The beauty of PYTP is the unique way in which John Peterson guides the reader through the combination of many different forms of exercise. The photographs are excellant, the exercise combinations are wide-ranging and thorough, and the health & nutrition advice are up-to-the minute and straight forward.

The book is well laid out and makes for very absorbing reading. The beauty of John Peterson's system of training, known as Transformetrics, is it's simplicity and effectiveness. Experienced weight-trainers with joint and ligament injuries, including those who suffer from lower back pain will find the Transformetrics system extremely benefical and very theraputic.

Transformetrics involves a range of highly effect non-apparatus training methods, such as DVR (Dynamic Visual Resistance), DSR (Dynamic Self Resistance), isometric and isotonic exercises. John Peterson has combined these into the most effective non-apparatus training system I have ever seen (or tried). If you truly desire to possess a strong muscular body, coupled with speed, fitness, stamina, functional strength AND without the injury risks of lifting weights, then PYTP is for you.

Forget the bewildering array of machines, the infomercials, the TV personal trainers, the fad diets and expensive over-priced gyms. John Peterson has created the very finest and most effective non-apparatus training system in the world that will transform your physique faster than you thought possible, and in the privacy of your own room. I know, I have tried them all!

If you are serious about building a strong, healthy, muscular body quickly AND naturally, then do yourself a favor and purchase a copy of Pushing Yourself To Power, by John E. Peterson, the new Charles Atlas for the 21st century.

Do it today. I know you won't be disappointed.

William J. Gibbons, Ph.D.

The book has been advertised to "everyone" (meaning beginners and advanced athletes). This could not be further from the truth. I have worked in the physical fitness field for the past 24 years. I've coached Div II college football for another 9 years. This book does not offer any novel ideas. The information is simply recycled from the past.

Furthermore, the author has labeled the book as a "bodybuilding" guide through natural resistance. He then contradicts himself by claiming the book's content is functional and applicable to athletes. Let's get one thing clear. Bodybuilding is the worst thing that ever happened to athletic strength training. Just because you apply bodybuilding concepts to bodyweight exercise does not miraculously make the book useful for athletes. Whether you train with bodyweight movements, free weights, or resistance machines, bodybuilding is the furthest thing from functional, useful training. Bodybuilding lacks functionality. This book also lacks functionality unless you are training to pose in front of a mirror.

I wish the author would more accurately market his program. Yes, it could be useful to the individual who wishes to begin an exercise program after long periods of inactivity. That's just not the way this book has been promoted.

This book will get lost on my bookshelf or will appear on an online auction site.

- Disappointed Reader from New York

I did the DVR exercises from 3-7 times a week and varied the intensity like Peterson says to do so that some days I would go as hard as I could and some days a bit easier. I am a very intense guy, and I will tell you that when I did them all out I mean I did them all out.

I also worked up to 500 pushups a day three days a week doing feet elevated pushups, floor pushups, dips on bars, Atlas pushups with my feet elevated, Hindu pushups and diamond pushups. So I included plenty of the harder two handed pushup types.

The end result of 4-5 months of this was that I became very good at doing pushups and DVR exercises. I could basically drop down and do a sets of pushups without any problem whenever I wanted without breaking a sweat. I also became adept at doing the DVR exercises.

However, I did not gain muscle mass. Nor did I get carry over to my weight training, which progressed slowly and steadily during the time. But, not any different than it did before.

I actually have a little better genetics than average, and am able to handle a huge amount of exercise with no problem. I did not have any problems with overtraining at all, and continued to make progress on everything I was doing, and felt good the whole time. So, overtraining was not the cause of my not getting bigger.

Nor was diet, as I actually got a little pudgy in my face since I made sure I ate more than enough that if pushups and DVR were going to help me they would.

My conclusion is that since I was lean and muscular before my experiment the pushups and DVR did not make a noticable change in my body.

They also did not improve my max strength as far as doing one armed pushups go. Doing 500 pushups an day did not make those any easier. High rep calisthenics do not improve maximum strength very much. This has been well established, and no amount of claims to the contrary will change that.

My conclusion is that if you're already in good shape, this program may not do very much for you. If you are not in good shape, once you get in better shape, the program will probably not allow for continuous improvement beyond that point.

You should then cut down on these exercises and move on to something else (if you want to keep improving). Simply adding more and more high rep calistehnics will not do much for you. It becomes a point of diminishing returns and after a while all you're doing is abusing your joints without any real benefit. And yes, you can hurt yourself every bit as badly doing these exercises as weight training.

This is not, in my mind, an advanced bodybuilding program like the book claims. Plenty of advanced bodybuilding programs have alowed me to pack on a lot of mass. This one did not. I believe this a a pretty good program for somebody who hasn't been getting enough exercise. And, there's nothing wrong with that.

I will continue to do some DVR exercises because I think they work well as joint mobility/stretching exercises.

Of course I am just one person and your experince may differ from mine. But I believe you really can't comment on the effectiveness of the program until you've done it for an extended period of time.

