50. Gunnar Peterson - Trainer to Elite Athletes, Celebrities & The Former Los Angeles Lakers Head of Strength and Endurance

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“I’ll never stop. I’ll never tap out.” - Gunnar Peterson

“What does it take to be the best?” That’s the question we really want to understand when talking to someone who has achieved unparalleled success. Subconsciously rooted even deeper is the real question “how do I get there myself?”

Having a conversation with Coach Gunnar Peterson provides a unique lens from which to view the topic of success and excellence. As a personal trainer in star studded Los Angeles and the former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers he has worked with some of the world’s top celebrity actors, elite professional athletes and business people in the world. Given his star studded roster of clientele and his training regiment focused on delivering results and clear communication he is often referred to as one of the top trainers on the planet.

So what does success mean to Gunnar?

He’ll be the first to tell you that if you’re using money or fame as you’re measuring stick you’re barking up the wrong tree. Coming from a family that prided itself on hard work and contribution Gunnar is much more concerned with what are you bring to the table than what you’re bringing home.

Listen to this candid conversation with one of the most recognizable personalities in the fitness industry. What you’ll hear is a masterclass in the pursuit of excellence and just what it is exactly that makes Gunnar tick. He’ll share what he views as being responsible for his success. The importance of being relentless. Why he gets up earlier than you and doesn’t think it’s worth bragging about. The need to be ruthless with who makes it into your inner circle and the very mantra that he teaches his own kids to help them navigate life.

Discussed in today’s episode:

Books: “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” By: Don Miguel Ruiz

Phillip Goglia, Split - http://www.pfcnutrition.com/

Split Nutrition - https://www.splitnutrition.com/

Ray “Cash” Care - @raycashcare

Ed Streit - @strengthcoach_ed

Follow Gunnar Peterson: 

 Instagram: @gunnarfitness

 Website: https://gunnarpeterson.com

Audio recorded with SquadCast: https://squadcast.fm/?ref=kengunter

Show Transcription:
Ken Gunter  00:02

Well, first off gunner, thank you for joining us on the show.

Gunnar Peterson  00:05

Thank you for having me on Ma. I'm always excited when you get the request, you're like, really? All right, let's do it. And then people go, really? You'll do it. I go, Yeah, why wouldn't I? Let's go, what do you got? If you're getting good information out, and you're trying to make the world a better place? I want to be a part of that I want to tag along. No, I

Ken Gunter  00:20

appreciate that. Well, you know, I was gonna bring this up. And maybe I'll start with this, you know, one of the things that I felt comes through, in all the videos, I've watched the reading, I've done just, you know, any sort of prep work I could do for this.

Gunnar Peterson  00:34

And you got to share, you got to really share what you see in all the videos you watch. Oh, my videos? No.

Ken Gunter  00:40

Yes, exactly.

Gunnar Peterson  00:42

You got a family? Man. Don't put that out there. No, I

Ken Gunter  00:44

don't need the FBI knocking down my door.

Gunnar Peterson  00:46

Correct.

Ken Gunter  00:48

Your humility, it comes through. And I don't mean to put you on the spot from the get go. But I mean, you like you just said, right. If someone reaches out to you says they want to do a podcast, you're like, absolutely. If you're trying to help the world, I'm happy to help as well. And so, you know, I would think a lot of people have a perspective of what LA is, you know, they would have an idea of the type of individual that would thrive in that environment. And you seem that, like you'd be comfortable in any walk of life. And it's just there's a, there's a real authenticity there that I think comes through, and at least everything that I've seen.

Gunnar Peterson  01:26

I was, you know that thing, couple things. I know where I'm from, I know who I'm from. I know my background. I know, my family. I know. And there's that line, what's right, what's wrong. Like, we're like tow that line, will I cross it, you know, where you'll go? There's just certain things you do, and you don't do. And if you can, if you can, if you have clear sight of that, if that's formatted in your brain, then I think you use grew up less and less. And I think as you get older, those lines become less blurred. And hopefully you make better decisions, then, you know, when you hear about the guy who's whatever age and he's still doing XYZ, that you go, I used to do that, but I was 20 you're going how's that going? Do I look at those people go? How's like I still do like, it's okay, if you're 20 kinda sorta, how is that guys still doing that? Now, so I know what I'm about. And I know, we're all going where I won't. So it's not, it's not hard to do. As far as humility goes. I come from with a rock solid family, my parents, my brother, the work ethic, the communication, it's all there. And then go go closer to home in my home, my wife, my kids, there's tremendous communication, there's respect there's, we address things that that aren't. If something's not 100%, we knock knock, hey, here's a problem. I want to address this, I text my kids three, four or five in the morning, I don't care. And I say, when you wake up, call me and I always write all good. Unless it's a problem. And if I don't I just write when you wake up, call me. And then they're like, Dad, what's going on? And so if you know what you're about, and you communicate, and you're operating from a place of being impeccable with your word, if I'm going to borrow from the Four Agreements, you know, that kind of thing, then you shouldn't have a problem. As far as humility goes, it's that great speech from From where did Arnold deliver that speech at a some University some graduating class, he's like, right, nobody's self made. You're not self made. Stop right now. You are not self made. And and I'm not going to paraphrase him, but but I'm not self made. So why wouldn't there be humility, I didn't get here by myself. I didn't get here. I didn't get here today. I didn't get home by myself. Like I just, you can't do it by yourself. Whether you think you're your hero, you're gonna beat your chest. No problem. I'm not gonna beat mine. Because if I, if I dig a little deeper and look a little bit beneath the surface, I got a hand here. I got some help here. Somebody pushed this. Somebody helped with that. And you have to realize you didn't get here alone?

Ken Gunter  04:04

Yeah, no. And I think there's a lot of self awareness. And, uh, you know, I love I love to read. And so whether it's looking at sports figures like Bill Walsh, or I'm a Seattle guy originally. So I love Pete Carroll. It You know, one of the things that seems consistent when you talk to folks who've had some high degree of success and whatever their pursuit is, they have those, like,

Gunnar Peterson  04:25

hang on, and make sure we're understanding that that doesn't necessarily mean financial.

04:30

Oh, yeah.

Gunnar Peterson  04:31

Yeah. I like to make that decision, because there are a lot of people who are freakish. I had a discussion yesterday with somebody about educators and how did I think or do I think that the private schools have, you know, are the schools and they cost more than this, you should get paid more because those teachers are better. And I said, I don't know that you can say no, you can't say that within broad strokes. I don't think you can say that. I think it's like attorneys, right. And I know we don't want to compare the two because some people think of edgy caner says the highest and attorney just as you know scumbags. I look at it like, if you're a public defender, is that better than a defense attorney? And are you a better attorney? If you're a defense attorney? I don't think so I think it's where you channel yourself. So you may have some of the best educators in the world, in public schools in places that that you wouldn't think they would be there. Because they're there. They're trying to uplift and they're trying to do better, and they may not be compensated financially, but they're rewarded in different ways. And they would choose that job 10 times out of 10. So just make sure that when you say success, it's not always, it's not always attached at the hip to financial.

Ken Gunter  05:39

No, and I think that's a good distinction. And I think, you know, there's, there's probably a large number of people who have achieved financial success. And, you know, they come to find that, like, that's, that's not what's gonna be fulfilling, right, I think everyone's heard of golden handcuffs. You know, you can create financial success to a point where it can actually trap you.

