“I can't single out any one moment—it was more like a domino effect of happenings that led me here. The line-up kicked off with me injuring my meniscus. Imagine being wheelchair-bound for three days, followed by a good six-month stint of limping. It sort of gave me a challenge to focus on.
Super Nova of the YEAR: Bonar Bulger
info • December 7, 2023
Congratulations to Bonar for being the Super Nova of the year!
Even with managing a business and raising a family, Bonar's unwavering dedication to his health and fitness this past year has yielded incredible results.
Having conquered two Spartan races, his commitment to his training and lifestyle has also driven his body fat down to an impressive 8.9%.
Rather than resting on his laurels, he's pushed himself further by streamlining his workouts. Embracing a routine of consistent running, solo home workouts, and newly incorporated swimming sessions, he's set his sights on bigger challenges for the coming year!
From initially working out twice a week with Nova at the start of the year, to now devoting six days a week to training he has continued with healthy lifestyle habits to manage stress and keep body fat low. Bonar proves to us that with the right priorities and planning, you can be just as busy and still achieve amazing results!
We sat down to chat with Bonar about his experience this year as well as to hear what big things he has planned for 2024…
1)This year you made some incredible changes that started with our Transformation health coaching that led to doing, not just one, but 2 Spartan races improving your time as well. You have trained with Nova for 10 years without having done something like this before. What clicked that made this year different from years past?
Around the time I was dealing with this, my son, who was 16, breezed through a 10k Spartan race without any training. Boy, to be young again! He casually mentioned another dad—just a regular guy like me—managed to knock out the race. Naturally, this stirred up my competitive side. The gears started turning: If he could do it, what was stopping me?
So, in the midst of all the meniscus drama, I found myself hankering for a challenge. You could say that my headstrong, A-type personality wasn't going to sit on the sidelines while other dads were ticking off endurance races!
During this time, the Nova team introduced me to the transformation program. It was a new thing, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. I won't sugarcoat it. I wasn't overweight, but observing my food intake more closely did some good for my body. I shed around 10 pounds of fat, and honestly, it was more about ensuring my body was ready to handle the race than about vanity.
Long story short, I finished my first Spartan race. It took me about an hour and a half, and for me, that was a milestone. After the race, it felt oddly empty, so I dived in again—I chose another 5K so I could benchmark my time.
Seems I can't function without a goal. It's like a necessary glue that stops me from getting lost. As I trained for the second Spartan race, I continued following what I had learned from the transformation program.
The second time around, I improved my timing by about fifteen minutes. The next day, I found myself looking for yet another goal. But you know something? I think I thrive on this.
Also.. Something that really hit home for me recently is witnessing my parents and in-laws going through their seventies. Sadly, both my mom and mother-in-law are finding their mobility increasingly difficult. Without mincing words, they aren't that old. Yet, when I reflect on their past, a pattern devoid of consistent exercise and balanced eating emerges.
Sure, my meniscus injury and the visual proof of others completing Spartan races sparked my personal commitment. But I cannot ignore how the struggles my mothers are facing, at what feels to be, a relatively young age evolved my perspective.
This realization has only intensified my resolve to take earnest care of my health right now. At 80, I don't want to hobble—I want to run. And if that's my vision for myself when I'm anywhere between 85-100, I know it won't materialize unless I put the time and effort in today."
2)You travel a lot for work which many people use as a reason for them not being able to be consistent. How do you manage to stay committed to your exercise and nutrition plan while traveling and with your hectic schedule?
“Navigating healthy habits while being on the move isn't the easiest thing, I'll tell you that. Discipline is the unsung hero here. My travels have taught me to be proactive. The second I get to a hotel, I scout for a gym or a pool, if available.
A gem I discovered is the All Trails app. It's a fantastic guide to hiking spots around the globe. Working out in a hotel gym is fine, but I find a unique joy in exploring the outdoors while making sure I keep moving. It's like hitting two birds with one stone.
On the downside, managing decent nutrition on the road is a puzzle I'm still piecing together. My work involves running a film business, and let's be honest, we don't precisely see healthy options floating around filming sites.
My approach these days is to hit the grocery store before I park myself in the hotel. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and even 75% dark chocolate find a place in my shopping cart. This way, I at least have healthier snacks within reach.
When I do eat out, I try to prioritize protein while steering clear of alcoholic beverages. And when it comes to sweet cravings, my 75% dark chocolate comes to the rescue.
Does that make me sound unexciting? Probably. But hey, it works for me.”
3)What are you most proud of this year and what do you feel you could improve on in the coming year?
