LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To kick off National Physical Fitness Month, SP Health, a consumer health business which develops the world's most comprehensive online weight loss platforms, and personal trainer Gunnar Peterson are launching The Gunnar Challenge, an exclusive online community who participate in an eight-week program of online workouts and healthy meal plans to help achieve dramatic fitness and weight loss results. Once only available to celebrities and top athletes, now anyone who signs up can transform their body in record time with access to Peterson as a personal trainer, including his workouts, recipes, insights, and support tools.

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To celebrate the inaugural challenge, a special "Premiere" workout will be led by Peterson from his exclusive Beverly Hills gym and is free to anyone that signs up on gunnarchallenge.com. The "Premiere" workout will be streamed live online on Tuesday, May 8 at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. Following this special event, the first Gunnar Challenge starts Monday, May 21. Registration is now open at gunnarchallenge.com and the full eight-week program costs only $99.

The Gunnar Challenge is an innovative digital health and fitness program that unites nutrition with exercise to help people lose weight and get in great shape.Besides having access to Peterson's private techniques and nutritional guidance to help make the right food choices, The Gunnar Challenge was developed by a team that understands what it takes to lose weight and make a real change in one's life.

"As a personal trainer, my philosophy is that if you put in the work, you get results," said Peterson, the Beverly Hills-based personal trainer to celebrities and professional athletes. "For more than 25 years I've been working with people to transform their bodies, and now I'm proud to launch The Gunnar Challenge so that anyone willing to put in the effort can achieve their goals and change their outlook on life. I can't promise it will be easy, but I will promise to make it fun."

Each workout was developed by and features Peterson, based on his proven techniques that have been getting Hollywood's A-listers in shape for decades. Woven into the workouts are daily motivational video messages which Gunnar calls "verbal vitamins" sharing his personal weight loss beliefs and providing encouragement with a humorous approach. The workouts, between 30 and 60 minutes in length, include functional movements to tone and strengthen the entire body, combined with cardio to burn body fat. There is a new workout each day to prevent boredom, plus a surprise wildcard workout every Saturday.

"Research shows that people often get frustrated with exercise programs because they get stuck in a rut or lose motivation before seeing results," said Scott Penn, founder and chairman of SP Health and former global vice president of Weight Watchers International. "We are thrilled to launch The Gunnar Challenge with America's top celebrity trainer our weight loss program is based on the combined philosophies that through physical science and increased motivation, changes will be made and we'll get you looking 'great in 8.'"

Alongside the workout videos are weekly meal plans and healthy recipes developed by nutrition experts, including family-friendly shopping lists and tips for curbing hunger. Also included is a food tracker with a database of over 100,000 foods, so that all calories can be counted and nutrition intake measured.

Based on the belief that competition spurs motivation, an online forum also is part of the program, as well as a branded presence on Facebook and Twitter. Both to share messages of encouragement and inspire through personal success, a leaderboard will be continuously updated to track progress, with chances to win prizes based on effort, results and performance. Gunnar will also keep participants accountable by demanding a goal be set prior to participation be it losing 20 pounds or being able to run without stopping for 15 minutes and progress will be followed with reminders from Gunnar himself.

The Gunnar Challenge is accessible via the website and smart phones. If not at a personal computer, a log-in is provided to visit the site, view the videos or download recipes from any computer with internet access. The mobile website can be accessed via phones and tablets for unlimited access.

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Gunnar Peterson Launches "The Gunnar Challenge" In Partnership With SP Health