1,500 Stretches: The Complete Guide to Flexibility and Movement

by Hollis Liebman

1,500 Stretches--the follow-up book to the New York Times bestseller 2,100 Asanas-- compiles all stretching poses in one place, organized by body part, with stunning photographs, easy-to-follow steps, and the health benefits of each pose.

Does your lower back ache from sitting all day? Can you barely walk after your cycling class? Do you stretch your back and feel only more tension? Stretching is vital for chronic pain, building muscle tone, and full movement.
1,500 Stretches has the complete collection of stretches organized by body part--back, calf, hamstrings, chest and many more. They are demonstrated in beautiful full-color photographs. The steps are easy to follow and explain what muscle groups are targeted and its benefits for pain relief and physical appearance. There are additional chapters on yoga and partner stretches and the importance of stretching correctly.1,500 Stretches celebrates the beauty of the body through photography, while providing practical advice to feel and look better.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Sports, Collections

736 pages, Hardcover

Published October 24, 2017

About the author

See also Hollis Lance Liebman

Reviews

[Kelly]

Great pictures, directions, and explanations for each stretch.
I really liked the way the book was separated but I would have liked to have seen notations on flexibility level.

[Juli Anna]

This was a little too much book for me, with stretches I can't really ever imagine being practical. There was generally too little background information and the information about specific stretches was scant and unspecific. Of note to readers--whether as a warning or an enticement is up to you--is that some of these photos are surprisingly risque. A significantly better introduction to stretching is Stretching by Bob Anderson.

[Jenny]

Stretches were either so basic they're obvious or so advanced you'd have to be a professional dancer to do them. Not much to offer for the average person.

[William Schram]

Stretching for health is an ancient art. The author refers to Yoga as a precedent and discusses the ancient Greeks and Romans. The author mentions the health benefits of stretching and the importance of moderation. For example, stretching improves the quality of your workouts, flexes your muscles, reduces the risk of injury, alleviates stress, boosts your mood, and improves your posture.

With so many different stretches for each muscle group, choosing may seem complicated, but the author takes pains to simplify stretching. All stretches are either static or dynamic and either active or passive.

Author Hollis Liebman brings us a book that does what it says on the cover. The book is 1,500 Stretches, and we find that between the covers. Liebman organizes the contents from top to bottom. He starts with the neck and face muscles and goes down from there, eventually reaching the calves. Each listing tells you what it targets, the benefits of the activity, and how to perform it. Finally, the book provides an accompanying photograph of a fitness model performing the stretch.

Unfortunately, there isn't much else to say about the book. I enjoyed it, but it has flaws. It doesn't have different stretches for various fitness levels, but it does have some modifications to the technique. Furthermore, the book does not mention the difficulty level of each stretch. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[Jennifer]

As a very anxious girly who literally holds tension everywhere in her body, I really needed to find new ways to stretch because let me tell you that I have stress balls and tense muscles in the most awkward of places.

I really liked the variety of stretches and how they were organized. Plus they all have photos which helped out so much in seeing how you’re supposed to stretch. Some of the stretches are very advanced but they also give you stretches on how to hopefully one day achieve that advanced one.

Overall I learned some new stretches and that’s what I hoped from this book.

[Mom Reads Romance]

I’m a Pilates teacher who also taught yoga and barre for years. I am always seeking out books to read or teachers to learn from. I’m a constant student. I loved the concept of a ton of stretches in one book for easy access.

While nothing is new to me in this book it just helps to have it all in one spot.

Now to the bad. The very very bad. This is gonna sound surface level but it’s really not.

The outfits that a few of these models were wearing were gross. And didn’t allow me as a reader to see anything more than body parts.

I have read a ton of movement books. I have worked with a metric ton of bodies. I have seen it all. I am not a prude. The human body is amazing.

These books have to allow the pictures to show the body enough as a reader we can see the movement. So a sports bra and leggings is good enough as a reader to allow us to see movement but not really see anything else.

yall.

We could see their baby makers on two young women. It was gross. One girl has pink booty biker shorts-I’m pretty sure I could see she was ovulating. 🤮
Other shots had her facing the camera with her legs spread and knees bent WHILE WEARING BOOTY SHORTS UP HER ASS. COME ON FOLKS. No.

No. This felt like porn. I don’t know who convinced this author that this was the appropriate way to take pictures for a body movement book but they were misguided.

It was a humiliation ritual to read this book and I’m sure it was also one to take these pictures bc none of these models look comfortable or happy.

Anyhoo. Sad I spent money on this stretching porn book. But hoping I can open it up again to utilize it. Probably won’t.

[Squash Goals]

It's a big heavy book but it has everything I need to write yoga lessons or personal training exercises.

[Annie F]

Good stretches, easy to follow and learn. Pick and choose to create your own routine based on your needs.