Reviews

Al Kavadlo has done an incredible job with Stretching Your Boundaries. He's presented a very practical (and relevant to your strength and calisthenics training) approach. He's cut through the mumbo jumbo that sometimes surrounds flexibility training and in his signature way, has made it all fun again too. I know that I have some flexibility issues holding back my full strength potential, but now I know what to do, when to do it, and why. As with Al Kavadlo's previous books, there are lots of informative (and entertaining) photos with people of varying body types. The in-depth explanations of each move and the calisthenics moves that they correspond with was very helpful—not only for understanding, but as a continued help for programming and troubleshooting. Looking forward to adding a lot of this to my practice and breaking through more than a few plateaus!

If you've read any of Al's books before, you'll know what to expect. If you haven't well here it is. Expect an amazing amount of information, presented in a totally accessible and non intimidating way aimed at any level of gym user, bodyweight athlete, or fitness enthusiast.
The presentation couldn't be clearer in this book and includes sample routines for different parts of the body to give them a full stretch and manipulation.
The book is divided into 3 sections.
Section 1: The Stretch Manifesto.
This section clearly outlines the theory of stretching, the history, and why we do the stretches we do, and how the body best reacts to different styles of stretches. This is no short section and provides a welcome explanation of what we can do to best improve the efficiency of the time we spend stretching.
Section 2: The Stretches
A huge selection of different exercises and stretches to best get the increase in range of motion that you are looking for and the flexibility that you desire
Section 3: Sample Routines
This section compiles several different stretches for different parts of the body so you can immediately get to work on your specific problem area.
All in all this a great resource for anyone with an active interest in exercise and mobility. It complements Al's other books, Raising The Bar, and Pushing The Limits perfectly, to be a very complete set of health and fitness manuals.

I have been instructing martial arts for 8 years and conditioning training for 2 years, as I am getting older the original stretch routines that was doing did not work as well as they once did. After reading Al and Danny's other books it was clear to me that I was not doing enough for myself and my students in the art of stretching, Al's clear, concise and to the point philosophy opened the door for me to begin a better training regiment and to help the students reach their full potential.

Hands down one of the best investments I've ever made in terms of fitness. Even though I've only been using it for a couple weeks I've made improvements in my flexibility and I wake up to zero to minimum sorness. I'm just wondering what the Amazing Kavadlo Brothers are going to do for an encore

I recently got an email from fellow coach, and good friend, Al Kavadlo about his new book 'Stretching Your Boundaries' - a title devoted to helping you improve your flexibility, mobility and, ultimately, make you perform better with less pain. If you're like the vast majority of people out there then you probably don't do enough work on your flexibility so you should check out this book.

At over 200 pages, the book covers the practice of stretching in good detail. But, where the book really shines is in its practical description of a large number of stretches. Not only does Al describe the stretches well but he explains Common Mistakes, Muscles Used, the exercise counterpart (i.e. do this stretch to get better at that exercise) and also breathing patterns. Few people understand the importance of correct breathing in flexibility training so this was a really nice addition.

What I most enjoyed about 'Stretching Your Boundaries' was the exercise selection itself. I choose my exercises based on their function rather than what muscles they 'work' and the book approaches stretching in a similar fashion. What this ultimately means is that you have a stretching program that works rather than just spinning your wheels - and I'm all for that.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and when I finally did I was not disappointed! This book is absolutely incredible. I have read a lot of books on stretching and this is one of the best. I especially love the multiple progressions and connections to bodyweight exercises.
I highly recommend this to anybody looking to improve their bodyweight skills and overall flexibility.

Great book, For the price give you so much value. It was what I needed for my excercise routine.

I have recently bought Al's latest book on stretching and as usual he did not disappoint. I was looking for something to aid in my search for flexibility and this came at the perfect time. As a man that has struggled with flexibility my whole life Al has written an amazingly user friendly book for people like me but is able to push other more flexible peoples boundaries. It is also nice of an author to take the time to reply on social network sites. Not only reply but also reply in a timely fashion. Nothing but positives from on the book and Al! New job and thank you.

