... the wisdom of the healthy strongmen of the past. There are a lot of health and fitness books out there, but most of them take a very soft approach. John is not one of those "fat, enlightened looking" guru types. He can perform handstand pushups between chairs with a weight vest on, standing ab wheels for high reps, 30+ pullups and has a GQ physique to boot. Oh, and he's 50 years old! His book is composed of bodyweight exercises, but he has a unique and intelligent spin on this theme. He incorporates three types of exercises into his program, Dynamic Visualized Resistance, Dynamic Self Resistance and Power Calisthenics. I particularly like the way Dynamic Visualized Resistance exercises are intelligently incorporated into this program.

Believe me, I am not a big fan of most bodyweight exercise programs, but I am a fan of this one. It is straight forward and comprehensive. I have personally gotten stronger as a result of incorporating John Peterson's ideas into my training. For the price, this book is a great investment!

... book by the fact that the author is about 50 and looks to be in excellent shape. That he practises what he preaches is evident. I am 52 and just want to get into decent shape. I am not impressed by 24 year old body builders. Anybody can look good when they are young and spend hours at the gym, but show me an older man with responsibilities who is still in excellent shape and is functionally fit, and then I will be impressed. This book will not appeal to anyone wishing brag about how much he can bench, show off his "guns", or look like a reptile on steroids, but it gives all of the bodyweight, dynamic tension and flexibilty exercises one needs to develop a lean, fit, muscular, functional and healthy body. I have been using this program for several weeks with none of the injuries I usually sustain while lifting heavy weights. I also like Matt Furey's books and tapes, but I find this book contains more information at less cost (in fact it contains more information than most of the fitness books I own put together). I also enjoyed the beginning chapters of this book with the bios of earlier strongmen such as Charles Atlas, Woody Strode and Earl Liederman and others. These chapters are inspirational and show that one can become strong without heavy weights. I'm not too sure of the author's views on nutrition and I'm not to keen on his take on religion, but otherwise this book is excellent. It will save you from buying many other exercise books that will just collect dust on your bookshelf.

... for beginners that I've ever seen. Very motivationg book. That realizes that people are different sizes and have different leverages. Good Q&A's after every lesson. Great Nutritional Advice. Good goal setting and health advice in lesson 3. I Highly Recommend This Book.

... No big deal, John has a workout that can allow you to build up strength until you can handle your own bodyweight. On the other end of the spectrum, he presents several ways that you can continue to challenge yourself through a lifetime of working out without ever having to go to a gym or buy special equipment.

The exercises John teaches have been around for years and since the old Charles Atlas stuff (a big part of these workouts) went out of fashion at least a quarter century ago, many of us have never heard of some of these techniques.

While the workouts haven't been mainstream for a generation or so, the nutrition advice is pretty much in line with what most registered dieticians would recommend. It's not a low carb diet, but an approach that will allow you to shed fat and provide enough energy for your workouts.

It's a good, entertaining read and the workouts are definitely worth a try.