Fitness Swimming or Facilitated Stretching

Fitness Swimming: 60 Workouts for Speed, Endurance, and Technique

Author: Emmett Hines

Want more from your workout? Whether you seek to improve your technique, trim your times, swim greater distances, or simply improve your fitness level, Fitness Swimming will help you achieve your goals, all in full-color.

Expert swim coach Emmett Hines has created 60 new workouts and 16 sample programs, each arranged into suggested training zones to correspond to your fitness level and performance goals. Over a dozen cutting-edge technique drills help you progressively build an effective freestyle stroke. The text covers stretching, warm-up and cool-down methods, heart rate zone targets, expanded instruction for stroke efficacy, progressive drills, conditioning tips, and fitness assessments. Fitness Swimming has all the information you need to chart progress and maintain peak performance.

What People Are Saying

Bill Volckening
"Emmett Hines is an influential coach-a pioneer among masters swimming coaches. In Fitness Swimming he shares the very latest on swimming technique, and his no-nonsense approach to stroke analysis is refreshing. No swimming library would be complete without this book."--(Bill Volckening, Editor, USMS Swimmer )

Glenn Mills
"Emmett has done a great job of creating a resource for swimmers on the technique and conditioning fundamentals of the sport. No matter what level, the drills and workouts will help you become a better all-around swimmer."--(Glenn Mills, U.S. Olympic Swimmer and Founder of GoSwim.tv)

Table of Contents:

1 Lifetime Swimming 3

2 Getting Equipped 9

3 Assessing Your Swimming Fitness 20

4 Posture and Balance 27

5 Stroke Integration and Turns 48

6 Workout Intensity 74

7 Level 1: Basic Skills Workouts 84

8 Level 2: Skill Development Workouts 98

9 Level 3: Full-Stroke Swimming Workouts 114

10 Level 4: Lactate Threshold Workouts 133

11 Level 5: Speed Workouts 151

12 Level 6: High-Intensity Workouts 166

13 Swimming Throughout the Year 178

14 Sample Swimming Programs 186

15 Staying On Track 196

Appendix A 206

Appendix B 208

Appendix C 210

Appendix D 214

Appendix E 220

Books about: Pottery Barn or Curso de Vino

Facilitated Stretching

Author: Robert E McAte

The third edition of Facilitated Stretching is now revised, reorganized, and packaged with a DVD—surpassing its popular predecessor as the best source for the latest PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching techniques.

Facilitated Stretching, Third Edition, provides a useful overview of PNF stretching—a safe and easy-to-use method that involves stretching the muscle, contracting it isometrically against resistance, then stretching it again to a new range of motion. These steps apply whether you are isolating one muscle at a time or using the spiral-diagonal patterns of PNF to stretch groups of muscles simultaneously. The third edition contains all the great features of the previous edition, plus the following:

• A companion DVD that demonstrates live stretching techniques from the book for a clearer understanding
• New stretching routines for a variety of popular activities including running, golf, swimming, cycling, and throwing and racket sports
• General stretches and stretches for older participants
• Stretching activities with added strength work using stability balls and elastic bands
• Stretching and strengthening tips for dealing with—and even preventing—common soft-tissue injuries
• A new test package conveniently offered online at www.HumanKinetics.com/FacilitatedStretching

The new edition has also been reorganized using a regional approach to presenting muscle group functions around specific joints. You will learn how to stretch each major muscle in the body, both individually and in groups. In addition, you will discover how to appropriately use group pattern stretches to improve flexibility and coordination and individual muscle stretches to relax tight muscles and break up adhesions within or between muscles. Instruction is provided for using the techniques on your own or with a partner.

More than 350 photographs showing the progression of stretches enrich the book while the new 60-minute DVD demonstrates the stretches and strengthening exercises in even more detail. Icons are featured throughout the text, indicating which exercises are demonstrated on the DVD. A unique binding also allows you to lay the book flat while performing the exercises without losing your place. The DVD serves as a great visual tool for improving your technique and getting the most out of your routines.

An ideal reference for fitness professionals, Facilitated Stretching, Third Edition, provides techniques to help athletes, patients, and clients improve flexibility, strength, and coordination while also treating and preventing injuries. Students in massage therapy, athletic training, and other professional training programs will discover how to use facilitated stretching in conjunction with massage and other manual therapy techniques.

With Facilitated Stretching, Third Edition, you have a cutting-edge tool packed with the latest PNF stretching techniques to help you assess current muscle function, improve range of motion, increase strength, reduce overuse injuries, and enhance performance.

Audiences: Textbook for massage therapy, athletic training, and other related courses; reference for sports medicine and fitness professionals, therapists, coaches, and athletes.