It is hard for a former lifter to have such a profound shift in paradigm, but as a doctor who focuses on the nervous system, I also have an understanding that the body will respond to a stimulus even if it is self applied. Strength is the ability to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible for a given task, and by gaining an incredible mind-muscle connection from this form of training, you can transcend the notion that you must lift heavy weights to get strong. And since nerve force is what recruits those fibers, I have gained an intense training focus from generating my own resistance and stimulus. No matter how much attention I paid to proper form with weights, I still became injured. It doesn't make sense to me to expose myself to possible injury when there is a safer and more effective way to train. For those who just can't believe that self resistance or visualized resistance can be effective, just remember a muscle doesn't know the difference between a stimulus you create or the stimulus from a weight. Your own effort is what makes the difference. You can create the very stimulus that can give you the FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH that a truly healthy body exudes. Thanks for a life changing book.

I personally am in my early forties. I make my livelihood as an airline pilot. The methods Mr. Peterson teaches are invaluable for me personally, but let me address another issue. Although the vast majority of the reviews posted about this book have been resoundingly positive, once in a while someone posts something negative, saying that Mr. Peterson has jumped on Matt Furey's bandwagon to intentionally slam weightlifting. I find this to be ludicrous. While Mr. Peterson credits Matt Furey and many others in the creation and development of his own Transformetrics Training System not once does he ever state that a person should never lift weights. What he does do, however, is offer an incredibly effective alternative for those who don't have access to either a gym or weights or who have been injured by the "cumulative effects of weight training," as Mr. Peterson so eloquently states in Pushing Yourself to Power.
I know whereof I speak personally. Fifteen years ago when I was in my mid twenties, I would have thought Mr. Peterson's advice against heavy weight training to be absurd to say the very least. But over the course of the last decade and a half there were more and more times when I would arise from a night's sleep in the early morning and feel stiff and sore just as Mr. Peterson states in PYTP. I can't tell you how many times I felt pain and stiffness in my joints and lower back. In fact, for a long period of time I literally got to the point where my pain and stiffness were so commonplace that I forgot what it felt like to be pain-free. Was I strong from all of my weightlifting? You bet I was. I could bench press well in excess of 400 pounds and curl well over 200 pounds, but I was hurting.

Then I heard about Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning book. From there I read about John Peterson's Pushing Yourself to Power. The major difference between the two books is that while Matt Furey teaches you how to become superbly fit, John Peterson takes it a step further to teach you how to sculpt and build a beautiful physique as well, using nothing more than your own body. To say that Mr. Peterson's methods are for beginners only is absolutely ridiculous. At no time in my life have I been able to perform as many pull-ups and hand stand push-ups as I can now at age 41 by following Mr. Peterson's methods. Not to mention that I am totally pain-free and able to work out at almost anytime and anyplace. One other thing that has become obvious is that my body has taken on a much leaner and harder look based upon the observations of personal friends. However, I too have noticed a dramatic increase in my muscular definition achieved primarily by following Lesson 3 on DVR exercises from Mr. Peterson's book.

Am I saying this book is for everyone? Obviously not. But if you want to achieve a perfectly developed physique without pain or injury that is often associated with heavy weight training, then I can't believe you could possibly do better than Pushing Yourself to Power.

Peterson has jumped on the "weight training is dangerous" bandwagon. Crossing the street can also be dangerous if you do so with your eyes closed. Whenever an author labels other training styles as "dangerous" there is usually an alternative motive. Common sense, gradual progression, and intelligent training make all forms of exercise safe. To label weight training as dangerous is borderline ignorant. Should I mention Jack LaLanne? Has weight training hampered his health and longevity after 90 years?

According to Peterson's logic, all competitive athletes should resign due to the "dangers" of competition. On the flip side, Peterson is so bold to label this program as ideal for "world-class athletes". He contradicts himself. I suppose all pro athletes should drop their weight programs and begin training with Peterson's book?

Another clear con of the book is the repeated reference to movements such as the "Furey Pushup". Matt Furey did not invent the Hindu Pushup. As a teenager, we performed this style of pushup over 30 years ago! It appears that Peterson has picked up with the snake oil salesman tactics of Furey.

As for the actual exercise program, Peterson has marked it towards the "beginner" or "world-class athlete". This book is clearly geared towards the beginner. It consists of basic isometric movements. This style of training lacks movement, one integral component of athleticism. I wouldn't hold your breath and expect to see professional athletes abandoning their strength programs for Peterson's "Tiger Movements". This book was written for the middle-aged man who is out of shape and needs a beginner's program

There is nothing wrong with that, but let's please stop praising this book to be something that it is not. If you need a low intensity beginner's program, this book is fine. If you are already in shape, and need further challenge, this book simply does not do as promised.

Very disappointed reader.

The exercises are not isometric but rather involve complete movement of the muscle under tension.

The chapters are clearly marked. For example if you wanted to exercise your chest, you would simply turn to that chapter and pick what exercises interested you. There are so many exercises, it is hard to get bored.

I have seen results with this method which is pretty amazing considering I have been a gym rat for over 20 years.

All in all well worth the money!

If you want to gain absolute strength via bodyweight exercise, stick with Pavel's (dragondoor.com) Naked Warrior.

If you want to condition yourself for mixed martial arts, stick with Ross Enamait's Warrior Fitness program (warriorforce.com).

If you want to waste money, go with the crooked Furey.

If you are looking for a general fitness program, go with PYTP. Peterson is a genuine man, with a quality product. It just wasn't what I was looking for (based on my specific goals). Nothing wrong with the quality of info.

Kindest regards,
Michael - Canada