Gunnar Peterson  06:00

Right? And some people say, someone once said to me, You think you think that? Why did they say you think money equals happiness? Do you think money buys you happiness? I said, No, I don't, I think money buys you the freedom. And there are a lot of conditionals in this sentence. So stay with me, I think, I think money buys you the freedom to pursue what you think might make you happy. And then if you have enough money, and that thing doesn't make you happy, more of that money allows you the freedom to back out, and course correct and find, try to find something else that might make you happy. The money itself doesn't necessarily make you happy. But it gives you the freedom to pursue the things that might make you happy. Now that you're that you've convinced yourself will make you happy, and then it's up to you to pursue them. And then say, well, it did or it did not, and I need to, I need to find another way. But that's all to me too much. Money just facilitates.

Ken Gunter  06:57

Yeah, I agree. And I feel you know, at this point in my life, right, and I have three kids, I know you have five so I almost feel like I'm you know, I don't even have a leg to stand on here in this conversation in terms of parents

Gunnar Peterson  07:08

and responsibilities to too many jokes there with legs, so just keep it over here.

Ken Gunter  07:17

But for me, it's it's now about man, how do I how do I get more freedom of time? Like Johnson? Sure. A lot of my financial goals are now aligned to man, how do I buy myself the opportunity where I can start to take more control over the time that I do have and spend it with the people I care about in the in the projects I'm passionate about?

Gunnar Peterson  07:34

Yeah, my brother put it in a great perspective. He's a very successful businessman, maybe the smartest guy I've ever met, not to mention, well read and educated and there's a difference between smart and well read and educated, right? three different categories. He's on the podium and all three. And he he said, time and he's he works in the commodities industry, so Okay, yeah, we're even more telling. He said it's the only commodity we can't create more off. And right. So what are you gonna do with it? What do you do? the hourglass is running? Mm hmm.

Ken Gunter  08:07

I had a summer school Spanish teacher who once told me, you can always make more money and but you can never get your time back. Yeah. And that's stuck with me. Not Spanish. Right? out. So let me let me ask you a question. I think for the out from the outside looking in for most people, right, there's a number of titles associated with your name. And maybe we can even talk about how you feel about some of them. But yeah, I mean, you've literally been named the top personal trainer in the world. I guess for you.

Gunnar Peterson  08:37

Lose, you call my mom.

Ken Gunter  08:39

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, very true. Very true. But you know, for you, I mean, you've already kind of like made the point like, hey, let's, let's stop this right here and be really clear about what success means. And the measuring stick we're using, you know, for you at this point in your life, I guess, how do you measure success?

Gunnar Peterson  09:02

Um,

Ken Gunter  09:04

and speaking specifically to like, you know, where you're at in life, like, how are you knowing that you're checking the boxes on what you want to do and who you want to be? And not to get too deep, but I feel like we kind of went there.

Gunnar Peterson  09:15

Yeah, you went there. You look at I don't know, it's funny. Are you able, at the end of the day to say it was a good day, I wake up saying it's a good day, you wake up, it's a good day, right? Try not waking up one day, that's not a good day. So you wake up, it's a good day, and then how it unfolds. And that's, for me, that's largely that plays out. Largely due to the way I've prepared for it. I'm a big prep guy. I wasn't so much in school. I was a last minute guy just had this conversation with my mom yesterday. You know, I was the pack right before the flight, get to the airport and have to talk to the person at the check in to allow me even though the gates closed, you know, is that guy, I'm not that guy anymore. unpacked, two days ahead of time, I get to the airport, I roll around, I got time. Same with my workouts, I write my workouts the night before I get to the gym very early. They're all printed out. It's just, it's just I ease into it. And then I can really focus on the execution of the prep right? college would have been a lot easier had I done it that way, but I didn't. So whatever, slow learner Late Bloomer, I wear those hats. So then at the end of the day, did you do what you set out to do? And I will go through my phone or no, you're not supposed to look at your devices, you know, before an hour before bed. And I understand. Sorry, I'm working on it. But I will go through and anything I didn't respond to. Or I didn't, you know, I pinned or I left unread. I will write back and say, Sorry, I didn't get to this day got ahead of me. I'll hit you tomorrow. And I'll and I'll follow up on those. And I try to have as few of those as possible. And then then you know, you had a good day because you planned it out. You executed the boxes that you're checking really are. Did I do good work? Did I do my best? Did I honor my word? Did I have quality time with my wife to have quality time with my kids? Was I good to my body? Did I get my workout in? Did I fuel properly? And I mean, I know that kills the romance with food and whatever. But if you eat like that, I know that spills over into for me anyway, that spills over into performance on every single level, our level of patience level of fatigue, strength, aches and pains. And Joyce I know what I eat can directly be tied to that. So that's how I measure success. How I measure. Did I have a good day? Did I do things right today? Is this quality? Am I am I being successful?

Ken Gunter  11:41

Yeah. Well, and you said something there too. And I in reading up on just your schedule. It's insane to me that you're getting up at 345 in the morning. So

Gunnar Peterson  11:53

time timeout.

Ken Gunter  11:55

I don't want to hear Yeah, go for it. No

Gunnar Peterson  11:56

Go for before anybody. There's nothing heroic about that. And people ask me, I don't walk around going, guess what time I get up. I don't do that. I get up when I get up. Because that serves me best I can accomplish more and do more. The only time that's heroic is if you go to bed at midnight every night. But what if what I want to ask you Yeah, so if you're going to bed at I'm not gonna say 730. But I just did. But if you're going to bed at eight 839 930. That's okay. You can still make that if you're going to bed at 10 1015 and 10 and 1015. To me or worlds of difference. If you're getting up at 345 11. You can do it, you can make it work. But if your night if your bedtime goes, like let's say Sunday night, right, the stress day before the week, if I go to bed at 11 on Sunday, I'm probably not going to feel good till Thursday. That's just how it works. Right? I'm setting myself. But if I go to bed Sunday, early Monday, relatively early Tuesday, relatively early Wednesday, cut a short Thursday, I push. And that's when my 11 is I can make it through the week. To get a brilliant big deal or a lot of people that get up we're looking all the people work at the airport, look at all the people driving buses, look at all the people delivering packages look at there's so many people who get a brilliant, there's a whole nother world working on that into the clock.

Ken Gunter  13:24

It's incredible. Yeah, and I love I love thinking about that too. And so is it accurate to say because there are, you know, those personalities who are very vocal about how early they get up, and they talk about the four hours. But for you some of the stuff that I've already heard, it's about optimizing. So you're basically shifting everything forward, right? Is that the right way? Like you're just getting to bed earlier so that waking up at 345 is feasible, you're still well rested.

Gunnar Peterson  13:49

I'll tell you what, it's tough. If we take a trip, let's say East Coast that's up but if we take a trip even central timezone to Nashville, and you get in at a certain time and you end up going to bed at 11 right even though that's not when you when you go to get up at five there if I want to hit the gym before we're doing whatever we're doing as a family. That's three my body's my body's going Hey, it's three What are we doing? We have 45 more minutes so then it's not not that it's heroic, but then it's it's it's tougher, but it's not insurmountable. Oh my god there's so many people either like my my line and I said this actually on the phone and give my mom today. She's 83 so I call her every day, sharpest attack and and I just she says oh I'm sorry. That was tough that era Oh, you must have must have been a hard day today or something. And I go mom a lot hotter hills than mine. There are a lot of hot there a lot hotter hills than mine. And she just pauses it goes. Yes, there are sweetheart. As long as you keep that perspective period. There are a lot more slides in this this is I have zero problems. Zero complaints.

