Dynamic Stretch

Last year, 2004, I got into stretching workouts as a way of relaxing myself and dealing with really tight muscles, especially in the neck and shoulders. Since starting this, I have seen some real flexibility gains and have loosened up my neck and shoulder area. In putting together a combination of tapes, I have several athletic stretch tapes/DVDs and several yoga workouts that are mostly stretch oriented. The workouts I reach for most often are Tamilee’s 10-minute stretches and Slim & Limber (just under 15 minutes) as add-ons after my regular workouts.

I read about Candice Copeland’s Dynamic Stretch and decided I really, really wanted it. After not being able to trade for it, I finally found a website that sold it and was about to buy it when I saw it on someone’s SASE list. (Talk about not being able to believe your eyes! ) I’m really glad I acquired this tape and I have used the three 15-minute sections a lot since getting it.

There are three workouts, all around 15 minutes each. They are all at a measured pace and I don’t feel rushed at any point. The instruction is excellent and having three levels of modification to choose from for each move really helps. She stresses, explains, and uses both active and passive stretches.

I highly recommend this workout. And, I KNOW someone is going to ask me what website it was I found it on. It was http://www.power-systems.com/

I bought this video because I was looking for stretches to tack onto the end of cardio tapes that have too little stretching. This video fits the bill perfectly, and I highly recommend it.

There is a warmup (which I've never done) and then three 15-minute stretching segments. Most of the stretches are very standard "athletic" stretches (i.e. lie on your back, stick your leg up in the air to stretch your hamstring), as opposed to yoga-style stretches. That is GOOD for me because I am not very flexible, and yoga scares me.

I think this is an excellent tape for people who aren't so flexible because the exercisers demonstrate basic, intermediate, and advanced versions of the stretches. Really flexible people probably wouldn't be challenged by this tape, but would probably still like the relaxed feeling it gives you.

Another thing I like about this tape is that she does all the stretches on one side, then does all the stretches on the other side. This keeps it interesting. She doesn't hold the stretches quite as long as recommended (20 to 30 seconds, as I understand), but that doesn't bother me. I feel like a get a good stretch after my cardio, it seems like my flexibility is improving, and the best thing of all is the stretching feels really good!

I own 5 stretch videos and 3 yoga videos. This is the one that gets the most use. Since I'm always recommending it I thought it was about time I submitted a review!

The tape starts with a short introduction with a doctor explaining and demonstrating the concept of active and passive stretching.

Then there is an 8-minute warmup, followed by 3 separate 15-minute stretch workouts. The warmup consists of standing stretches with a few grapevines back and forth. Each of the stretch workouts follows a format of doing all the stretches on one side of the body, then repeating on the other side. They all provide a full workout, but the emphasis is more on lower body than upper body. What I particularly like is the variety. Workout 1 is all done lying down. Workout 2 is all seated in the floor. Workout 3 is all standing or kneeling.

Candice does intermediate versions of each stretch. Background exercises show modifications. Pregnant VFers take note! One of the background exercisers is a pregnant Sharon Money-Twombly, who shows modifications for pregnancy. One gentleman shows modifications for people who are less flexible. Robin (from the Kathy Smith tapes) shows advanced versions of the stretches.

The background music is pleasant and non-intrusive. It reminds me of the piano music when shopping at Nordstrom's. The setting is the old CIA cityscape used in Mega Step Blast.

Because of the 15-minute format, I find this tape much easier to fit into my schedule than other stretch tapes I own, and I still get a thorough stretch with each workout.

This has 3 15-minute stretch routines, plus a 10 or 15-minute warmup at the beginning. I usually skip the warmup, because I normally do this after I've worked out. The stretches are held long enough for you to increase your flexibility. They're not as long as Karen Voight's stretch tape or Barbara Peterson's, but they're enough for you to get something out of them and feel nice and relaxed when you're done. I like having this in 15-minute segments for the days I can't do a whole 40 minutes of the others.