Flexibility Instruction That Works, Plain and Simple

I went from not being able to touch my ankles, let alone my toes, to full side splits, and it took only six months. If you want flexibility training the right way, with clear simple instructions that really work, you need look no further. Pavel is a master teacher, one who understands why things work in great detail but Relax Into Stretch is not a textbook, it is a how-to manual. Pavel goes into great detail about the techniques you need to do to improve your own flexibility. The devil is in the details, and Pavel makes sure you know everything you need in order to safely improve your flexibility.

If you have decided you want to improve your flexibility, buy the book, follow the instructions without trying to think too much, and you will have your results. Ordinary people can be extraordinarily flexible and strong, and Pavel is the man to help you make it happen for yourself.

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should be entitled: "Re-hashed"

Pavel wrote a precursor to this book which he admitted wasn't "user friendly." (a ridiculous euphamism on his part) His first book contained the following: several drills that were basically useless including his version of chest stretches, rocking the head from side to side, and simply reaching for the ceiling on tip-toes. also, there were drills that were already well known and done in high school gym classes all over america like toe touching, standing and bending to the side while reaching overhead and the common split. Lastly, he incorporated what he called shutdown threshold isometrics. now that i'm attending school to become a physical therapist assistant i've come to discover that this maneuver is nothing new to the stretching/physical rehab world and is occasionally just given a new name by a fitness instructor to make it seem like they know something that most don't.
Now, how exactly does his newer book differ? IT DOESN'T! well, in all fairness he doesn't use the term shutdown threshold isometrics anymore, but still teaches the same exercise. and he did get rid of some of the completely obsolete exercises from the first book, but most of the exercises are exactly the same, just rehashed with different names like "the jackknife" if i remember correctly. If you are a complete beginner to stretching, then by all means read a book on fitness and stretching, but don't spend over 20 dollars for a book that is comprised of "nothing new" methods and several pages of advertisements of other pavel/dragondoor products! Or better yet, try a public library. remember though that just because pavel uses references to russian special forces training and denounces certain "overused" american training methods doesn't mean that he's offering you something new and exotic. In fact it's just rehashed info.

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PNF stretched into 150 pages

I loved this book when I first read it, probably because I was uneducated about stretching. Pavel introduced this stretching technique which "instantly allowed me to touch my toes". It's quite simple, it's called Proprioceptive-Neuro-Muscular-Facilitation. PNF is found in many of the basic physical fitness texts. It is not revolutionary, it was not discovered "on the other side of the Iron Curtain", and it is not something worth $34.95 of your hard earned money. The only contribution Pavel has is showing you how to do PNF yourself. So you don't have to spend the money, I'll tell you right now: Go to a decent stretch, flex the muscle(s) being stretched. Hold your breath to increase the intensity of the flex, and then release the breath and the flex at the same time. Boom, you're done.
Also, this book does not have any discussion on program formation, stretch selection, or stretch order. All of these should be incorporated into a text on stretching. It's worth it for fun if you already know what you're talking about. Otherwise, there are plenty of other stretching books that are much more worthwhile and are definitely more economical.
That said, nobody is as fun or easy to read as the Evil Russian. And he does cover some interesting theories on muscle tension.

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