Wish You Could Improve Your Mobility Without Pain Or Injury? The Book ‘Stretching for 50+’ Shows You How to Succeed

Title: Stretching for 50+: A Customized Program for Increasing Flexibility, Avoiding Injury and Enjoying an Active Lifestyle, 2nd Edition

Author: Dr. Karl Knopf

ISBN-10#: 1612436714

Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes

This slim, 128-page book is designed for people who know that health and fitness are only achieved by staying active and doing as many good things for themselves as they can, says its Introduction.

Most of us Boomers were taught a number of outdated fitness rules that could actually cause us more hard than good, says the author, who explains that it is not so much about “more exercise is better,” it’s actually about balance and flexibility. About training smart, not hard.

With regard to balance, “Dr. Karl” means:

Stretch what is tight and strengthen what is lax
Do unto your front as you do unto your back
Do unto your left as you do unto your right

He also advises that each of us holds the key to our own wellness. We can create the life we want, and it is never too late to feel great! The key to happy aging is to change what we can and accept what we cannot. And remember that wheat we do today determines what we will be able to do tomorrow and it not the future.

As for flexibility, he means the range of motion around each joint which is specific to that joint. Generally, as many of us have already discovered, as we get older we lose our flexibility.

But we can significantly improve our flexibility by stretching regularly, which is why Part Three of the book is all about specific stretching exercises we can do. Each of over 80 specific stretches is covered on a page which includes both photos and written instructions.

But prior to that, the book covers flexibility in terms of warm-up and cool-down activities as well as activities we ought to do for specific situations, such as waking up, and for chronic conditions such as arthritis/fibromyalgia, frozen shoulders, hip and knee problems, lower back pain, repetitive wrist strain, and a number of daily activities such as gardening and house-cleaning, desk work, snow shoveling and even long drives or plane flights.

As for recreational pursuits, the book covers activities that will benefit our recreational pursuits, including biking/cycling, canoeing/kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding, golf, tennis, swimming – even walking and jogging.

I love that this book is all about safe, easy routines which might involve easy tools such as therapy balls, straps, and foam rollers, but can be accomplished in just ten minutes a day. Highly recommended.