"Celeb Trainer: Get Your Best Body " - August, 2007

"Want Sexy…Everything?

Try Cardio: 'Focus on cardio that uses your whole body to challenge more muscles and burn extra calories in less time,” says Gunnar Peterson, who’s trained Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani. Try rowing. “It’s easy on joints and works every muscle,' he says.

And Sculpting:
Targets arms, core, butt and legs
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a 5- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent 90-degrees, with palms facing forward. Keeping chest up, squat down. As you lift back up, squat down. As you lift back up through glutes, twist body to the left, allowing feet to picot so that right heel lifts off the floor. At the same time, press dumbbells over head. Return to start. Switch sides and repeat.  Do 16 reps, alternating sides. Do 3 sets."

"Body & Soul " - March 2007

"Butt
Gunnar Peterson, who has worked with Jennifer Lopez, tells OK! how to get your butt in shape for those skintight dresses.
Reaching lunge: With a dumbbell in each hand, take a step forward and reach down to tap both weights against the ground with most of your weight on your front foot. Switch legs and repeat.
Staggered squat: Hold a light weight (3 lb.) in each hand. With your left foot at 12 o’clock, put your right foot at 4 o’clock. Squat down as if sitting in a chair. As you stand up, lift your right heel slightly. Do a set of eight and then switch sides.
Reverse hyperextension on ball: Lay face down on an exercise ball with your hands out in front of you. With your toes pointing outward, lift them off the floor, tighten your butt and then lower. Do an entire set without your feet touching the floor."

"Solid to the Core " - June 2007

"FAQ ABOUT ABS
Trainer to the stars Gunnar Peterson gives us the skinny on sculpting a six-pack.

How often should we train our abs?
Try to include different core exercises in every strength training workout. But if your abs are sore, let them recover before training them again.

Does adding weights create a thicker mid-sections?
A thicker midsection comes from extra calories. Definitely add some weighted moves from time to time – don’t include them every workout or every exercise, but definitely mix it up every now and then.

How much cardio is needed to burn off belly fat?
Try to work in 45 to 60 minutes of cardio five days a week. Be sure to vary your exercise intensity so that fat is used as a primary fuel source. (Beginners should start with 30 minutes two or three days a week and progress from there.)

What’s the best cardio machine to use?
The best cardio is whatever you enjoy doing. Running burns the most calories, but it’s associated with a greater risk of injury. Walking uphill – with or without a weight vest – is great, too. The key is to mix it up so that your body has to adapt.

What’s the best time to do cardio?
Whenever you won’t skip it is the best time. Mornings are great because you can get it out of the way with fewer distractions.

Should cardio be done on an empty stomach?
Fuel up before and after your workouts. You need the energy to work out and fuel to replenish your muscles."

"Your Fitness Personality " - Fall 2007

"The Dancer: Jennifer Lopez….If you’re looking to build coordination, flexibility and balance, Lopez’s routine should be on your dance card.

The Routine: For 38 year-old Lopez, who hits the gym anywhere from two to five days a week for an hour each time, a typical session might include cardio, weight training – with both free weights and machines – and a stretching and cooldown period. But to test a dancer’s coordination and balance, Peterson adds a twist to these traditional workouts. Instead of having clients like Lopez merely walk or jog, for instance, the trainer has them repeatedly hop sideways on a moving treadmill. Rather than ordering up standard biceps curls, he might also suggest lifting weights while standing on an unstable surface, like a pile of towels. Whatever the day’s routine, he says, all of the exercises are designed to flow seamlessly from one to the next.

Try this exercise at home:
T-raise push-up: Do a regular push-up, but as you rise, turn your body and put one arm up in the air. Return and repeat on the other side.
Stomach crunch: Lie on your back with knees bent and lower legs parallel to floor. Contract your lower abdomen to lift shoulders off the floor; hold and release."

"Training Tips: Gunnar Peterson’s Workout Solutions" - Premier Issue

"WHAT IS YOUR BEST ADVICE FOR PEOPLE TRAINING AT HOME?

Change it up: Duration, weights, rep schemes, sequence of exercises, body part prioritization, cardio before weights, weights before cardio, off days, time of day you train. And the list goes on….there are a number of ways to mix it up and, especially when you are at home, it’s incumbent upon the exerciser to do that.

Block out the time: If mixing it up was No. 1, then this would be No. 1 A (not even as far down as 2). You’ve got to block the time out. Don’t just think, “I’ll exercise later.” Say, “I will exercise at 6a.m.” (or whatever time you have chosen)

Lock it down: Treat it like a meeting, treat it like a conference call, treat it like a job interview, treat it like a first date, treat it like something you are not going to blow off.

Set it up: Make sure the kids are accounted for and watched over, make sure the fence is up and locked outside, turn the phone off in the gym and get after it.

Focus: The things that interrupt your workout and the excuses that you could come up with, consciously or subconsciously, at home are triple that of what you could come up with at a workout outside of the home. You get down to literally rearranging your freezer, cleaning the second guest bathroom toilet…all of that seems to take precedence over a home workout when you are left to our own devices. Focus, man.

"Get a ‘Tomb Raider’ Body and a J. Lo Booty with Gunnar Peterson" - April 2007

"…Gunnar’s basic training philosophy continues to expand and change, as he’s always adding new pieces of equipment and training strategies. He also tailors each workout to his individual client’s needs. 'I buy just about everything new that looks good to me and am always taking seminars and classes.'
His basic premise is this: 'Constantly put the body in a position where it has to adapt to the training demands. You could call it organized confusion or an eclectic workout. I think the body adapts on a muscular and neurological level faster than others think it does, so I mix it up every time. I think that if the person is bored mentally, the body is already bored. I love to give my clients things they didn’t know were coming.'"