time saved getting the flexibility you want and need makes the book one of the best investments you can make as an athlete.
Rating: 
Summary: Beyond Stretching
Review: Pavel Tsatsouline has written an excellent book on stretching. His target audience could be sports physiologists, professional athletics, SWAT team members, experts in martial arts, etc. I do not have these credentials but I found his 60 exercises in stretching in the third section of his book limbered my body so much that I felt like I was 16 years old again. I have been practicing Yoga for many years and have been Rolfed a number of times, however neither one removed the stiffness in my back and right leg. Practicing Tsatsouline's exercises for the first time unbelievably removed the stiffness for a whole day. He has thought the exercises through very carefully. Some are easy, others are more extreme and challenging, and many are very innovative; they all help to remove stiffness in different muscles or muscle groups. His exercises have been inspired by Yoga postures, martial art drills, weightlifting, desire for extreme flexibility including leg splits, and his intuitive knowledge of how the human physiology works. I did not fathom the details of advanced stretching that are presented; I would suggest he rewrite the first two sections of the book about 40% of the book so that the they would be easier to comprehend. I am content with his stretching program of 60 exercises, which takes long enough. Some of the theories of extreme flexibility are brought out with the various stretches. The exercises themselves make the book very worth while, 87 pages worth. I would recommend the book to anyone desiring a more relaxed and flexible body.
Rating:
Summary: The Russian way to ultimate flexibility- the ONLY way to go!
Review: Pavel's stretching protocol should be considered the first, last, and only choice for athletes, full-contact fighters, and sedentary folks alike for achieving maximum results in minimal time. This system actually teaches you how to reset the neuro-muscular control of your muscles! No kidding, by following the specialized methods in this book, even an untrained, middle aged man can achieve FULL SPLITS in less than half a year... fighters will learn specialized kicking drils and "dynamic flexibility" drills that greatly improve the velocity and destructive power of your kicks while at the same time protecting the knee ligaments from injury - even if you miss a full-power kick! Using these techniques I got incredible results in under a week. Pavel teaches how to achieve extreme range strength(vital for preventing injuries)and how to manipulate your "feedback loop" to increase your functional strength. This book also details sport-specific flexibility and strength principles of "accentuation", which dramatically increase performance in the movements essential to your chosen sport. My punches and kicks got an immediate boost in sharpness and power and my joints actually feel good afterwards. Pavel's system does not stress ligaments or tendons and therefore does not produce the weak, rag-doll looseness that conventional western relaxed stretching produces. It is a no-delayed gratification deal. You will also learn how much flexibility you actually need for a given athletic pursuit, and what to do if you already have the "rag-doll" problem (i.e., how to fix overflexibility), and how to tailor your reflexes for maximum performance! As if that weren't enough, Pavel teaches why warmups are actually counterproductive and how to display maximum flexibility "cold"! Also, SIXTY illustrated drills are provided to speed you on your way to dynamic, powerful, flexibility in motion - perfect for the fighter, athlete, and even those with joint problems! I am shocked and amazed at the quality of the results that his training methods have produced for me. And in so little time! There is something here for everyone, and I give this book (and all Pavel's books) my highest recommendation. Truly, a masterpiece that belongs in every athlete's collection.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING : Don't waste your money on this book
Review: Save your money for any number of other stretching and flexibility books on the market-Kurz's book is much better (and cheaper). In fact, talk to someone who knows what they are talking about-because Pavel certainly doesn't when it comes to flexibility.Apart from the poor quality of photos and sparse explanations for each exercise, doing these exercises at the speed recommended each morning can actually damage your joints and decrease your flexibility. I know, because that is my experience, having spent three months of doing the ballistic stretches Mr. Tsatsouline advocates on a daily basis without a warmup of any kind(as he advises). As a direct result of this method of stretching, I developed creaky knees and pain in the lower back and ended up having to stop stretching altogether for over a month. My doctor is now familiar with this book and warns people against buying it.
