Putting the jacked in jack man: a behind-the-scenes chat with the Wolverine star's personal trainer, Gunner Peterson

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2009 by Joe Wuebben

When a Hollywood A-lister needs to add muscle or chisel his physique for a movie role, often the first call he makes is to uber-trainer and author Gunnar Peterson, CSCS. Peterson has cracked the whip on Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Matthew McConaughey and a whole army of guys brave enough to show their six-packs on a 53-foot IMAX screen. So when Hugh Jackman, star of the upcoming action epic X-Men Origins: Wolverine, needed a few good ass-kickings in the gym to get sliced and diced for the photo you see on our cover, he called Peterson. In case you can't tell, he delivered. These days, Peterson trains Jackman every time the action star visits Los Angeles. Here's an inside look at how he does it.

M&F: When you train Hugh, what do you focus on?

Gunnar Peterson: When we train at my gym we pay close attention to symmetry, and we make sure the poundages and sets-and-reps schemes allow him to maintain significant mass. The pace of the workout helps keep his conditioning high so he can be active and agile when he's working, as well as keep up with his demanding schedule.

He trains hard, he trains heavy and he trains fast--and by fast I mean taking minimal rest between sets plus using explosive movements to work fast-twitch muscle fibers. There's no dilly-dallying between sets. There's no lolly-gag to Wolverine.

M&F: Is Hugh pretty strong in the gym?

GP: Pound for pound, I'd put him up against anybody, pro athletes included. And from a drive and determination standpoint, he has the mind-set of a pro athlete. He won't be denied a workout from a scheduling perspective; he'll find a way to get it in. There have been times when he has landed [in L.A.] from a trip and has literally come to the gym right from the airport. And he won't be denied a rep during any given set. He doesn't train to failure; he trains to success.

M&F: How long is a typical training session with Hugh?

GP: It's generally 60-90 minutes. Hugh likes to get in, get after it and get out. It's like he's on a schedule, but it's not frenetic or frantic, it's never pressed or stressed. It's just execution personified.

M&F: What rep ranges do you use with Hugh?

GP: If we're doing a drop set, the last drop could be as few as six reps; we might do a drop set that goes 10, 8, 6, or we may reverse that. So depending on how you look at it, it's either a 24-rep set or it's three microsets of 6, 8,10. In between he rests only as long as it takes me to move the pin or strip the weight.

But the amount of reps we do depends on the exercise. Let's say we're doing an explosive set of reaching lunges with a lateral raise. I may have him do alternating legs, 12 reps total, with a lateral raise on every rep. So the delts get 12 reps but each leg gets only six. But we focus a lot on the eccentric [on the lunges] because he's stepping, then decelerating, then blasting back off that leg; those reps count and that six-rep range is sufficient. It's not your father's lunge set. He's going to feel those six reps as though he did some slow cheerleader lunges to the tune of 12 reps.

M&F: Do you do agility drills with Hugh because of his action-movie roles?

GP: Definitely. Our workouts focus on movement, function and external load--sometimes even, sometimes uneven. For example, there could be a lateral shuffle with a sandbag, resisted running with a cord on a treadmill, a lateral shuffle on a treadmill with a resistance cord, a backpedal with a cord, or a backpedal while holding a medicine ball overhead or at the chest.

M&F: What is Hugh's diet like?

GP: I don't work with him on nutrition, but you can tell he takes care of himself outside the gym and has good eating habits. It's not just the hour in the gym; it's the other 23. To me, it looks like he's making good choices with food. And I can tell you that he doesn't run out of steam in his workouts, he doesn't run out of gas, so clearly he's fueling properly.

M&F: How would you compare the way Hugh trains for a movie to how a professional athlete prepares for his sport?

GP: For guys such as Hugh, Stallone and Willis, preparing for a role and the start of filming is very similar to an athlete beginning his season. They prepare with the same dedication. And those who do prepare are the ones you see year in and year out and become hall-of-famers.

The up-and-coming guys would be smart to take a page out of Hugh's playbook. I'm almost never surprised to see the guys who are at the top each year. If you look at what goes on behind the scenes--all the work these guys put in to staying in shape--you say, "Yeah, that makes sense." Some of the younger cats out there would be well served to take a look and go, "Oh, that's what it takes?" and maybe skip the club a couple of nights and hit the gym or leave the club early instead of always staying until last call.