The Trendy Artwork and Science of Mobility

Great book with lots of valuable information
A great book for learning how to take care of your body aches and pains, and get better and lasting mobility. Very well put together, and has tons of useful images and diagrams

Great book, not so good condition…
Great book, well illustrated and explained… Second book that I have ordered that has blemishes on it, not enough that I feel it needs to be returned, but this is the second time. Hopefully, there is better QC for future purchases.

WORTH IT
This book was very informative and It has so many area wherein, to help you with anterior arm chains which involves kettle bell and also teaches you breathing exercises.

Chain, Chain, Chain
This is an odd, but interesting and helpful, exercise guide. Not in this book will you find grim men and women in skivvies demonstrating standard exercises in some grey high school gym. No, the illustrations are impressionistic water colors of buff skeletons and the exercise photos look like selfies of Greek gods taking an ambrosia break. This book is about the “art and science” of mobility, and it looks the part. At first I scoffed, but by the end I realized that in its own idiosyncratic way this book had gotten me thinking about exercise in novel and useful ways.We open with an extended treatment of pain, trigger points, and self-massage. This seems sort of touchy-feely, and it’s actually literally touchy-feely as we go through an extended series of “scans”, which are basically movements and tests designed to find sources of pain and, consequently, limited mobility. Various movements are then demonstrated for adding flexibility for each part of the body, (lumbar, thoracic, knee, ankle, and so on), that comes up suspect during a scan. From there we move to breathing. You wouldn’t think that breathing required so much attention, (inhale and lift up, exhale and set down), but the treatment of breathing, the mechanics of breathing, and the muscles and structures that relate to breathing, are fascinating. It was by this point that I decided to relax and just go along with the author.The third part of the book, and the heart of it, addresses “movement”. The author takes an expansive view of “muscles” and makes a convincing argument that the body is not a collection of discrete muscles, but a much more complex affair involving interconnected chains of muscle, fascia, and related tissue. Think of it as a “whole body” approach, recognizing that the body is a three dimensional construct that moves in three planes and is controlled with chains of muscle and tissue that run from head to toe along the front, back, and sides of the body. Exercises that isolate individual muscles, (say, a biceps curl), don’t contribute to overall smooth and painless movement nearly as much as complex exercises that challenge and energize entire chains.We then move on to “mobility”, which focuses on flexibility, motor control, balance, and strength. Much of this section, though, involves stretches and massage.That’s the crux of the message, and the rest of the book lays out sets, or series, of movements and exercises that are focused on different muscle chains. Some of the exercises are familiar, (stretches out of the cat pose, bridges), and some are novel. Lots of use of rollers and balls.Unlike most exercise books I didn’t see this one as leading to the design of a rigorous single exercise program. It seemed more like a very thorough and well organized menu of choices that you could consult and pick from as needs required. (Heck, I found real benefit just from the little roller ball exercises for the feet, which is turning up, by the way, as a popular new movement even in publications like the AARP newsletters.)So, this book is a bit quirky and is a lot prettier than it needs to be, but there are lots of fresh ideas tucked away and its emphasis on movement and the interconnectedness of muscle functions is a welcome change in point of view. I found the book helpful.(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I was reluctant to order the book because of its price but I am so glad I did. A wealth of knowledge , awesome illustrations / photography , definitely worth the cost.

I really liked this book a lot of bjj and yoga. Pretty pictures.