Ryan Costa

Firstly, this book is the perfect complement to Raising the Bar and Pushing the Limits. It does exactly what it promises: flexibility training for extreme calisthenics strength! However, this book also expands upon Al's philosophy behind training and its relation to the well being of the human body.

Frankly, the knowledge presented in this book is very difficult to acquire on your own by just researching around the internet. While you can go on YouTube and find some stretching demonstrations, Al Kavadlo has gone off of many years of experience in both fitness and spirituality, and brings a very organic and inclusive approach to writing this book. Furthermore, the photography and artwork are top-notch and very cool. Al's style shines through possibly even better than in his previous books!

If you have an idea of how good this book *could* be, do not worry because it is everything you can expect and probably more!

This book brings you the tools and inspiration to start progressing with your flexibility without a "nose up in the air" attitude. The author brings the info to you in a humble manner and appreciates the fact that not everyone is a natural born contortionist.

Great book, easy to read and understand. I'm one of those who prefers to have the physical copy in my hands.

Keep it up!

As with everything that you set out to accomplish, it takes building a strong foundation and progression over time. This book delivers just that! A foundation, progression, focus, dedication, and how to make use of your new found flexibility & strength.

After having this book suggested to me, I was disappointed to find out that this was just an average yoga book, with some 'hypothetical' workouts, and some suggested poses to improve flexibility.
While Mr. Kavadlo is definitely very flexible, the book is more of a showcase for him to demonstrate his skills, rather than help the reader to build their skill set.

Excellent book, being the son of a yogi though, I know all the stretches being done here. EXCELLENT all the same if you're new to proper stretching/yoga etc.

I definitely recommand this book to anyone who is interested into physical exercises. It does a wonderful job busting the myths hanging around the stretch subject and remind us the importance to incorporate stretching in our daily routine. Also, I loved the oriental philosophy touch in it. You did a great job Al, thank you!

This book is fairly simple and that's a good thing. Where so many people have taken flexibility training a made it complicated, and also made it into a whole bunch of do's and don'ts, Stretching Your Boundaries takes a different approach. In many fields there is dogma (like static stretching is worse than useless), and Al certainly isn't a dogmatic person. Don't get me wrong, there are some other great books on flexibility out there, and I would add this volume into your flexibility library as well.

The average person will find a wide variety of stretching exercises to cover the whole body. The advanced trainee will likely know many of the exercises but is still likely to pick up one or two new tricks. Personally, as I'm now working on the splits I discovered a big piece of the puzzle that I was missing within this book. That alone, for me, made it more than worth it.

In this book, Al gives detailed instruction on how to perform each stretch and the benefit you receive from each stretch.

Part I presents fantastic insight into stretching, breathing and the importance of water; it is very insightful. If you have shoulder issues the Shoulder Specific routine on pg 179 is worth the price of the book. After performing these stretches a few times has greatly improved by range of motion and reduced my level of pain -- absolutely fantastic!

Don't get me wrong Al Kavadlo writes in a beautiful chilled out manor, gets his point across clearly and sets the book out in a organised logical order.

The thing about Stretching Your Boundaries is it doesnt have the 'wow' factor of his other two excellent books.

on finishing i felt there could have been more.

Is a good addition to anyones fitness book collection, but had a bit of an empty feeling at the end.

As ever pictures were outstanding!

what can I say, Al knows his stuff. Is there anything revolutionary in this books or totally new? No nothing crazy…but Al kinda says that himself in the book. He just puts it all together for those interested in bodyweight training and gives them what would be most useful for them. He shows you a stretch and shows you what exercise it will help you out with…simple. Thanks again Al for all your great info and insight!! what's next?? :)

Many yoga postures/asanas and bodyweight exercises have the same root and this book shows the links.
Great resource for anyone wanting to workout using both systems to attain strength and flexibility without the religious b*******.

I have started implementing some of the stretches and routines in the book and already seeing improvements. It is a very comprehensive guide. The blend of Al's stretching, calisthenics and yoga experience is very valuable. Including good posture and breathing also important. Well worth the money. Important too we support Al so he can keep up with his publications and videos.