Ken Gunter  14:49

Yeah, absolutely. And so you know for you obviously I know that you have a ton on your plate. But why is

Gunnar Peterson  14:55

my choice for people who complain I'm busy. Oh my god. I'm so busy. swamp the buried man. Like, you can't cord it. You know, nurture it and then be pissed that it's happening to you. You sound like a fool. You sound like a fool you do 100 cold calls and then you have, you know, you get 40 calls back in there, dude, I got 40 calls to return like, you put 100 calls out what did you What did you hope for two, right? So

Ken Gunter  15:21

you know what was funny too about living through this whole pandemic is the same people that were saying there was no time and not enough time in the day to busy overworked. Were the same ones to be vocal about. I got nothing going on. I

Gunnar Peterson  15:33

don't have time to exercise. Hey, guess what?

15:35

You're

Gunnar Peterson  15:37

on a time, man. Knock yourself out.

Ken Gunter  15:40

Yeah, absolutely. So I hear you so much of that is like you said, perspective. But you know, kind of, I guess along those lines, you know, by however you want to measure your success, you are one of the most well regarded trainers strength and conditioning coaches in the US in the world. I guess, you know, from your perspective, what is it that is like set you apart? Over the course of your career? It's I mean, I

Gunnar Peterson  16:10

think it's you just don't quit, right? It's like, how do you become a Navy SEAL? You You don't want to become a seal. You have to become a seal you You don't? You don't quit? That's it. You can't. Unless you're medically discharged. You're not out if you don't quit so I just don't stop. There's nothing stopping me. There's, I'm not gonna quit. You might be better than me. You might be stronger than me. You might know more than me. You may have more degrees than me. I'll never stop. I'm never I'll never tap out. I'm just not, you know, I'll take the extra person. I'll work the holiday. I'll travel to the place and and hunker down and yeah, I just will. I will. I don't mind it. I like it. I all these things are experiences. I heard a great podcast with Ed my lead and Dierks Bentley and loved her. Yeah, love. And he said he would play these gigs, where sometimes it was just him and his I think he said his cousin. And they were literally like the wallpaper like people didn't even know and they just play for tips. And then somebody will say the next day Hey, there's another little gig this you want to go and he go Yeah, I just want to play. And he would do it and and Ed said to him see that's the difference? Is there guys who will do it once or twice, but then they're not going to go back to that did that didn't turn I netted nothing from that. No, I never I didn't get a bigger job from that and get a bigger paycheck. No one else would be a record deal from that. But you just kept doing them because you love doing them. I'm the same way with the training. Yeah, I'll make it. Let's go. Let's go. Let's make it work. What a Yeah, I started this, I'll go before Can you go after? And usually what you find out is the person doesn't want it as much as I'm willing to do it. That's what happens. And and I mean, it's not you're not blaming them. That's just how they see their schedule. I really want to do this, I really want to do this and I go, Okay, can you do 5am? Well, I get up, I got work, I got a sample, you want this? Or do you not want it? And I'm not saying I'm challenging you. But if that's all I have at that moment, you can't expect me to cancel someone I've had at eight o'clock for five years. Because, you know, you got a wild hair, I want to start training, but they will bend. So I think I do think that I digress. But I think that the answer to your question is, I just want it more. I want to do everything I want all the experiences.

Ken Gunter  18:30

Hmm. Where does that come from? Is that just innate? Is that something you were just born with? Is there a family member that you know is just wired the same way? I know, I know. Mama Peterson has made a big, big impact on the show already.

Gunnar Peterson  18:44

Yeah, she's honestly best. I think my dad took every opportunity as a job came up. He took it he took it you know whether it was my family moving from the east coast to Houston, Texas or moving from Houston, Texas to London to the Middle East. Then they went to the Philippines and then they then they went to Europe and they went to Argentina. It was just just take the job. Just take the job. The job leads, you know, work begets work. One door opens another door. That's just how it is. And my mom always be willing. She used to always say my suitcase is packed. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. I'll go. My brother same thing. He's, he's worked. He takes that you know where the job takes him. He goes, there was a time when he was traveling 290 days a year the guys tireless, absolutely tireless, and he would do the last dinner and he'd be the first guy up working out and then at the early meetings, he just tireless. So who am I to say, members of my family work like that. I don't want to I don't want to be the one that they go, hey, that's that's the guy who doesn't work. I don't want to be that guy. I want to be on a par with them. Different job, right? I don't have to tie a tie and I don't have to do the same. I'm not in the same business rotation that they're in but I want to be that I want to take and this is another thing about training I took early on and I still think The training seriously and I treat it like a job. I treat it like a job, there's a start time, there's an end time, there's a way, there's a way you approach there's a way you close out, there's a system to opening up the gym shutting down the gym, prepping the workout finishing the workout. You know, there's, it's like a good play right? beginning middle end. Yeah.

Ken Gunter  20:21

And that's true. That's true for all your athletes that you're working with. And I know you work with a wide variety of people.

Gunnar Peterson  20:29

I have a guy now is a baseball pitcher. He's about to return, right? We're early February, he's going back any day now. And we shifted his stuff to more conditioning specific, it's it's less of the heavier lifts, it's less of that. And we it's it's morphed into more conditioning stuff. He's still wrecked when he leaves because he wants that. But he's wrecked in a different way. And that's how we decided to he requested it. And we walked through why, and what he's done in the past that has worked, what he's done in the past that has not worked. And this is what we came up with. So there is a system to it. It's a different system than than an NBA guy that I may have. Or then a boxer that I may have, but it's a system on the list.

Ken Gunter  21:15

Hmm. And I feel like you know, whether you're working with to your point, like top tier athletes, or you're working with some of these actors who are maybe preparing for a role, I have to imagine that a lot of cases you have a really finite objective for these guys, but you are and gals but you probably have a short amount of time to get it done. Right? It's not like, wouldn't imagine you get to have most of your clients consistently over the course of the year. It's probably being fit in in an offseason, maybe or it's fit in, you know, in between some sort of like filming schedule. Like what is your sort of process for kind of assessing the difference between where they are at that moment and how you're going to get them to where they need to be?