“I would say that establishing a routine and sticking to it has been the real game-changer. Now, of course, I have my off days, but those seem to be less frequent with time. The rhythm feels more natural the longer I've stuck to it.
What's challenging is simply lacing up those running shoes. Just before a run or as I'm contemplating an early morning gym routine, my mind gets chatty with all the reasons I could just...stay home. Overcoming those internal debates fills me with a kind of pride, though. Might sound cheesy, but there's such satisfaction in winning against my own barriers.
Talking about challenges, the 'diet mountain' is still something I'm grappling to scale. It's not that I eat poorly; it's just that I seem to skip meals more often than I should because of my hectic schedule. Every week, Zack gets an earful from me about how I plan to whip up some meals in advance on Sundays—roasted chicken, some pre-packed spinach, you know, the basics. Despite it sounding so straightforward, I end up reporting my lack of success to him weekly. But I still optimistically assure him, 'Next week, things will be different.'
I've got an app to keep track of my nutrition, but finding the flow for meal prepping has been a bit of a wild goose chase. Sometimes, I wish I could just hire a chef to take the wheel so I wouldn't have to sweat about it.”
4)What is the biggest challenge you faced this year and how did you overcome this adversity?
“For me, the biggest hurdle has always been managing my small business. That's where fitness has become an ally—it helps me maintain balance. You know, every day, every week, there's a problem to solve. Whether it's the impact of interest rates on our business, ensuring that the operations are smooth, revenues are flowing, or keeping people content—it's all demanding. And maintaining a positive outlook through it all… That's a real feat.
It's probably why I've developed a fondness for endurance races. They reflect my life in a kind of profound way. Imagine running 500 meters, only to face an obstacle. Can't overcome it? There's a 250-meter penalty run waiting. However, you push through. You run another 500 or 600 meters, bump into another obstacle. As you tackle these roadblocks, tiredness creeps in and there's that persistent whisper in your ear, nudging you to just quit and walk. But you silence it, reminding yourself to keep pressing forward. Life is a lot like that.
So, have I conquered adversity? I'd say, not yet, because it seems to keep coming. But facing challenges head-on seems to be guided by an internal compass, and I can tell you this—I'm not planning to stop.”
5)You are a family man and run your own business. How has your new perspective and the new lifestyle allowed you to become better at these important roles in your life?
“I'm striving to serve as a stronger role model for my family—particularly my two teenagers. I want to embody and inspire an active, healthy lifestyle. Maybe I have gotten a bit carried away in my pursuit with all these endurance races, but the kernel of my intent rests in showing them how one can fuse activity and business into a life balance.
I genuinely believe many could benefit from giving physical activity higher priority on their list—sort of like how we don't think twice about making room for work or fixing dinner. It's something we need to schedule and stick to, and it's my hope to relay this to my kids through my example.
My son’s regular weekly workouts at Nova is him taking the first steps towards investing in his own health. Sure, there are countless ways to spend your money, but truly, there's no investment more fruitful than the one made in yourself. This is the philosophy I want them to grasp, and this is the lesson I am trying to model for them.”
6)What goals do you have your sights on for 2024?
“I've signed up for three Spartan races in 2024 a 5km, 10km and 21km. If you complete all those you qualify for a Spartan race to be running in Athens, which I think would be pretty cool. I've also identified a triathlon as my big goal for 2025. That's when I turn 50 years old I don't have to have the best time I just have to get through it.
I think we have to consider the mental side of things as much as the physical side of things, and I'm so busy in my business and my day-to-day running of operations and creating films and things like that that I really haven't paid a lot of attention to friendships and relationships and I realize how important they really are. I've done a poor job of nurturing those over the last ten years, so a big goal of mine in 2024 is to meet with more people, reconnect with old friends, and make time to make a human connection.”
Andrew has been a Nova member for 9 years. One of his long standing goals was to do his first triathlon. He has been working towards this for years and just at the end of August he did it!
If you're doing all the “right things” — working out, eating clean, trying to stay consistent — but still struggling with stubborn belly fat, low energy and slow results, you’re not alone.
Tanya’s dedication to rebuilding her health after surgery offers valuable lessons and perspective for anyone facing setbacks.
