Gunnar Peterson

“Constant deprivation is no way to live. Don't always skip the delicious stuff for raw carrots and brown rice.”

“If you think you're going to do 100 crunches and a plank and burn away belly fat, you're not. Yes, you're going to make the area stronger, but it's not going to get rid of the fat. So do yourself a favor and, once and for all, let that idea go.”

“I have nothing against tricep kickbacks, but I'd rather have you do a skater's lunge with a kickback and get a lower body workout.”

“I am a big believer in taking responsibility for your actions. I tell my kids every day to 'own it' - 'it' being whatever they've said or done. At some point in your life, you are in charge. You call the shots. You decide to eat or not eat.”

“I always train my weaknesses and work on my shortcomings - in the gym and outside the gym. Ha!”

“People tend to shy away from rotation with resistance because they think they're going to get hurt. Like, 'If I move in that motion with that weight, I'm going to pull my back.' But you're not.”

“You can make more money - you can buy a new body - but you can't buy time. If you are wasting it, make different choices. Don't wait.”

“I try to take the approach that everyone really is an athlete at some level. I mean, we were all on the playground in the beginning. Some of us just stayed there.”

“If you're always trying to do a good job, then something good is going to come from it.”

“You don't have to be built like Karl Malone to be strong. There are thinner guys who are really strong. Kevin Durant, who I used to work with, has real strength to his body.”

“Home workouts are great, but if you can get out, that's even better. If you tell yourself you're going to go do planks in the spare bedroom, you might get interrupted and not get your workout in.”

“Strike a balance between resistance training, intervals, longer duration cardiovascular work, and flexibility. Don't stick with one approach then flip after a few weeks. Mix it up weekly, daily.”

“Hydration is everything. Think of this: your muscles are 70-plus percent water - how are you not drinking water during a workout? I get the whole, 'Let's challenge ourselves; let's do that prison, tough guy thing,' but at the end of the day, you're underperforming.”

“I try to do the right thing. If you do what you know is right, and you're a good person, you might not win short-term all the time, and financial gains might not be there all the time, but ultimately, you can be pretty happy, and you can do some pretty good things in the world. Keep a positive outlook.”

“When I opened my gym, I got rid of the scales! Stepping on a scale empowers an inanimate object - every time you get on it, you turn over the helm of your emotional well being to something that doesn't care about you.”

“Everybody comes in with a certain goal. Some are performance, some are aesthetic. Even athletes have aesthetic goals, but first and foremost, they have performance goals, and those need to be addressed. They have weaknesses that need to be shored up. You have to manage expectations sometimes.”

“Multi-joint movements - squats, push-ups, bent over rows - all put a greater metabolic demand on the body and can be effective when performed with very light weight to get you back up and running. Think bigger movements, not bigger weight, when you are on the mend.”

“Combination movements will give you the most bang for your buck.”

“The key to anyone's success is staying with it!”

“You'll get a cheat meal, no question. It's not a cheat day. Every day, I indulge with something, because if I feel restricted, I'm gonna lash out.”