So far having read a lot of great books from Dragon Door, all of which contained tons of valuable information, I was very much disappointed with this book. A lot of it consists of posy photographs of the authors, and actual scientifc or experience-based information is kept to minimum. While I admit that I like some of the stretches portrayed in this book, and have used one or two to get a bit of variety into my dusty routines, there was no new information for me in this book. As someone who studies martial arts, codnditioning and alternetive medicine for more than a decade, I have no real use for this book.

So, far, each Dragon Door book has improved my training - I could go without this one.

Still, I give it three stars, as most of the stretches portrayed are really nice, and absolute beginners can find a few good ideas to get them started.

I've read Al Kavadlo's Pushing the Limits and Raising the Bar and this one follows suit with those. It is full of rich content and there's a good amount of it. Visually the photos are clear and the book is appealing to the eye. There are a number of stretches to look through as you can pick the ones that matter to you and Al offers a guide line for basic flexibility he believes people should have. He even goes to lengths to connect certain stretches to certain exercises, allowing you to build your own program and discard what is not necessary. The main criticism I have is the same for the other two, there's a lot of content and it's not very well organized. There's stretch after stretch and good info but it's a little all over the place, but really all you have to do is be able to apply what you read to what you personally need to do with it. His books are for fitness and strength enthusiasts with a foot in on the practice, not for someone who just wants to start out and get a step by step book on exactly what to do and when.

All in all, you can really get a feel for his passion for what he does, it really comes out in his books. I'd recommend this book to beginners and intermediates, if you've been in the game for a long time then it's still worth a look for the enjoyment of a straight calisthenics book (since there are so few out there). Al definitely did people a service by adding this to his list of published works, info on stretching gets pretty messy out there and we needed something to make it a little easier to swallow.

I got to say....I really love Al's videos and have used them for my bodyweight training with positive results!! ...So i was excited to get my hands on this book...I expected more as the intro said Al tackled the questions about stretching...I thought he would really get into static, versus dynamic,ect and why. No such luck...I hate to say it but this really should be labelled as a Yoga book....and I wouldn't have bought it...cuz that's all it really is...I would spend my money on Pavel's books instead...

Al out done himself with this one I had been doing Paul's program without the stretches
Except the Active stretches which work but Al's does a better job which is a good prerequisite to the active stretches of Paul's. I can't wait to get Al's other book pushing your limits which will be a little later when I have the funds to get it but at 55 I'm the fittest
man in Bedford County Pa.

I'm very out of condition and have many issues with tight joints. I've only been using this book for a week now and can already feel the difference! My shoulders don't hurt as much, I'm able to move them easier and I'm sure it's only going to get better!

Highly Recommend this book!!!

This book is fabulous. A practical readable guide to stretching that will last a lifetime.
Helped me a lot in gaining flexibility in the shoulders and hips. Great routines for warming up and cooling down.
Hands down a must read for every one into sport.

I could not be any happier with this book! Finally a book that reveals how to improve your stretching technique and flexibility and Al did an amazing job spelling it out for us. I know a lot of people may be familiar with yoga and/or stretching, but the way Al portrays these stretching methods can help anyone, beginner or advanced, to improve and yield their results in calisthenics. The reason why I adore this book is because I love the way it teaches a person to go at their own pace and enjoy their process instead of just accomplishing a goal and this is what I really take home from this author. Amazing job Al!

This book has a lot of interesting stretches,it also have a spiritual component to the methodology.Book has a lot of color pictures that demonstrate how to do the stretches.I will definitely been using a lot of the stretches for years to come.

The photos are helpful and the links are a nice touch.

What an amazing book. It's an encyclopedia of stretching exercises.

Reading the first three chapters, I was not only impressed but very intrigued. It's very good to know that I wont be outta shaper forever.

Hate to be ?cliche. I wish I understood the importance of stretching when I was younger. Nothing like having excellent coaching even in stretching and that?s what Al has done here. If you want to stay injury free get this book