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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Lady Gaga's Trainer Shares a 5-Step Plan for Your Best Body

Trainer Harley Pasternak started out as a Canadian hockey player and later became an exercise scientist for the Department of National Defense. While he was getting his PhD in exercise physiology, he cornered the market on training celebrities who were shooting in Toronto. Halle Berry asked him to come to California to get her in shape for "Catwoman," and his sabbatical turned into a fitness empire. Pasternaks client list includes Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, and Amanda Seyfried, as well as "Twilight's" Ashley Greene and Robert Pattinson. His specialty is effective, efficient regimens that can be done by busy people with little time or space, i.e. movie stars on location as well as busy new moms. I spoke to Harley about his top five tips for getting your best possible body. 

1. Eat five meals a day. "You're never hungry. You're eating because it's time to eat, not because you have to eat. So you have more control over what you eat and how much you eat. From a metabolism perspective it's like a windmill. Small gusts of wind throughout the day keep the windmill constantly spinning. It's a more effective machine."
2. "Every meal takes five minutes of prep time. We looked at all the reasons people don't take their motivation into action. You don't need to be a gourmet chef. My recipes take five minutes to make. They're five ingredients or less and you dont have to starve yourself."

3. Every meal must contain five key ingredients. "Protein, fiber, healthy carbs, a healthy fat and a sugar-free beverage. For snacks we have three new flavors of 5 Factor snack bars now. I was frustrated after years of clients bringing me these meal bars. Id look at the nutritional profile and 'low carb' is really not, because its full of sugar alcohols, or high protein is really full of fats and sugar. We hit a home run with these bars."

4. Enjoy one free day each week guilt free. "Enough said."

5. Exercise five times a week for 25 minutes. "Short, intense workouts get results. You dont need the 'kitchen sink' approach where you spend all day at the gym, do tons of different exercises, and use all kinds of weird supplements. Try a simple, doable program that keeps changing and can be done anywhere. There's a big misconception that celebrities have better genetics or that money makes a difference when it comes to getting in great shape. The programs I give people in my books and online are the same as the ones people pay a lot of money for me to hold their hand and do."

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