I’m Rebel Wilson’s PT and here’s the secrets to her weight loss routine

WHEN Australian star Rebel Wilson announced on Instagram that she would be hosting tonight’s EE BAFTAs, she joked, “I know I’m not going to be funny because I’m not fat anymore.”

Compared to how he looked early in his career, you might not even recognize the comedian at first.

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In 2020, the 42-year-old Rebel, famous for playing the self-deprecating “Fat Amy” in the Pitch Perfect movies, announced that she was embarking on a “year of health,” setting a target weight of 11.8 lbs.

She has been on a journey of transformation ever since, losing about 51/2 and become stronger than ever, with a little help from personal trainer and new head of athletics at F45 Training, Gunnar Peterson.

The 59-year-old coaches players like J.Lo and Kim Kardashian at his gym in Beverly Hills.

So how did Rebel do it? We asked Gunnar about the inside track…

Gunnar, what’s it like walking into the gym with Rebel?

She is a delight. She’s driven, she’s fun to be around, as you can imagine, and she works hard. she is rebel wilson, we get it, but she’s just like anyone else in that the demands on her time are sometimes overwhelming. And her work schedule is not enviable. I work a lot and then I look at Rebel and say, “My God, this woman!” She’s producing, she’s writing, it’s a lot. She doesn’t stop. She was here yesterday. Kudos to her for finding time to exercise.

Famous or not, finding time to exercise can be difficult. What is your advice to make it part of your routine?

Prioritize and put it in ink, not pencil, so it’s not something that can be moved around on the schedule. Don’t have it as your TBD, take it as the anchor and let other things fit around it. When you’re making another appointment, if it interferes with your exercise, say, “That’s not going to work for me at eight, can we do it at nine?”

When Rebel is in the gym, how do you approach training?

It’s an athlete mentality: he’s getting it done. And every day doesn’t have to be about personal records, it just has to be something. I love it because it’s a very realistic and sustainable approach to fitness.

What is a typical training session like with her?

There is no such thing as typical. The workouts I do here are similar to F45 (the global fitness community that specializes in high-intensity group workouts). You’re not just working on equipment like a treadmill, bike, or rower, you’re working in different planes of motion (moving different sections of your body up, down, side to side, and back/forth) – the movements are functional, they will serve you in real life.

It’s a gentle scientific mix of movement patterns, resistance and HIIT cardio, and you’ll see improvements throughout your life. So you’ll be on the treadmill, squatting, pushing a sled, doing dumbbell rows. Think of two or three sets of eight to 12 reps on five different exercises.

Do you target specific areas, like belly fat, or do you target your entire body?

It is full body. There’s not a lot of work done in isolation, just because it’s not a good investment, time-wise. You might think, “I have time to do weights, but I can’t do cardio” or, “I have time to do cardio, but I couldn’t do any mobility or flexibility.” In here, you’re getting all of that.

Rebel is two years old, but where do you start with people just starting their weight loss journey?

Don’t try to change too much at once. If you try to review everything, you’ll mess things up and you’re less likely to stick. You encourage other good, healthy, maintainable changes, but you don’t say, “Okay, you’re going to train six days a week, you’re going to eat this very strict diet, you’re not going to have any alcohol or desserts, you’re going to sleep eight hours, you’re going to take everything off.” stress.” That just doesn’t work.

It’s an athlete mentality: he’s getting it done. And every day doesn’t have to be about personal records, it just has to be something. I love it because it’s a very realistic and sustainable approach to fitness.

Gunnar Peterson on Rebel Wilson

It works?

If you’re not doing anything, I’m glad you start training once a week. But then you have to add to that. And it must be based on a program. It shouldn’t be: “I do my best once and then I don’t do anything for seven days.” That won’t get you where you want to go. It is not doing two, three, four or five hours in the gym.

You say, “Let’s do a couple of exercises,” and then, on your own, find time to walk. Walk out your front door, turn left or right, walk 20 minutes, turn around and try to get back in less than 20. These are exercises that get your heart rate up (try to get between 50% and 70% of your maximum heart rate), plus HIIT intervals (e.g., 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for six to eight minutes on a VersaClimber machine, or 15 kettlebell swings).

How do you keep people motivated once they’ve accomplished what they set out to do?

The quote is: “Either you strive to get better or you allow yourself to get worse” – there is no such thing as staying the same. There is also no such thing as achieving a goal. It may hit certain numbers, but that shouldn’t mean it stops.

Once that becomes normal, you make changes to whatever is missing from the next component of your health. some people fall asleep [easily], so we don’t have to modify the dream. Great, we’ll add workouts. And now let’s see your diet, stress levels, hydration or if you are a smoker. There are so many things to attack, but let’s do it in a way that you don’t feel like your whole life is being undermined. They are slow updates.

Rebel is under a lot of scrutiny, especially for her weight. What would you say to someone who feels anxious about going to the gym or what they will look like in Lycra?

With most fitness efforts, you don’t know what everyone else is going through. Everyone is going through their own thing. They are not judging you.

Is getting in shape a mental as well as a physical challenge?

I think it’s making him stronger, right? You get over certain things that are tough and then you recognize, “Wow, I did that. And I can do that. And I can keep doing it.”

How do you want Rebel and everyone else to feel after working out?

I like to see people empower themselves and increase their competence. I like to see them acknowledge that they have control over how they look and feel. I have a sign by the door of my gym. He says, “You improved today.” I want everyone to leave feeling great.

• Gunnar Peterson has designed an exclusive workout, which will launch on the F45 world calendar in April (F45training.com).

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