Gunnar Peterson  21:57

Well, you're right in that there is a natural ebb and flow to the client base. Throughout the year. This is as you know, it's a transient town, people come in, they come out, people's riches rise, people's riches fall. They are here, like you said, for an offseason, and they're gone, or they're here before a roll, and they are they contract you and contact you for a role. And then maybe they bring you along for the role. Or maybe they don't, or maybe they don't bring along for the role, but then they pick it up when they return. So there's an ebb and a flow to all of that. As far as putting it together for them, you have to factor in what they see. So they're heard and you address, not their concerns, but their, you know, their hopes or dreams or fears kind of thing. It's gonna suck this bad, but not that bad. This is why it's going to be great and why it's worth it. Then Then you look at their approach, because a lot of them come in with a preconceived notion of what a training regimen looks like. And you go okay, I hear that I feel that or if that's what you've done, okay, it hasn't yielded the results you want. But are you sure you want to continue doing the same thing, I don't want to follow any other program you're on unless it's an athlete coming from a team. And I've spoken with their strength coach directly, I'll say, and I've had that I've had back in the day, before I was with the Lakers, I had a guy come to me and he said, he literally came to my gym, I was going to train their their top guy in the offseason. And he brought me their offseason training program and he started going through it and then he kind of closed through it, he goes, gee, take a look at that. I mean, you know what you're doing, this is just what we're doing. If you can use any of that use it, but if not do your thing. And it was such a respectful way of handling it for you know, at the time, I think I've been in this 25 years. So thank you. But you got to factor in what they want. Then you factor in what they need. Then you factoring what you see and how to communicate to them I see this, which is why I think we need this and this is how I would approach it, then you make sure on the same pages because not many people really like surprises. And and then you show them how you're going to put this together and how I mean not that you peek around corners, but you definitely show them how it's gonna unfold over the course of the foreseeable future.

Ken Gunter  24:22

I'm telling you right now, so I'm in sales, I work in tech. I mean, we could just chop that up and pass it around to the sales teams like that that is like sales 101 and I love that that's kind of where this conversation went like it's you know about instilling confidence getting them comfortable listening,

Gunnar Peterson  24:39

you know, and then showing the vision that but but the difference is sales. Ultimately, you're going to hoodwink them and screw them over. I'm not

Ken Gunter  24:52

my boss is like well and you blew it.

Gunnar Peterson  24:55

Now, like, at the end of the day, I'm and I will say this to them like I'll say, I'm on you, let's say the person's name is is john, and I'll go. Remember when he boxes something, I'll go, Hey, I'm on team, john, remember that I'm on your team. I'm here for you. I get zero out of this. You're already in this with me. We're in lockstep. So what we're doing is only solely for you. You don't, you can't, as a as a strength coach, you can't really take the credit, but you also really can't take the blame. And I know there's somebody that you can take that blame if you injure the guy, you're really injured the guy. I mean, I get it if I smash him over the head with a barbell. Yes, I've

Ken Gunter  25:38

injured him. But your cause and effect

Gunnar Peterson  25:41

was my exercise prescription over the course of the offseason, what led him to tear his ACL, I don't know, I think you'd be hard pressed to prove that, especially because I'm pretty thorough with the prep, I have a history of this. I don't know if the trainers if the strength guy is really always to blame a lot of time, they're the lowest on the totem pole. So take your shot. But you know, they come strength coaches come especially nowadays especially in the pros, was so and college to was so many certifications and so many case studies behind them, and they're so diligent with what they learn. And there's such a, the field has improved so much since I started right in terms of levels of certification. I'm continuing education, guys, and girls really know a lot like they are really, they are deep deep into this and they live and breathe this stuff. So their exercise prescription, it's a lot less hokey nowadays. If anyway, if anything, it skews more to the safe and sound than it does to the you know, Hey, sit on this stability ball and hold 100 pound dumbbell on the right hand fully extended, and then bounce this tennis ball. Why is it that kind of stuff is you don't see that, like you used to when functional training was that term was first kicked around, a lot of it look like circus tryouts. And, and I just, you know, still see that as much anymore. I see a lot like, I've been in a ton of professional strength rooms and strength, you know, with weight rooms and and strength conditioning departments and seen these guys, they are so damn good all across the board. They're just really solid at what they do.

Ken Gunter  27:18

Yeah. Well, and you know, how would you define your approach to strength and conditioning because you know, I'm not trying to put you in a box or say like, Oh, this is my system that I leverage. But you know, functional training is what comes to mind. And now granted, I only see what you put out. Right? And that whether that's social media, or videos that you've done, but you know, very rarely is it just your standard diet of traditional back squat, everything does seem to have like a purpose, in that it reflects either sport or movement. And it seems to kind of uniquely, in your own way, be very innovative from the outside looking in. But you know, how do you think about it?

Gunnar Peterson  28:01

So it's not I mean, what I post is, I mean, I, you just you hit this, it's a fraction of what we do, right. And if I if I posted back squats all day, you'd go this clown, and you just keep scrolling like people know back squats and I think there are people who post better back squats or, or more impressive back squats are more structurally sound or just better for I don't know that there are people doing that. I don't need to do that. But I can post a different type or a new twist on an old standard. Again, not just to be the new twist or not to be not form over substance. I'm not that guy. Like, I want to give you something that's that I just recorded something the other day and the way we shot it doesn't illustrate what it is. But it's it's a it's a rear lunge with a sandbag rotation as you come up with the opposite he that drives up. As you drive up, you drive up into the sandbag. So there's more engagement, there's different stressor on your hip flexor. And it's just a different move. And we started doing this and people are like, I feel so much core when I do this. And I thought yeah, we should post that. That's not to say that you shouldn't do a regular rear launch that you shouldn't do an axial loaded rear lawns that you shouldn't do the rear lunge with just a sandbag that you shouldn't do it with just a dumbbell that you shouldn't rotate. You should do all those things. But this is another thing to add or to incorporate or to try. And that's why I post that kind of stuff but functional training that's that you you brought that up. Functional for what is the first question, what is it functional for, right? functional for a lineman is different than functional for a wide receiver right? functional for a boxer is different than functional for an NBA center. So what are we looking at functional for a mother of a stay at home mom of three is different than functional for a weekend warrior dad who Is 30 pounds overweight? So you've got to look at what is the function that we're What are we serving to improve the function of, and then you break it down and do the program that way.

Ken Gunter  30:09

Yeah. So you know how much And like I said, I didn't mean to make the show about your Instagram all the time.

Gunnar Peterson  30:16

But no, I'm wide open. I told you that beginning whatever you want. Man, I should back it all up.

Ken Gunter  30:22

All good. Well, no. And here's what I love, though, is I love one to see like an innovative approach a new way to create imagine like a stimulus or to throw someone off balance or to challenge something neurologically or physically, in a different way. Which, which I think is really exciting. How much of that type of training Are you incorporating? Like, let's say with like, your top tier athletes? Because I imagine at some point, Oh, go ahead.

Gunnar Peterson  30:49

So that depends where you are in their in their macro cycle, right? Like, where are we in the offseason? Where are we in the season? Where are we just after the season? I mean, all those and each guy some guys need more than or girls. Some need more than others. Some want basic this last year with the Lakers. javale McGee was, you know people sometimes I see the only guy you train your post about of all time. First of all, I only repost I don't post, people who train with me, I only repost their stuff. I think that's, that's just how I do it. And I think that's respectful. And I think once somebody posted it's fair game to repost, I don't post it. So I'm, you know, yeah, you're not fly.

