Stretching

In 1979 I read a review of a homemade book called Stretching in the CoEvolution Quarterly magazine. I had been having lower back problems from gardening, so sent for the book and began doing the stretches. It was a book mainly for athletes, but it solved my back problems. I wrote the author, Bob Anderson, suggesting that he add stretches for gardeners, carpenters, people who do manual labor. We began corresponding. I learned that Bob and his wife Jean had sold 35,000 copies of the book from a garage in Southern California.

Eventually I asked Bob if he would be interested in revising the book and getting it into bookstores. Yes, he said, and in late 1979 Bob and Jean moved to our home town of Bolinas, we rented them a beachfront house and in about 3 months’ time, we rewrote the book, Jean did all new drawings and we did a first print run of 50,000 copies in San Francisco.

The new Stretching took off immediately in the bookstores and sold around 70,000 copies in the US every year since. It sold over 3 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 19 languages.

In the year 2000 we published the 20^th Anniversary Revised Edition of Stretching, with over 1000 new drawings, 25 new routines and several exciting new sections. The best has just gotten better...

Over the years, Bob and Jean formed a company, Stretching, Inc. and have developed a series of books, videotapes and products related to stretching and fitness. Recently they teamed up with bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl and exercise physiologist Ed Burke to produce a new book called Getting Back in Shape.

Bob and Jean’s Stretching in the Office, is written for people who work at a computer and/or desk and want to do something to counteract the negative effects that fixed positions and sedentary office work have on their bodies. This book then inspired their computer software program, StretchWare, which reminds you to stretch while working at your computer.

Here is a list of stretching-related books and products:

• Stretching
  Our 20^th Anniversary Revised Edition of this classic book
• Getting Back in Shape
  Stretching guru Bob Anderson, bodybuilder Bill Pearl and exercise physiologist Ed Burke. Especially for people who are out of shape. A 3-point program for fitness: stretching, weight training and aerobic exercise
• Stretching in the Office
• StretchWare
  The software that reminds you to S T R E T C H !
• 101 Stretches Poster
• Stretch & Strengthen Exercise Poster
• Stretching. Inc. Catalog
  Books, wall charts, posters, chart pads, videos, body tools, athletic wear from Bob & Jean Anderson
• Stretching.com
  Bob and Jean Anderson’s website of stretching literature, wall charts, posters, chart pads, videos, body tools, and athletic wear
• Stretching and Flexibility: Everything You Never Wanted to Know
  By Brad Appleton - this is an entire book of stretching on the web. It’s very detailed (for example, it lists 20 books on stretching in the bibliography). Something for researchers, professionals, scientifically oriented readers.