Gunnar Peterson

Gunnar Peterson is an American personal trainer, author, businessman, and actor best known for his work with professional athletes and celebrities. He is also a speaker, creator of major fitness programs, and developer of fitness equipment with a focus on functional training.

Early life and education As a child in Houston, Texas, Peterson struggled with his weight. At age 10, his mother enrolled him in Weight Watchers and began driving him to weekly meetings. As he tells People Magazine, "At one meeting they announced I'd lost 5lbs., I celebrated by buying two ice-cream sandwiches." By college, Gunnar had gotten serious about fitness and started his career; People notes the extra weight is "now but a memory on his 9.5 percent body fat frame."

He is a graduate of Duke University (class of 1985) in Durham, North Carolina with degrees in Physical Fitness, Psychology and Nutrition.

As a personal trainer, Peterson does one-on-one sessions with workouts. This practice is tied to his emphasis on functional training.

Gunnar Peterson works out up to nine clients a day at his Beverly Hills gym, and they're often a mix of pro athletes and movie stars. J-Lo says he's the best trainer she's ever had, Sly Stallone was so grateful for Peterson's help he cast the trainer in Rocky Balboa, and after Pete Sampras won the 2002 U.S. Open he gave Peterson a racquet signed THANKS FOR EXTENDING MY CAREER. — Sports Illustrated Today/ MSNBC quotes excerpts from his book detailing how to shape up attitudes and bodies. CNN quotes Gunnar's philosophy: "Get on a regular routine. Exercise should be a cornerstone of your life, like brushing your teeth. It's not even an option to blow it off."

Author, videos and business products Peterson released his first book, G-Force, in January 2005 (Regan Books). Outlined in the book are what Peterson calls the four "F-words" – Function, Foundation, Freedom and Focus.

He serves as an editor and writes a regular column for Muscle and Fitness magazine, is on the advisory board for Fitness magazine, and has been a contributing editor for Glamour magazine as well as a contributor for Clean Eating.

Through his own fitness product development company, Outside Shot, Peterson created The Bottom Line, a body exercise machine, The RAC, an accessory that incorporates weighted upper body work with Spinning, and Hoop Hands, a basketball-specific resistance training aid.

In 2017, Peterson was hired as a celebrity trainer to promote telepresence fitness instruction offered by a Maryland-based company.

Personal life He is divorced from Janet Crown, daughter of billionaire Lester Crown and granddaughter of Junius Myer Schine. The couple had three children. He then married Jessica Friedman and had two more children before moving with his family to Nashville, Tennessee.