Ken Gunter  31:27

You're not name dropping offline. And yeah, I'm not,

Gunnar Peterson  31:30

I'm not trying to do that. Who cares? Here, I sometimes I want to, I want to say, God, I wish we were videoing this, it's so great for them, and then they won't post it on why did they post that they, they looked great. The movement was great. The strength was great. That's such an easy post, but they just don't and and you have to respect that. But you know, javale were trained. And he was probably most consistent on the team. I mean, he's, he's just a beast, he was always in there. And on game days, we had a very specific pregame workout, we had postgame certain days, depending on how we performed he would look behind the bench at me and go like this, like we're lifting after the game. It's like, and, and we would push and I'm like, dude, we lifted we lifted after shoot around this morning, you did the pregame thing, really. But let's go. So then you have to see how you're going to break that down. No travails. 7172 whatever it is, you got to train him a certain way he has to do certain things. You have to chant, how are you going to hit the body if you're training that frequently. So you don't over train. And I use that in air quotes, because I believe more and under recovering that overtraining. The body can take a lot. So you have to make it so that he's ultimately so that he can play his best game. The next step starting at the next tip off, right. That's the goal. So work backwards. From there. Everything we do in the weight room has to serve us everything we do outside of the way wrong period. It should make everything you do outside better if it doesn't, the programming is flawed. Yeah, we already need to change what you're doing outside. And that makes sense. And that goes for an athlete that goes for the weekend warrior. That goes for the stay at home parent that goes for the for the kid in school. I can't have a kid who comes in trains after school and he's so exhausted from the training that he misses his alarm and you know, sleeps through a social studies exam. That's Yeah, training. The training is not servicing that kid. That's you can't train him like that.

Ken Gunter  33:28

Yeah, well, actually, and that's maybe a topic worth diving into. Can you expand a little bit on what you meant by under recovery versus what what most people would refer to as overtraining. And I guess maybe they're, they're different things. But

Gunnar Peterson  33:41

yeah, so I used to joke and say that they're the only two two groups of people who really overtrain or who are at risk of overtraining or Olympic hopefuls, or galley slaves, and you go, most other people just under recover. You're either not allowing your body enough downtime, between bouts of exercise or bouts of competition. You're under feeding, you're under hydrating, you're under supplementing, you're not managing your stress levels. Your sleep is either inadequate or poor quality. You're not getting body work, whether it's massage, cryo acupuncture, Cairo, osteo, whatever it is, you do. So somewhere along the line, if you can improve on all that. You could probably take the training loads that that you're imposing on yourself. I just Yes, there are people who do it. So I'm not saying you're not overtraining, I'm saying as a rule, a lot of people don't want to over train, you're like, relax, you want a lot more in the tank. I don't want to get too big relax, you'll want Yeah, it's just it's, I can't hear that. I just, you're not gonna get too big. Well, this is heavy weight. Is this gonna make me be not from these eight reps. It's not you know, that's Just it's not. But if you don't, you know, am I gonna hurt my back with this? Probably not. But if you don't sleep and you don't eat and then you come in and do it again and your body is not ready to bear the load. It might, but I don't look at that as that's because that eight rep set you got hurt I look at it, because what led up to it, you weren't ready for?

Ken Gunter  35:21

Yeah. So how imagine is different with your elite athletes versus folks who are, you know, in the general population, but, you know, what are you looking for when you're deciding, hey, it's time to back off for this guy a little bit or, you know, hey, this guy is really starting to push it. Now. We need to like dial it back for a couple days. Let it recover. You know, is that for you? I mean, I know that you've been in the industry a long time is it just you can see it

Gunnar Peterson  35:45

another old Rep. When

Ken Gunter  35:48

I started saying it, I was like, oh, man, he's gonna lay these out of the park.

Gunnar Peterson  35:53

I had two guys today, one former pro athlete and another guy who's an actor, they were chained together and they were mumbling something over here and I go, What are you saying? He goes, we were just looking at you wondering how old are you? And I

36:06

go, do you want to go I go, look,

Gunnar Peterson  36:08

I mean, it's I don't have my AARP card yet. I'm not opposed to But do you know what I've done? Since while you were blowing bubbles in your sleep? I ran for an hour I lifted I stretch and I've seen three people before you moseyed into the gym. Right? You can call me out all day. But if you want to do this, get on my level.

Ken Gunter  36:31

Right. Right. Right. Damn, young whippersnappers.

Gunnar Peterson  36:35

There you go, buddy. Like, what a great word from the 50s.

Ken Gunter  36:39

Oh, man, I got him. I got him for days. But yeah, so

Gunnar Peterson  36:44

those were those terms are as old as your house.

Ken Gunter  36:47

Yeah, exactly. We should do another podcast where my wife tells ghost stories. Which I refuse to acknowledge a real,

36:54

however, wow.

Ken Gunter  36:57

So yeah, so you know with with with that under that under recovery piece, because there are a lot of people and I think there is more general awareness around the needs the need to like, take care of ourselves sleep. Hydration, we just we had a guy on

Gunnar Peterson  37:14

miscount. Watch this and you can run with it. Sleep is the greatest extra workout you can do. You can do. I love it. I just made it up. But I'm gonna try to put it I'm gonna try to put it in the capsule for people. Some days. You're better not jamming another workout into your week. You're better getting an extra hour of sleep. Dude, you're boring it, lady. You're burning it at both ends. Take a minute, you know, take a load off. I mean, yeah. Take the extra. If you've got your four workouts planned, let's say this week, and all sudden, your Friday morning meeting freeze up and you go, Ah, I could get another six mile run and hold on Baba. Right? You've got the whole week going? Why don't you sleep in a little bit? Why don't you get a massage the night before and sleep in? You might your all your other workouts might benefit incrementally from that?

38:09

Maybe.

Ken Gunter  38:10

So, you know, it's interesting. And again, this is like a sample size of one. And it's a very small sample size that that

Gunnar Peterson  38:17

was a focus group focus group of one. But that's what I saw. I got exactly

Ken Gunter  38:23

yeah, so I'm working with out here and in the boondocks. But uh, I've started meditating, we have had a number of people on the show who've talked about mindfulness and the benefits. So it's like, you know, as I've kind of tried to, that's kind of where part of the show was born, was trying to get my life better optimize, because as I've had more responsibility put on my plate crack started to show in areas where I didn't know they existed right now I have a wife, I have kids, and all of a sudden, all these things I could just kind of power through. Well, it started breaking down a little bit. So it's like, okay, I kind of need to readdress all these areas in my life. And over the course of doing this show, we've had some fantastic people on to talk about mindfulness meditation, and I was like, Yo, I'm gonna double down. That's one of the things I'm gonna do in this new year, and I'm gonna I'm gonna meditate at least once a day like headspace.

Gunnar Peterson  39:06

Yeah. Andy, that's my guy.

Ken Gunter  39:08

Know, the best voice in the biz. Do you know him personally?

Gunnar Peterson  39:12

Yeah, of course I do. He's he was at the he spoke at the Lakers to us. And then when I did that podcast that I hosted for Hugo Boss a year, year and a half ago, he was one of the guests that came and he just walked in. He's like gunner and he's the greatest and and the voice belies as great as the voices. He's that great of a guy. great,

Ken Gunter  39:31

really great guy, man. Yeah, he's been living. He's been living in my headphones now for a while, but, but yeah, well, so what I was gonna say, though, to your point, like, yeah, incrementally over time, but, you know, I've just had something happened where I was, I was at the end of one of my little, you know, cycles and it was good. It was gonna be my really tough one. I have a very specific goal I'm training for and I was supposed to be really beat up on this day. And you know, at the end of that little three week cycle, I crushed my own like personal It'll record and I was like, Man, what I didn't really do anything differently other than the fact that my stress level has definitely been down for the last, you know, month, which

Gunnar Peterson  40:11

means on a physiological level, right? That your cortisol levels are down, right your body so your body can recover and repair and present itself. With more fortitude more strength more, it's more ready to go the next time. You turn it on. Yeah. By doing less, you did more. Yeah. Yeah.

