As the trainer to some of the most famous names in the biz, from the entire Kardashian-Jenner cohort to J. Lo, LA-based Gunnar Peterson is an institution.
An industry stalwart who has been burpee-ing with the best since the eighties, re-inventing the wheel is not his thing. Rather, his method revolves around tried, tested and true formats delivered in his contagiously upbeat tones (‘I don’t want to sound like the guy who’s always happy, but I’m always happy’, he tells WH).
No doubt, this is someone who makes you want to up your energy, fitness levels and overall training game.
Want to get right to eight exercises that Peterson uses with clients? Scroll to the bottom of the page
So, it’s hardly surprising that he’s just been announced as Chief of Athletics at the home of functional fitness, F45 (a studio concept of functional movement-rooted 45 min workouts devised to deliver muscle growth and fat loss. It works – trust us.)
His role will entail leveraging his expertise to spearhead the fitness franchise through it’s next stage of development, something he’s pumped about.
Why is Gunnar Peterson joining F45?
‘I have always been a huge advocate for functional training methods…and I admire the F45 franchise and the global fitness phenomenon it has become. Many of my clients are fans of F45, which I believe is reflective of the strong global community that it has built,’ Peterson said in a statement.
WH has previously hit him up for an example workout that he’s used to put the stars through their paces, but this time, amid his big news with F45, we wanted to speak to the main man himself about his modus operandi: how does he get results?
‘In layman’s terms, it’s like a circuit. Sort of,’ says Peterson of his training style. ‘We go from movement to movement with very little rest in between. We have proper hydration breaks and rest when we need it, but let’s not sit and text and make calls we don’t need to.’
Here are the key teachings in Peterson’s philosophy for not only getting the body you want, but being happy in it, as well as a breakdown of eight key exercises he loves to use.
1. There’s no time like now
Hmm, finding some increasingly unjustifiable reason for not getting started with an exercise regime — and then trying to justify it… Sound familiar?
‘People who look for some magical jump-off day — “I’m going to start on January 1st”, “I’m going to start on my 30th birthday”, “I’m going to start once my divorce clears”, “I’m going to start when I get engaged”… Get started!’, says Peterson.
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‘Make your barrier of entry to exercise as easy as possible; don’t put up so many road blocks and take responsibility for them: Yes, you do them put them up and don’t do that. Sign up for a class, hire a trainer, do whatever it takes.’
2. Plan your workouts ahead of time
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Tend to just turn up at the gym and head to whatever you feel like doing today? For Peterson, that is not the way to maximise your results. Rather, he plans meticulously in advance to make sure that every workout is geared towards hitting his – and his client’s – goals.
‘The one common denominator is we don’t have enough time. Not just to work out, but to do it all; to do cardio, strength, add movement. But you can – if you sequence and map it out ahead of time. I write my class workouts and my own workouts the night before, so I’m not looking around in the gym thinking: maybe I’ll do that today. Literally I have a plan.’ Notes app at the ready…
4. Consistency is key
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‘I’m a believer in doing something [physical] every day,’ says Peterson. That’s not to say that you should be swinging a kettlebell seven days a week – more that movement of some kind, from a gentle, short walk to a restorative yoga session, is helpful, on days away from sweatier exercise.
‘You might participate in a team sport, train antagonistic muscle groups, have certain cardio days, certain strength days, active recovery days and specific recovery days, for example, running this in tandem with a solid nutrition plan,’ he says.
If you do want to mix it up – say, trial a new type of cardio or swap a strength session for a mobility one – then he notes that you should do this one thing at a time.
5. Focus on all the benefits of movement
Though it’s not Peterson’s sole goal, he knows aesthetics play a big part in people’s lives (… ‘You know where I live, don’t you?’).
‘We are a visual society. It’s on every bus, every billboard, every commercial — people with beautiful bodies, consciously and subconsciously pushing us to that end goal whether you subscribe to it or not,’ says Peterson.
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‘I factor it in because I understand that’s reality, but I’m not going to put that ahead of health, wellness and performance because that’s just irresponsible.’
7. Work out which wellness habits you want to prioritise
Getting enough of everything – from sleep to exercise to meditation – is hard, for most people. That’s something that Peterson is sharply aware of.
‘When you’re younger, you can burn it at both ends, you can train hungover, you can train when you’re short on sleep, you can handle stress differently because you’re either unaware or it doesn’t affect you as much, but as you get older you have to consciously manage all that stuff,’ he says.
So, how to manage it? ‘Instead of accepting “I can’t have it all”, go “I can’t have it all, but maybe I can have some of that. Maybe not all of everything, but maybe some or a little of everything”.’
In practice, that might look like making time for five minutes of mindfulness a day, rather than 10 or 20; like catching a Pilates class on YouTube rather than in person or ensuring that you wind down effectively before bed, to make sure that the hours you do get are restorative.
8. Know when to be at peace with how your body looks
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Everyone’s physical goals are different. But try for a level of contentment rather than constantly raising the bar.
‘It’s not for me to tell you what your body should look or feel like,’ says Petrson.
‘There’s something to be said for being happy in your own body – when you’ve reached that, it doesn’t mean you’ve settled or compromised, I think it’s a level of self-awareness we should all strive to get to.’
Gunnar Peterson’s go-to exercises
We also hit Peterson up for some of the exercises he incorporates with his clients, and here’s what he revealed:
- Sumo deficit squats
- Pull-ups
- Crunches with a ball toss
- Sprints: run as fast as you can for 45 seconds on, then take 15 seconds off
- Ab extensions
- Sled pulls
- Dumbbell gorilla rows
- Split stance dumbbell curls
He didn’t share specific reps or weights, because, as we all know, we’ve all got different levels of fitness so there’s no use in trying to replicate another’s workout.
But it’s easy to combine these all into one routine: just apply a specific number of reps/time to each move and decide how many rounds you’re going to do. Props to anyone who manages more than one.
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