As a graduate student at the University of Toronto, he conducted research at the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine Canada. Now he helps the likes of Halle Barry get into shape for film roles. You’d be forgiven for feeling intimidated by Harley Pasternak’s (MSc 0T0) fitness routine, yet it’s surprisingly simple, as we find out in a phone conversation with the Faculty’s celebrity alum.
How did you help Halle Barry get in shape for her role in Catwoman?
We trained on the film set Monday to Friday, so there was time for five workouts a week. We had 30 minute lunch breaks, so I had less than 30 minutes to get her to my workout trailer, take her through a five minute cardio warm up, five minute upper body strength, lower body strength and abdominal exercises, and a five minute cardio cool down. The whole work out was 25 minutes long, made up of five 5 minute phases.
What’s behind the title of your last book: Five pounds?
Five pounds is really a symbol. I’ve never weighed a client. I don’t believe in weighing people. For some people it’s the beginning of a larger weight loss journey. Maybe you have 20, 30, 40 or 50 pounds to lose, but it’s the things that you do to help lose the first five pounds that you just keep doing to lose the next five. If you’re just five pounds away from where you want to be, you need to follow the same healthy behaviours as the person who has 50 pounds to lose.
What are those healthy behaviours?
Walk at least 10,000 steps a day – the healthiest countries and cultures all walk a lot. I give all my clients a Fitbit, which counts how many steps they take a day.
We all need to sleep a little bit more and a little bit better. Getting an extra 15 minutes of sleep each day would be great. Seven to eight hours of sleep is ideal.
Unplug for at least one hour a day.
Eat protein and fibre five times a day – smaller meals with protein and fibre regulate your blood sugar levels and will cut down on cravings.
Do a resistance exercise for a different part of the body each day for at least five minutes.
Do you have an indulgence you find hard to resist?
Yes, chocolate chip cookies, but I know that if I want to be able to eat them, I need to take my steps, get the right amount of sleep, eat healthy meals and do my workouts.