40:35

And how

Gunnar Peterson  40:36

are you doing? Like the 10 minute ones on headspace?

Ken Gunter  40:38

Yeah, so I you know what I was, like most things in my life, when I dive in, I dive in. pretty hardcore. So I was doing to 20 minute or 15 minute sessions a day. I do get up pretty early myself. You know, now I'm not 345. But I'm five 530. And so if I can knock it out before the kids are up? Yeah, I mean, my whole my whole day is set. Yeah.

Gunnar Peterson  41:02

My workout? If I can knock out the workout early. People, why do you train so early? I go. basic math. less people awake, less people to interrupt. It's simple. It's just my phone will ring less. I'll have less texts, I'll have less emails. And then if they do trickle in, I can I can knock them out easily as opposed to a deluge of of things I have to handle and respond. So I do it when everyone else is asleep. It's easier.

Ken Gunter  41:31

I completely agree. Well, and let me ask you this, this is something I've, I've tried to read up on and I still don't feel like I have a good grasp on it. But a lot of people, especially those who listen to the show, like they have a nine to five job. You know, whether they're a weekend warrior, there's someone really crazy about their fitness. They do like you get their workouts in in the morning. Great. is, you know, like what is the best way to set yourself up for success? If you are someone who's going to work out in the morning. And I guess what I'm asking is like, do you do you eat before you work out your supplements some way? Like, from a physiological level? Is there a way that someone can best set themself up to get the most out of an early morning workout?

Gunnar Peterson  42:11

So I don't think the early morning workout is for everybody. I think you have that's a trial and error thing. Some people do better than midday workout, they knock out X amount of work and either even if they're in a corporate setting, they change. There's a locker room, they use the corporate gym, or they step out and they do a run and then they come back in and they feel reinvigorated to tackle the afternoon. Some people are in after work people, some people think well, because I'm working. I can only go after work. No, you can't. I mean, there are other times. So I would say trial and error that because what works for you. And I've done it all different times. We're on a clock. So I know what works for me. And I think and by working I mean what time do you pick to train that you're less likely to blow it off? That's how I view a successful training program. That said, then you work backwards from there, how do I fuel properly? How do I make sure that I get the most out of the time I'm putting my training if I'm training, but I'm not, you know recovered or haven't fueled or hydrated properly? You're leaving performance on the table and then it's kind of like why this is maybe not the best time for me. I've done it a million different ways I've done it you know, air quotes carb loading at night which just means eating too much pasta or rice or something in a carb loading car. I

43:27

was carpooling for

Gunnar Peterson  43:29

my life. Yeah, same I got it. I'm with you. But then I did you know fasted I've done fasted. My nutritionist is a guy named Dr. Philip golia. He is the nutrition and in Santa Monica not to plug him but just so someone else is responsible for what I'm about to say. And he's like, why do you do that you leave performance on the table if you're training fasted, you you never the way you train, maybe it's just the way I train your you never have enough gas in the tank. So he said you should try this mash and he uses a I forget what it was it was like a nut butter and a jam and it may have had some kind of a an oat something in it. And he used to do. He was a pro by now he's a fat bastard and I tell him that to his face. So I'm not speaking out of school. He was a pro bodybuilder like literally, I mean, six feet 265 3% body fat, that kind of guy. Yeah. Anyway, he was a cyclist and he was a racecar driver. He plays guitar. He's a true, I would say renaissance man, but he's more like a renaissance caveman. But, but he he would say you're leaving performance on table. So I listened to him and he said so this mash thing and I try to put any of that prep stuff, any prep stuff in the kitchen leaves me cold. I'm just I'm just not. I'm not a good kitchen guy. So then he came out with a product called split nutrition. And it's okay. It's a packet that has a nut butter whether it's cashew, almond or peanut and the peanuts are washed So there's no mold, no yeast, no gluten, and then there's a jam on the other side. So if I get it right, and I don't want to misquote it, but the fat in the nut butter slows the processing of the sugar in the jam, so you don't get the spike and then the drop off. So you have a sustained energy. And I take literally, if I tell you, I get up at 345, that's in my body by 347. It's like, I nailed that. So that when I start training at five, I'm good to go. I'm, it's in the system, and I've got something to work off of. And that's, I mean, that's how I fuel pre workout.

Ken Gunter  45:42

Yeah, and I just, you know,

Gunnar Peterson  45:43

I have them actually in the front of my gym, in a little in a big silver monkey bowl. It's like this, and, and they're, they're just and I see people come in, and they just grab them. And you know, you need the butter a little bit. And then you fold it, rip it, and they just they shoot it and they've got something they're running and they'll say, didn't need today, and I go that's smart. I mean, it's like, going on a road trip didn't put the gas in the car. You know?

Ken Gunter  46:07

Hope it's downhill. Yeah. Yeah. So cuz, you know, like you said, fast. I didn't, you know, I wasn't intentionally working out faster. But that's basically what I've done like the last three to four years ever since we moved out here. And now I'm like, you know, that might not be the best approach for a serious as I'm taking some of this stuff.

Gunnar Peterson  46:27

I'll send you not to plug it, but I'll send you some of the split and try to be amazing. You might go, I don't know, I didn't really feel anything. Or I tell you the peanut butter and jelly went took me back also. And I'm like, I'm seven years old again. And I want to be on the playground like it just, it's the best.

Ken Gunter  46:43

The best. I will I will venture to say that I might eat more peanut butter than anyone else on the face of the planet. So you already had me You had me before.

Gunnar Peterson  46:53

I had. I had a contest that I posted with a kid on social media once we sat toe to toe and did who can eat the most peanut butter. It was it was unattractive.

47:07

In a word.

Ken Gunter  47:10

Who won actually

Gunnar Peterson  47:11

go on to be talking about if I lost? Actually the kid went with a

47:17

he went with

Gunnar Peterson  47:19

some natural, you know where the oil separates great. And I was like, bring the GIF. And I think my first bite was almost half a jar. And he looked and he goes, oh god, you might be he might be on another level. I go. Well, I have four jars. Oh, yeah, I was sick for I was sick for a good like 16 hours. But I tell you this, I stayed off peanut butter for a minute. It was like Yeah,

Ken Gunter  47:52

yeah. That's my go to snack. But I'm thinking I need to start doing something like that in the morning. Yeah, I would absolutely try that.

Gunnar Peterson  47:59

Yeah, it was easy to you.

Ken Gunter  48:02

I appreciate that. Thank

Gunnar Peterson  48:03

you. I love that we're on here now. And I'm spending his money. I love that.

Ken Gunter  48:08

Well, we'll plug it Come on. Pay it, we'll pay for it. There you go.

48:11

Yeah. Cool. Cool. And I

Ken Gunter  48:14

you know, you've been so gracious with your time, let me ask you this, because this is something that I feel like you might have a unique insight into. I'm always so interested in how people and again, when we talk about success or this pursuit of excellence, you know, not not doesn't need to be financial. But you work with people who are operating at like, the highest level in so many different fields. You know, in working with all of these different folks like Are there any kind of like common traits of success or excellence that have just kind of, you know, become obvious over the years and working with all of these highly successful people?