Mr. Tsatsouline's approach is a poor example of USSR-style flexibility training at best. He does not back up what he says by researched references, a number of his exercises do not have clear instructions at all (including no photos) and those that do are often padded out with humerous anecdotes which serve no purpose other than making the book a lot longer than it needs be.
This book is a real risk to the health of your joints as well as your flexibility. You could do a lot better for a lot less money.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting new approach to stretching
Review: This book is well written (even a little funny!) and has some great infor about stretching. It dispels a lot of classic stretching myths and gives some good solid approaches to aachieving better flexability. It's helping me become more flexable a lot faster than I was progressing using the "classical" approach. It's a must for martial artists! Check it out.
Rating: 
Summary: A great wallet stretcher, but that's about it....
Review: This book was a disappointment. I have no idea how this book could garner a 5-star rating, especially when you factor in the cost. YES, there are some interesting concepts, some of which conflict with "western" practices. You will be beated into submission about how slow stretching is for pansies. The overall concept of this book is really nothing more than a hybrid approach, with emphasis on working the body parts only to the flexibility point that YOU really need for YOUR sport/activity. The best concept I got from the book, FLEXIBILITY WITHOUT STRENGTH IS USELESS. BOOK FORMAT: Overall layout and chapters, WEAK. The pages of text are cropped and only fill the center of the pages. Pictures are grainy and gee-zow most of them are of the most simple stretching excercises ever seen, you know, the kind you can pick up at any doctors office or gymnasium. Sorry for the bummer write-up, but I gotta tell it like it is.
Rating:
Summary: Bad, Dangerous, and Unbearably Over-priced
Review: This is not only a bad, but a dangerous book. And it's not really a book about stretching, but rather strength training with extreme exercises. Examples: P. 14: ". . . wean yourself off warmups and eventually drop them entirely."" P. 25: " I put him (a kickboxer student) in a full Chinese split, screams notwithstanding." P.56: "Do NOT lighten up the pressure when it becomes unbearable!" Give me a break! It's also a poorly designed book, with fuzzy photos, and at ..., 3 times what a book this size should cost. There are 7 pages in the back with aggressive ads for other ill-considered Pavel products. The book is a ....
Rating:
Summary: Not quite perfect, but close
Review: This is the only really interesting book on stretching I've encountered. Pavel's ideas are radical, but sensible if you think them through and apply them carefully. His joint mobility drills alone are worth the price of this expensive book. Alas, the book isn't perfect. He could have used the input of a hands-on editor. The photo sequences and verbal descriptions are not always clear. A companion video is available and is helpful for viewing the exercises and seeing the speed at which Pavel does the exercises (surprisingly fast). Unfortunately, the video doesn't demonstrate all the exercises shown in the book. Much of this book is geared towards the elite athlete who is already far along the learning curve. Nevertheless, as a reasonably in shape middle-aged guy with increasingly creaky joints, I found this book to be an invaluable resource. Ignore the high price, buy the book and the video. You'll get your money's worth.
Rating:
Summary: more harm than good
Review: While this book has quite a few exercises and some decent stretching tips, following all of the author's theories will ultimately do more harm than good to your flexibility. (The stretching methods he advocates range from confusing to dangerous.) That is, if you can get past the annoying, egotistical writing style of the author. With any luck, most people who pick up this book will be so put off by the writing that they won't even try to figure out the exercises. And try to figure them out is what you'll have to do because the stretching methods that the author cites as being the most effective aren't clearly explained or demonstrated. For all his talk about how conventional stretching methods don't work, it's interesting to note that most of the exercises illustrated in the second half of the book can be found in just about any good conventional stretching book on the market. In fact, for half the price or less of this book, you'd be better off bying a basic stetching book.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: With 11 years of weight training for football and lacrosse I've come across and tried numerous different programs. I also review about three different books/programs a year. Each program's success was a direct result of the individual effort put into it. Just as in his strength book "Power to the People," Pavel really does not present any new information or 'breakthroughs.' Pavel could have compressed the book and also eliminated the final half-dozen or so pages of ads for his other books and products. The principles presented do work, but again, the cost of the book will lead to some disappointment with the value of the information given.
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