Becoming a Supple Leopard, 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance

‘All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves.” It’s almost a call to arms, a revolution in who we are and how we treat our bodies. It shouldn’t be of course, but the idea that you can do work on your own body is one I have come to embrace. Not just lifting and building muscle but fixing your own injuries. Digging deeper into your own body, learning what is wrong with it and working through a path to fix it yourself. The idea behind this book is that everyone should be able to move well, like jungle cats. That the body was designed for optimum movement for a long time. If you can’t now that doesn’t mean you can’t in the future. Supple Leopard is the guide to better movement and performance. It can help you resolve any problem issues and how to do it yourself. Kelly Starrett is an athlete, a former high level kayaker, the owner of San Francisco Crossfit and a Doctor of Physical Therapy. The guy knows a bit about movement. He’s used his experience as an athlete and physio to turn his gym into a testing ground, a lab for physical movement and how to get better. Supple Leopard is a textbook, like a dictionary for your body. When I have a physical issue from jiu-jitsu training or lifting weights this is the first place I turn. It’s a thick, dense read that is best chipped away at or pulled out and used when needed. His message that you have control over your own health is empowering. You can sort out and resolve many of your physical problems. But it won’t be easy and it might not be quick. Kelly wants you to commit to ten minutes a day of basic maintenance. Find your weak points and work on them. Can’t squat? He’ll show you a progression how to get there and then you best be doing some squat practice everyday. Bad shoulders and can’t lift overhead? There’s plenty for that too. He talks about fundamental movement patterns and positions that we should all be able to get into. and how we should all be able to get into them. If we can’t something is wrong. So we then we should fix it. Much of what we do all day everyday goes against how our bodies evolved. Sitting down, reaching forward all day tapping at keys or swiping at phones. Wearing huge soles between us and the ground as we drink and eat poor quality food. And then we try and exercise. Is it any surprise when that doesn't go well? Starrett thinks the human body is an amazing machine that can take an obscene amount of abuse. When it breaks it can break hard but it doesn’t have to. Check out his website MobilityWOD for great free content including hundreds of videos. He’s gone on to write a book on how to run without pain, Ready to Run. And has just come out with Deskbound on how to stand up from the desk and change your life. He and wife Juliet run Stand Up Kids where they try and get standing desks in schools. To stop our kids from getting messed up like we did. They are super heroes. This is a big expensive book but if you are going to be harder to destroy it’s a must. It gives you the tools to make yourself better and more awesome. This one is a lock for the shelf.

I was borrowing my friend's copy of the first edition of this book and that was a great book. This version is even better. I could not be happier that I bought it. As a coach and trainer, everything in this book helps me help my athletes and clients. As a gym rat and CrossFitter, this book has saved my life. This is the best fitness/movement book I have ever read. The biggest differences between the first and second editions is that in the new edition there are sections where you can look for mobilizations based on the location of your pain (which includes mobilizations for muscle groups around the area that is hurting to address the causes of your pain which are not always simply an issue with that muscle group only), and there is an improved section based on muscle group you want to mobilize. Another thing I love is that there are little icons on the side of the mobilization pages that indicate what "architypes" (basically what exercises, movements, or positions) will be helped or improved by the mobilizations. Example: some shoulder mobilizations indicate that it will help your front rack position, overhead position, external rotation, etc. This book is perfect for people who want to know more about human movement but don't have an educational background in related subjects. It is very easy to understand and has a great balance between scientific writing and casual english so you can learn without getting frustrated about not knowing crazy terms and concepts related to exercise science and kinesiology. Overall an extremely good investment for anyone even if you're not an athlete or coach and just want to help yourself get rid of pesky pain from your job or lifestyle.

I just bought this book. I haven't even read it yet but I had to write a review. At first glance this book is HUGE and beautiful. I did not expect it to be this thick. The illustrations are colorful and they make my brain eager and excited to read. It is chokefull of knowledge and literally looks like an encyclopedia or science book. I love it already and my nerdy self cannot wait to immerse myself in it, and then put the knowledge into practice. I found out about this book while reading 'Built from Broken' by Scott Hogan. Even he was raving about it and I found Scott's book extremely helpful, so I decided to make 'Supple Leopard' my next read. I will be back with more reviews after reading, but I am super excited about it. Update: This book is so big and chokeful of knowledge, that every time people see me reading it, they think I'm in college. One lady asked me if I was studying for finals. I should have said yes, since the book is preparing me for better form when I get old. But, I am a nerd, so, I love it. Definitely worth every penny spent on it.

Teaches you years of trial and error in days and is the most comprehensive and easy to use manual for diagnosing and treating minor injuries and tightness. I've used this and recommended it to clients for over a decade now and it remains the best of its kind. If you are living in a human body, you need to have this book.

This is a very in depth technique book on moving one's body in proper manners, in and out of the gym. I picked it up to work on mobility as I have spent years in the gym and as I approach 50 I realize Im way to stiff. It definitely is not a light read, if there was a trade school for body mechanics this would be required reading.

C'est parfait. Parler des moments de torsion en expliquant le pourquoi et le comment, proposer des figures claires, décortiquer des tests à effectuer soi-même, donner des conseils affûtés : ce livre est un DÉLICE que l'on savoure petit à petit. On apprend comment se tenir, bouger, tout cela de façon physiologique en respectant ses muscles, articulations, tendons et ligaments. Un GRAND MERCI à Kelly Starrett qui m'a permis de comprendre beaucoup d'erreurs ! Je conseille absolument ce livre pour ceux qui ont mal au dos, ou aux genoux, ou aux chevilles, etc. Traiter ses douleurs, c'est comprendre pourquoi elles surgissent, et Kelly Starrett l'explique de façon parfaite. Il faut faire cet effort pour s'en débarrasser et reprendre son corps en main. Cette nouvelle édition ne ressemble pas à la première : tout à été reclassé, augmenté et précisé avec intelligence. Ah si j'étais à Los Angeles, j'aimerai assister à des stages de l'auteur. Mais son livre permet déjà d'aller très loin et de faire des progrès admirables. A acheter les yeux fermés, à lire en entier et surtout : à appliquer 24h sur 24 !

Durch das Buch habe ich so viel gelernt, was ich schon immer über Biomechanik wissen wollte. Ich habe es bestellt, um die Ursachen von Knieschmerzen besser verstehen zu können. Diese führten bei meiner Freundin durch vermehrtes Abstützen mit den Armen langsam auch noch zu Ellenbogenschmerzen. Durch das Buch weiß sie nun nicht nur, wie man richtig läuft, Treppen hochsteigt und weshalb man Mobilitätseinschränkungen im Training nicht umgehen sollte (was ihr mit den Knieschmerzen sehr viel weiterhilft), sondern auch noch, warum sie Ellenbogenschmerzen bekam und was das alles mit ihrer Haltung zu tun hat. Seitdem sind ihre Ellenbogenschmerzen auch verschwunden. Mir hilft es bei der Prävention von Verletzungen, da ich meine Beweglichkeit durch die zahlreichen Tests im Buch überprüfen und behandeln kann. Ein absolut grandioses Buch mit elementaren Grundlagen, Allgemeinwissen darstellen sollten.

Great book. Needed this specially for shoulders but now see that whole body needs mobilisation. This will be your Bible.

Incredible book that provides and illustrates so many exercises that you will never get bored if you do all of them.

What a great resource. This book will guide you through practical steps, with clear pictures and descriptions, to keep you moving freely and your body happ, in between your visits to the expensive massages! And all delivered with Kelly Starrett's usual energetic and positive vibe. Couldn't recommend it more to active people.