Gunnar Peterson  48:52

Yeah, there are. And I try to emulate the men and I see what when I'm able, when I'm aware enough to identify them, I immediately poach and put it and go, I'm doing that. So what I see is the highest of the highs do all their own scheduling. As a rule. Sometimes if there's a flurry of things going on, you may have to go through an assistant because there are too many moving parts in their life. And while they may want to commit to tomorrow at 11, they can't because they have to be somewhere doing something else. So but other than that they pretty much text on their own. It's the people just let's say let's call them below title, that you go through a handler or a manager or an assistant and you're like, Okay, but the top ones text you right back and just crush it and it's great. It makes my job easier. It means they're going to get more of what they want because it's Bang, bang, bang executed. The other thing is they don't leave texts and phone calls. unreturned even if they just right back, sorry, missed this will catch up tomorrow. And I don't take that again. Right for agreements, I don't take that personally, I go got it, obviously no tomorrow, they don't need to sit doing whatever they're doing and they're already too busy lives to text me back and explain why they didn't get back to me, they're gonna tell me tomorrow I'm going to have a captive audience for an hour. They are also rarely late. And they probably have the lowest cancellation rate. The people who canceled the most in my experience, again, focus group of one, or the people that have theirs. What's up, my mom used to say it if you want, if you want something done, ask a busy person. So I see that with the workouts, the people that are the busiest or the men are the ones who manage to get in and knock it out week after week after week. So So, you know, we have a saying in our house with the kids never late never cancel, never quit. And someone said, someone said to me once, No, you can't. That's true. That's a ridiculous thing to live up to. That's putting so much pressure I said, Hold on. I don't expect them to live up to it. I expect that to be the mantra that plays in their head every time they consider doing one of those things. And with that playing as your background music, you're less likely to do it, or you're going to do it less often. At the very least, I'm not looking for a you know, perfect record here. But what I'm looking for is, you're late one out of 100 times versus 10 out of 100. Right? you cancel one thing versus four things this week. And you quit nothing seriously, let's just not quit. Let's just see it through.

Ken Gunter  51:34

Yeah.

Gunnar Peterson  51:36

Yeah, so I see. I see that with the highest achievers. The top of the top. So I'll give you some fog give you some numbers to work with. Yeah, please brought this up. I would say it's, it's fair to say that the people I work with are all in that category. I just don't have not high achievers, they just over time they filter. It filters itself out, right. It's like it finds its own natural level and you realize I'm probably not the right guy for you. And I realize I'm not the you're not the right person for me and, and who realizes it first. You know, it's not a competition, but then they just kind of go away. There's never anything awkward. A trainer can't fire a client. That's a misnomer. You can't fire someone will hire you. That just means you're insecure. And you want to try to flex and you really have nowhere to flex. But I looked, I have over the last I've been keeping records on computer of all the workouts and all the billing and all that stuff. For the last I've done this for 30 years, I've kept those records for 26 years on one computer before that I kept them because I'm OCD just like in a little spiral notebook. Over the last 25 years, my cancellation rate was something like 8.07%. So 8% cancellation that means 92% attendance, right? That's Yeah, that's great. I mean, that's, that's not I'm not speaking about me, I'm saying good for those people, you guys made 92% of your workouts. That's an A and I mean, maybe not somebody outside a mine does, you know, it's like, that's great. Yeah. Last year, I finished the year at 5%. So either the people are getting better, or I'm doing something better, or we're all hitting our stride and realizing that I need them. They need me and this is all working or whatever, this year. And I know we're six weeks in so you know, pump the brakes. I just saw it today. And it's at like 3.8 3.48%. So three and a half percent. And I don't expect it to last I was shocked when last year was so low. But isn't that great? Is that?

Ken Gunter  53:54

Yeah, well, you know, you said this kind of earlier. I mean,

Gunnar Peterson  53:58

that's credit to that, by the way, I'm saying and this is not full humility. This is credit to them, that they got in a car drove to me train.

Ken Gunter  54:08

Well, I you know, to your point, like a workout when you start looking through your day of like, okay, for most people, it's like, Hey, what do I perceive is critical. And where can I start cutting things out? Like I can see how a workout for a lot of folks is like what gets kicked to the to the you know, the curb? You know, to your point, like what I hear with that, too, is it's like that commitment, making it a priority. Right? And then, you know, I don't know if it's determination or persistence or what but like, I can see how that measure alone becomes like really, really important and understanding a lot about that individual, your clientele.

Gunnar Peterson  54:43

I know a kid who was a trainer years ago, he's out of the business now. And he he told me at one point that he had about a 50% cancellation rate and he goes, I don't care, they all pay and I said but it's I mean, okay, I hear that table, that it's not about that. That's not, that's not why you're in the job. And I'm not saying you're in the job because, you know, you're Mr. altruism, and you really, you know, want everybody to benefit and you're trying to help people, okay, fine, too, whatever. That's a percentage of it. But, and then there's a percentage of your earning a living fair. But there should be a percentage where you take pride in the fact that they enlist you to do this, and then they follow through or they see the value in it such that they don't consider canceling it. I like that I want those people because I don't cancel them. I don't I just don't do that. I don't call you and say, Hey, I know we're scheduled for three today, but I can't know if something came up. I never that's just not me. Yeah, it's not me. I had somebody I had a dog die a number of years back and I got the call and I have big dogs have mastiffs. So, you know, it's literally it's like, it's not something you can hide. It's like a dead person. It's a massive 170 pound animal that's dead. And you wrap it in a sheet he kept poor guy, I have to take him to the vet. I mean, but I said, Alright, I can get home at 330. They're like, well, we may do a I'm not a vet. Be he's dead. I can't. But I'm not going to cancel my clients for that. And you could say all You're heartless, I'm not heartless those people are planning this for their day. I've done that. It's not going to change anything. If I go and take the dog to the vet at 330. Or take the dog to the vet now at 1045 it's not going to do anything. So, you know, that's just that's if they're committing How can I not commit?

Ken Gunter  56:35

Yeah, no, you're right. And it's it's, uh, you know, the other one that comes to mind too, is like, follow through. And you're now thinking back on, you know what you said, When I asked you at the very beginning? You know, what sets you apart? It's like relentlessness, a willing to know, the refusal to quit? Yeah, yeah. Let me ask you this last question. I think I just said that. But if you don't mind, I love watching all the stuff that you do with with your own workouts. It's awesome to see all the different ways that you're training and a lot of like I said, the innovative stuff and you know, the different I don't even know what you'd call it, like implements that you're, you're pulling into your workouts. For you fitness wise, like, like, what are you your goals? Are you focused on performance? Are you thinking about longevity? Like, what is like the focus for you when you're going into the gym on a day to day basis?