Joseph L. Hughes

This book provides a good overview of PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching techniques along with pictorials and other pertinent information required for safe stretching. The authors succeed in presenting an updated understanding of PNF stretching techniques, both active and passive, as well as how they can be incorporated into treatment regimens. Written for athletes, coaches, and sports medicine professionals, this book facilitates a greater understanding of a proper stretching session and provides nice pictorials of major stretches. The principal author is obviously an authority on this subject matter and is careful to not talk over the heads of his readers. PNF stretching is comprehensive, including its history, proper positioning, as well as different techniques. A great overview of muscle origin, insertion, and action is presented, which is critical information to achieve proper positioning of stretches. Another nice feature is the clear pictures which are quickly accessible via colored index tabs. Case studies are incorporated, as is a section on combining soft tissue work and stretching. A review of PNF literature is also given, including pros and cons. In my opinion, this book is a very helpful aid in furthering one's understanding of PNF stretching. The authors do a great job of describing proper stretching sequences with regard to positioning, verbal cueing, and timing. It also promotes independence by showing self-stretches for all major muscle groups. Since the authors do not go into depth on tissue physiology, this book is reader friendly for a wide audience.

Raymond J. Barile

This book has been written to provide a self-teaching style of the stretching technique known as PNF stretching. The author brings together the concepts of PNF stretching theory and techniques and presents them in a self-teaching style text. PNF stretching is a difficult topic to teach from a book, and the author is successful in meeting this objective. According to the author, this book is aimed at massage therapists, althletic trainers, physicians, coaches, and athletes. This projected audience may be a bit broad. In my opinion, this book is well suited for physical therapists and athletic trainers. The black-and-white photographs and illustrations present and demonstrate particular muscle groups and PNF stretching progressions that make self-instruction easy. This book could benefit from more and updated references. This handsome book would be a valued additon to the allied health practitioner's library. The author has brought PNF stretching and theory to an understandable and practical level.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Raymond J. Barile, MS, ATC (Cornell University)
Description: This book has been written to provide a self-teaching style of the stretching technique known as PNF stretching.
Purpose: The author brings together the concepts of PNF stretching theory and techniques and presents them in a self-teaching style text. PNF stretching is a difficult topic to teach from a book, and the author is successful in meeting this objective.
Audience: According to the author, this book is aimed at massage therapists, althletic trainers, physicians, coaches, and athletes. This projected audience may be a bit broad. In my opinion, this book is well suited for physical therapists and athletic trainers.
Features: The black-and-white photographs and illustrations present and demonstrate particular muscle groups and PNF stretching progressions that make self-instruction easy. This book could benefit from more and updated references.
Assessment: This handsome book would be a valued additon to the allied health practitioner's library. The author has brought PNF stretching and theory to an understandable and practical level.

Booknews

Translates the complexities of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching into an easy, step-by-step method for athletes, coaches, and sports medicine professionals, showing how to perform 66 facilitated stretches covering all major muscles and muscle groups. This edition features the latest PNF stretching techniques, and is expanded to include a broader scope of stretches and self- stretches. It also includes a new section on using facilitated stretching along with soft tissue therapy for reducing pain and restoring range of motion lost due to injury. Includes b&w photos demonstrating techniques, and two-color anatomical diagrams. Presented in a wire ring binding surrounded by a paper cover. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

What People Are Saying

Robert K. King
"Facilitated Stretching is an excellent contribution to the art and science of manual therapy. Bob McAtee provides a technically sound, easy-to-follow approach to therapeutic muscle stretching. I highly recommend it."--(Robert K. King, Founder and President of Chicago School of Massage Therapy, author of Performance Massage (review of previous edition))

Craig Liebenson
"Facilitated Stretching will benefit anyone interested in functional training. The coverage of spiral-diagonal PNF stretches alone makes this book and DVD a must-have."--(Craig Liebenson, DC, L.A. Sports and Spine, International Association for the Study of Pain, American Pain Society)

Pat Archer
"Clear, step-by-step descriptions, detailed illustrations, and ease of use make Facilitated Stretching an essential resource for any massage therapist."--(Pat Archer, MS, ATC, LMP,
Cortiva Institute-Brenneke School, Senior Faculty and Director of Therapeutic Massage In Athletics Certification Course, author of Therapeutic Massage In Athletics (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2006))

Guy Andrews
"Bob McAtee has done an outstanding job with his revision of Facilitated Stretching. The crystal-clear text and sparkling, detailed photographs are a winning combination, and the new DVD brings the stretches to life! This book is a valuable addition to the library of every serious fitness professional."--(Guy Andrews, MA, CSCS *D, Executive Director, Exercise ETC Inc.)

Harvey S. Newton
"Facilitated Stretching serves the elite athlete and the weekend warrior well. Bob McAtee has worked on my aches and pains a dozen or so times over the years. He's one of the finest!"--(Harvey S. Newton, CSCS, Executive Director, National Strength and Conditioning Association (review of previous edition))

Rating

3 Stars from Doody