Do Hard Things Now, So Life Becomes Easier Later Modern humans default to the easy way but it's not our fault... Throughout human history, we were wired to survive constant hardship - scarcity of food, threats from predators, harsh environments and manual labor for everything. Our DNA evolved for survival in these conditions, not for modern living. Imagine an early human stumbling across a fruit tree. It made sense to gorge - there was no telling when the next meal would come. The human who gorged had a higher chance of survival than the human who only ate a few pieces of fruit. Practicing self-control in an environment of scarcity would have been a death sentence. Likewise, if given a chance to rest instead of walking miles or hunting, rest was the obvious choice. The problem? Our genes haven’t caught up with modern life. Today, food is everywhere. We don’t have to fight to meet our basic needs. Technology does the heavy lifting, cars replace walking, entertainment is on-demand and calorie-dense foods are always within reach. Left unchecked, our instincts will always lean toward easy options like overeating unhealthy foods (that are so easily accessible) or driving to the store instead of walking. In other words, we’re still hardwired to take the path of least resistance. But here’s the catch: Choosing easy now often means a harder life later and choosing hard now often means an easier life later. Most modern humans are overweight, stressed, tired and dealing with chronic health problems because we’re following outdated survival programming that no longer serves us. It’s time to become aware of these defaults. To override them. To consciously choose the hard thing - because doing hard things is what actually makes life easier in the long run. Hard things like: Going to bed on time instead of watching another episode Preparing a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food Moving your body instead of sitting all day Walking or biking to the store instead of driving Managing stress with deep breaths and fresh air instead of pouring a drink Looking at your habits instead of masking symptoms with medication It might feel uncomfortable because it goes against everything your biological programming is urging you to do. But that’s exactly why it matters. Don’t think of it as punishment or sacrifice. Think of it as an investment. Every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, cook instead of order out, or put your phone down to truly rest, you’re building a life that’s easier, richer, and more fulfilling down the road. And remember: Do easy things, and you’ll have a hard life. Do hard things, and you’ll have an easy life. Most of the above information is probably not new to you. That’s because we live in the information age with the internet and now AI - we already know what it is we need to do. The problem however is implementation. This is where having a customized plan and accountability comes in. If you know the hard things you need to do more of but struggle with breaking past your ‘default mode’ then contact us for a complimentary consultation HERE .
Congratulations to Sonya Jeyaseelan, Our July 2025 SuperNova!
Congratulations to Liz Belford, Our June SuperNova!
We are back with our second series of 'Pod Calls' available exclusively to our Nova Health Club members. Don't miss these unique sessions to help you level up your health and wellness game! What is a Pod Call? A Pod Call is a live online (webinar like)_ session with a Nova coach, offering support and insights on key health topics like fitness, nutrition, recovery and overall wellness. Why did we create Pod Calls? Our goal is your success and your health goals can not be built on fitness alone. After delivering thousands of personal training sessions, we noticed a disconnect between fitness sessions we were delivering and the other pillars of health (and lifestyle habits that happen outside of the gym). To get the most out of your health and your fitness sessions at Nova we need to link other pillars such as mindset, nutrition, stress and recovery. Training coaches who care about your results will agree that a couple hours of personal training each week is not enough time to workout AND learn everything you need to know about maximizing those workouts... Things like how to eat before or after workouts, what recovery habits should be practiced or the link between stress and working out are all subjects that you need to know on your health and fitness journey. Pod Calls are dedicated sessions where we teach you essential health and fitness insights that we can't often cover during your gym workouts. We hope you take advantage of these expert-led sessions that will enhance your workouts, teach you new concepts about health and bridge the gap between fitness and overall wellness. Upcoming Pod Calls (all times in EST) Mon Jun 2, 2025 (6:00pm) Topic: How To Eat Carbs For Better Energy, Muscle & Fat Loss Coach: Josh Allen Wed Jun 4, 2025 (2:00pm) Topic: Hip Mobility Using the 'CARS' (active session) Coach: Kim Vo Sat Jun 7, 2025 (12:00pm) Topic: Benefits of Single Leg & Arm Training for Overall Strength Coach: Matthew Nadler Tues Jun 10, 2025 (6pm) Topic: Releasing Neck Tension Coach: Zack Fernandez Wed Jun 18, 2025 (1:00pm) Topic: Training The Backside of The Core Coach: Colin Soltesz Thu June 19, 2025 (7:00pm): Topic: Ayurveda for Healthy Ageing Coach: Kayla Hutchinson These calls are free for Nova members and Zoom links for each call can be found in the Nova Mighty Networks platform. If you are not a Nova member and would like to attend any of these please email Info@NovaHealthClub.com for a seat. We look forward to seeing you then!
Check out the interview with Beth to see the habits, mindset and lifestyle shifts that helped her reach her goals
Simon’s 6-Week Transformation: From Stressed & Stuck to Strong & Energized
Simon joined Nova through the LeanDads 12-week program in February. Like many busy professionals...