Gunnar Peterson  57:28

So the short answer is yes. Yes. performance, longevity, all that. The other answer is, is what I'm doing in the gym. Look, let's, let's not all pretend like saying that we want to look good is a bad, shallow, narcissistic thing. We are a visual society, you are bombarded with pictures of people and video of people with great physiques, whether it's in the literally in the background now on certain commercials and shows that people are shredded. They like vacation destinations, and I've been to some of those places, like the people on the beach, or shredded you go, I didn't see that guy. They're like, I've been to some of those places. And not everybody there was not every woman was a supermodel, not every dude was jacked. It's just not. But so we are a visual society, right? It's on the size of buses, it's on billboards, it's everywhere. And I know they use more air quotes, normal people now in advertising, they were out but still, visually, that's important. I was a fat kid. So I gauge how I feel how I look to looks are a factor. Performance factor. I trained so that I can do what I do during a day, I still see six, seven people every single day. I can't train in a way that when I go to show you a lateral kettlebell, drifting lunge, and I push the kettlebell way out. I can't risk that, you know, I tear an adductor showing you that so I have to train in a way that allows me to show that and then if I'm doing that move with anybody else, or if I'm doing something else later in the day, I can't risk that when I showed you that at eight. That it to that rears its head and I have a new injury. So performance for me, oh, you're not an athlete. You are life's. Life's a sport. Everybody's an athlete, if you look at it like that. So performance, longevity, I like what I do for a living. I'm not trying to get out of the gym. I'm not trying to retire and tap out. I like doing this I you know, I take new people when they pop up and when schedules mash. So I want to, I want the longevity. I want the performance. I want the looks and I want everything I do. When I come home, whether it's with my wife or whether it's with my kids, older or younger kids, I want to be able to be a participant and not just on the sidelines. So That's how I train. And I try new stuff and different stuff. And whether it's my cardio or my strength, I play with stuff. So yeah, yeah, all that.

Ken Gunter  1:00:08

No, I love that well, and you know, the longevity piece is so interesting for me too, because I've come to this realization. You know, it's like, I have some big ambitious goals. And you know, to your point like that again, and everything's financial, but I have a lot of things I want to accomplish. And I'm like, man, I just wish I had more time in the day, cuz I'm so excited about a lot of stuff. Yeah. And I'm like, all right, well, listen, I would probably be better served. If I really focused on a couple of these things at once, then maybe I just extend the amount of time that I have to get a lot of these things done. You know, so I mean, for me, that's where a lot of these questions come from. It's like an excitement about wanting to get stuff done. And so it's like, how do I keep myself in a way where I can continue to perform for, you know, a longer amount of time.

Gunnar Peterson  1:00:48

So two things, two things. And this as the older guy, as the older guy on the podcast, I bring that up only because you did it a number of times. There's a guy named Ray, cash care, former seal, terrific guy, great guy, sharp out of his mind, as you would expect. And I lost my train of thought, but Ray talks about putting out right, you have to just put out to be part of this, you have to give the effort and and and do that you can't wait in right. And and if you're not doing that the whole time, you're never ever going to see how far you can go. And then he talks about another thing of cutting out the one person and you may have more than one that's dragging you down. And he says those people are sucking up your time, which comes back to what we spoke about time. Yeah, you can't replace it. And he goes, look hard at your circle. And he said, it may be a family member and it goes I'm sorry. If it is it's tough, but cut him out. And he goes, don't wait. Don't wait to see him on the weekend. Don't do it slowly. Don't try to ease away, cut them out. He came and spoke at my house to my kids out. And I was like whoa, that's rough, but he's not wrong. I didn't learn that till a few years ago. I'm slow learner but he's so right cut those people out. The ones who don't want you to go to the gym are the ones who want you to do something you shouldn't do it. cut those people out because they're cutting into like you said you have things you want to do but you have a finite amount of time. How are you going to do those? How are you going to reach your goals lofty or not? You got somebody holding you even if they're just pulling you a little bit right? Watch a basketball game. That little jersey hold watch a football game that little jersey hold. Maybe that's not a huge infraction. Maybe that's not a personal foul, but that's a penalty man. You can't do that you're holding that guy back. So if you have those people cut them out. I had a guy on the on our strength staff with the Lakers last year. Ed stright terrific guy was head strength coach at at UConn and Dayton he had worked with the bulls we were so lucky that the Lakers to land him on the training on the in the training department in the strength conditioning department and Edward lift with me on the road and sometimes at my gym here during the season. offseason. I've got shoot I have 25 years old. I mean he like it's like head you're lifting with your grandpa. But we would go to these places and he go you want to deadlift today. You want to squat today. I go Yeah, now we're stronger than I am. Something's way stronger. But the fact that I'm a game that keeps me young, so so surrounding yourself with those people who push you, that's not in my normal training protocol, right? I'm not max out deadlifts on Tuesday, when I know I've got a full week ahead of me whether it's Lakers or Lakers, plus my own clients or or whatever it is. But I'm doing that because I'm I'm evolving, I'm growing. I'm getting better by working with guys who are trying to get better. And I look at that, and putting people like that around you set you up for success. And again, they don't have to be billionaires, they don't have to be top in the world. They're good, solid people with good solid values who push themselves to be better. I want to be around those people all the time.

Ken Gunter  1:04:13

Yeah. Oh, man. I bet that might be where we ended. I think I think that's a good dare I say Sage life advice? No. And that's all well, you know what to and I will say this. You know, there is a real cost in terms of time and energy when you're dealing with someone who's just and I don't mean holding you back because they can't keep up but someone who's just a drag either. It's a negative influence or constantly like, you know, taking more than they're given back. And I think to your point like it's it's really hard for people to cut those types of folks out of their life.

Gunnar Peterson  1:04:50

But you have to look at that from 10,000 feet and you have to say, Okay, he's in a tough she's in a tough spot. Now. He she is pulling me down now. My God Every time I get on the phone with this guy, he's such a downer. But then you have to go, that's because they're going through this now, in the macro cycle of their life, of your of your relationship with them, they've been great for X amount of time, if they're going to a down period, you don't cut them off, then that's not cool. But if you look back, and you know, you'll know who they are immediately when he said this, we were sitting outside and, you know, all COVID protocols were being observed, you know, we're all separate. And they were like, 12 of us, and Ray was speaking to us, and he goes, uh, you know, who they are. And he and he paused, and he looked at all of us, and he goes, you're thinking about him right now? And I was like, Oh, my God, get out of my head. Yes, I know. There's always one person who's doing that to you. And they probably don't mean that they're probably not bad people. But right. If you're trying to achieve these lofty goals you say, you just can't afford that you cannot afford that

Ken Gunter  1:05:58

Yeah, that's great advice. I'm gonna I'm gonna link to I'll look him up and I'll link to him in the show notes as well. But

Gunnar Peterson  1:06:03

yeah, link to him link to Ed strike great people and both would probably be solid guests not to not to cast Oh, man. No, that would be amazing. Probably be solid guests on your show and, and your listeners would benefit from hearing them and you're going to get different ages, different world experiences, but both bring a lot of good. Don't make me tear up just a lot of good heart to the table. And I love people like that.

Ken Gunter  1:06:30

Yeah, I totally agree. No, I wish someone would cast my show for me. So this is uh, this is incredibly helpful. Well awesome. Got her man. This is this has been a lot of fun. I really appreciate you taking the time and we we talked about everything that you're fitting into your day so I think people are gonna take a lot away from this one. A lot of lessons learned for sure. And again, man just just thank you really appreciate it.

Gunnar Peterson  1:06:50

I appreciate your reaching out and making something work and let me know and when you when you promote this and plug this tag me and we'll do the same from this end.