Stretching Anatomy
If you have back, hip or hand pain from the computer like I do, you might want to take a look at the book Stretching Anatomy.
A massage therapist I see lent me a copy and it was so good, I just ordered a copy of my own.
It has some great simple stretches for your neck, shoulders, back and even wrists and hands. I am spatially challenged at times and find some of the pictures and descriptions hard to use in many books, but this one has easy with large X-ray like pictures of each stretch that are very simple but do the trick to loosen your joints and improve flexibility.
A massage therapist I see lent me a copy and it was so good, I just ordered a copy of my own. It has some great simple stretches for your neck, shoulders, back and even wrists and hands. I am spatially challenged at times and find some of the pictures and descriptions hard to use in many books, but this one has easy with large X-ray like pictures of each stretch that are very simple but do the trick to loosen your joints and improve flexibility.
Labels: interesting books
posted by Helen at 8:26 AM
16 Comments:
TO: Dr. Helen
RE: Stretching Your Limits
And what is your exercise/workout regime?
I put in an hour+ in my gym of three different machines, free weights and throwing mats.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[Use it or lose it.]
P.S. That's, on average, six days a week.
FWIW, There's a Kindle edition.
I downloaded the sample and there's one of the illustrations in it.
The picture is actually pretty good on the Kindle -- I was concerned it wouldn't be.
Dr. Helen,
It looks like your commenters don't get off on exercise and stretching.
Maybe you should review "The Secret Language of Money" by David Krueger.
-Bob
Robert,
There is no requirement here that commenters have to be interested in what I am. Frankly, I find stretching boring. It is just necessary for me because I spend a lot of time on the computer.
TO: Dr. Helen
RE: Out of Curiosity
Does the book mention anything about yoga? And yoga balls?
I ask as a recent addition to the 'play things' in the gym was a ~3' diameter yoga ball. Came with a foot pump that I picked up at an estate sale.
Haven't used it yet. But this book might provide the impetus to look into adding it to my regime.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[Eat healthy. Exercise frequently. Die anyway.]
P.S. Off to the gym.....
[There can be no question, my dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast. -- Sherlock Holmes]
I can't stand stretching either. There is no rule that says one has to sit in a chair while on the computer. I hated Donald Rumsfeld with every fiber of my being, he only did one positive thing in his life and that was to raise his desk so he could stand. That is a really good idea. My computer is at a point where I can choose to either sit or stand depending on my mood. It's a laptop so I can lean the screen back. If I do choose to sit I'll pull one leg up in a different position, I'm never sitting like other people. If I sit like everyone else my legs cramp up and I get pains in interesting places. Sometimes I put the laptop on the floor for a change of pace. Works for me and I don't have to stretch.
Chuck,
This particular book does not seem to mention much about yoga or yoga balls but I noticed a similar book at amazon called Yoga Anatomy that you might find of interest:
http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Anatomy-Leslie-Kaminoff/dp/0736062785
Nobody particularly enjoys stretching exercises, but I'll share something I was told, personally, by Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. He retired long ago as the world middleweight (5-times) undefeated contact karate champ.
"Stretching is tedious, but when you're over 60, you'll be glad you did. The benefits of proper stretching are minimal in the short term, but priceless down the road."
I met him at a martial arts seminar back in the 1980s, and he was as impressive to listen to as he was to watch doing his karate demonstrations.
For whatever it might be worth to you...
TO: Cham
RE: In Position
Speaking of sitting. The only time I've had trouble with sitting and pain was when I was working for USWest, c.k.a. Qwest.
They gave us new chairs in the White Pages Computer Lab.
A week later I started getting a pain in my left thigh.
I went and got my old chair back again.
The pain went away.
The chair I currently use at home, I've had for about twelve years. No problems. And based on the experience at USWest, I'm apprehensive of getting a new one until it's absolutely necessary. Imagine getting an expensive chair and using for a week to discover it gives you a pain. Could you return it? I kind of doubt it.
And maybe this touches on this stretching business. Maybe, if you had the right chair, you wouldn't need such. Or, if you've got a bad chair, you do need it.
Each of us is different. Different life experiences, e.g., humping an 80-pound ruck sack for years and years or bad landings or finding badger holes the hard way, give us different proclivities. And each of us has to find what works best for our circumstance.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[The discontented man finds no easy chair. -- Benjamin Franklin]
TO: Cham and Kevin M
RE: Stretching
I don't see the 'boring' aspect of stretching.
I do it when necessary, e.g., if I feel 'tight' getting out of the car after driving a goodly distance. I use techniques learned while studying martial arts. After I'm limber again, driving is good. This is especially true when driving in tense conditions, e.g., a snow storm on icy roads in the mountains. I have to keep telling myself to drop my shoulders and relax.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[I'm not tense, just terribly A*L*E*R*T!!]
TO: Dr. Helen
RE: The Book
Interesting book, that. I may just get it for the distaff. I think she'd appreciate that more. She's into stretching a LOT before beginning a workout in our gym.
I just crank up the music and jump on the machines.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you before you let it go, it probably found a time machine and has returned from the future to wreak horrible vengeance.]
Stretching anatomy? Aren't there ads for products that do that on late-night TV?
@Auntie Ann: You're thinking of Smilin' Bob and his penis-enhancement pills.
Stretching makes your junk longer; Smilin' Bob only plumps your weiner.
i know this book. this is superb!
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