Pavel is an accomplished guy with some impressive physical ability. I respect that, so I got a few of his books and borrowed some of his tapes to see what he recommends.

“Super Joints” is a quick, easy-to-follow handbook that anyone can use for basic guidelines on how to regain or improve overall joint mobility and flexibility.

Many of the movements presented will be familiar, but some of his ideas of how to combine them may not be. I would have liked to see more detailed descriptions, including variations and more photos of some movements.

After a 6-month break from nearly all physical activity, I started to get back into working out by incorporating a number of the movements and principles in this book. Overall, I am pleased with the results, and I feel this justifies a portion of the advertised price.

Aside from the joint mobility movements and principles, Pavel does talk about the use of calisthenics that will progressively increase joint mobility as well. While it doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves, I have combined what he did present with my existing knowledge of basic and advanced calisthenics and gotten good results that way too. If I didn’t have some experience with this, I don’t know if I could have had the same success based solely on what the book contains.

Pavel also touches on the stretching principles outlined in some of his other books, which are predominantly based on PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching doctrines. He definitely intends for you to combine this with his other works in order to realize the full benefits, but most people can certainly have some good success with the material he presents here.

This book’s biggest failures are the oversimplified presentation and lack of variations, and the mediocre editing job which leaves some odd printing and writing errors to contend with. I am glad I have a copy, and I am really glad I got it for half price, which is about right.

I highly recommend looking at Kit Laughlin’s “Stretching & Flexibility” and “Overcoming Neck & Back Pain” for a better presentation on regaining mobility through PNF stretching, and Scott Sonnon’s “Bodyflow” is a fascinating and extremely detailed approach to improving overall mobility through coordinated movement.