Get Started Today: Interview with Celebrity Trainer Gunnar Peterson

I recently went one on one with Gunnar Peterson, celebrity trainer and former strength and endurance coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Gunnar: I never took my foot off the gas! I decided early on that I would try to outwork the field. I tried to find good partners – like–minded trainers, training partners and business partners – because no-one can do it alone. I made some great friends along the way, and I created some great business contacts that evolved into more than just business, like F45, MitoQ and BioSteel.

As far as challenges go, when you realize that every “failure” is a lesson, it keeps you from standing still. I understand the need to take time to smell the roses, but to me the need to press on far outweighs that.”

Adam: Who are the best leaders you have been around and what have you learned from them? What do you believe makes an effective leader?

Gunnar: The best leaders – there are three driving forces for me: my parents, my brother, and my wife and kids. There's wisdom, there’s drive, and then there’s my raison d’etre, and I draw without hesitation from those sources.

I think the best leaders have the willingness to take the calculated risk and trust in their preparation.

Adam: What were the best lessons you learned from your time working with the Lakers?

Gunnar: One was a lesson I didn’t need to learn, but it was nice to watch it reinforced, is that structure, preparation, continuity and energy win the day. The other one is that having a good team around you, and not just the players who make the team but also the support staff, gives you the ability to win even if you’re not at your best. And I would say that’s “winning” on and off the court.

Adam: What are the most interesting lessons you have learned from your notable celebrity clients?

Gunnar: The first one is that you can do more than you think you can do. The second is that consistent hard work beats God-given talent every single day. And the third one is, the more you do the less you doubt.

Adam: What are your best fitness tips - for anyone?

Gunnar:

1. Get started today.

2. You don’t have to do everything, but you do have to do something.

3. Give yourself credit for what you do, don’t beat yourself up for what you didn’t do.

4. Reframing how you think about things helps as a great motivator, “I get to workout today” not “I have to work out”.

Adam: What are your best fitness tips for those who are already physically active and are interested in getting to the next level?

Gunnar: Look at your recovery, don’t always look at what you can add to your current program. So, you may be better off getting an extra hour’s sleep than doing an extra mile on the treadmill, or an extra class. You may be better loosening the reins on your diet, or trying another recovery protocol like Theragun’ing your entire body, or trying a cryo chamber, or an infrared sauna or getting a massage than adding another activity. But if you still want to do that, trying something different could be the spice you needed, like adding in F45, taking up tennis, playing basketball or going for a bike ride.

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of nutrition and recovery?

Gunnar: On nutrition, eat food that’s as close to its natural state as possible. Drink more water than you’re drinking now, even if you think you’re drinking a lot, drink more. Every six months you should reevaluate your supplement program. Make sure you’re getting a multivitamin, if you’re very active you should probably consider a B-complex. You should definitely have MitoQ. And you should have more water. Did I mention more water?

Adam: How do you motivate yourself and how do you motivate others?

Gunnar: I'm motivated by looking at my kids. I want to be on the field with my kids – not on the sidelines – for as long as I can. I’m not delusional, I know Father Time wins the fight, but I want to be able to do as many rounds as possible before I'm knocked out.

When motivating others, I believe you have to walk the walk. When I work with people, I'm always there, I’m always ready, I’m older than they are but I have as much energy as many of them, I've already done my workout. You know the book Leaders Eat Last? In my book leaders eat last but they train first.

But I guess you should ask people who are motivated by me, why they’re motivated by me. I don’t think I know what I could say to motivate someone who has a $20-million movie deal contract at stake but decides not to workout. I think everyone has their own legacy, goals, ambitions, drives – in my opinion there’s nothing I’m going to say that’s going to change that course of action.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Gunnar: My mom used to say to me, “Just don’t stop. Get back in the game”. Whatever it is, whether it’s work, or a relationship, or an actual game, you’re always working for your end goal.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Gunnar: The only way I can keep answering the bell, for me, is if I train consistently, make good food choices consistently, if I take vitamins, and if I'm energized from the inside. I’ve taken MitoQ for years and if you think there’s no correlation with the energy I bring to my work, my family, my training, and the energy I get from the inside with cellular help from MitoQ, then you need to do your research or you’re in denial.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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