Chris Robertson: From Decathlete To Obstacle Course Racing

Discovering the 5 Pillars of Health When I was 36 years old my health came to a screeching halt because I was trying to live like I was still in my teens and twenties - working out as hard as possible, eating and drinking whatever I wanted, staying up late, not taking supplements, pulling 16 hour work days etc… BOOM - Out of nowhere I got hit with anxiety, depression and insomnia. Within 3 months it worsened and I had zero energy, belly fat, poor focus, weak muscles and felt the worst I ever had. My wife said I was having a mid-life crisis and while she was somewhat right, the physiological explanation was that my resilience to stress was broken. Stress that I once had no problem dealing with… To fix myself, I tried the only approach I ever knew - the approach that almost everyone takes into their adult lives (which we learn when we were in our 20’s)... That approach was to get serious about my training and to implement some mainstream nutritional tweak like lowering my carbs or to decrease alcohol. It didn’t work… What I really needed was a 360 holistic approach… Unfortunately it took me years to figure that out. Years of pain and frustration… My default mode was still to live like I was 25 years old. But the playing field was way different - I was older, married with kids and working crazy hours starting a small business. It wasn’t until I focused on ALL the 5 Pillars of health that I was able to start putting myself back together and get back into great shape - mentally and physically. The ‘5 Pillars’ of Health Mindset and motivation Nutrition and digestion Movement and activity Stress and the nervous system Sleep, rest and recovery Over the course of 5 years I tried hundreds of things to fix my health but it was these 10 things - 2 for each pillar of health are what made all the difference in my life. These 10 things, if you put them into practice can be game changers for your health too! 1) Mindset Discover Your WHY Your WHY is the reason you get out of bed each day. It is your guiding star that motivates you to do hard things. Your WHY should not be a goal like to lose 20lbs or to earn more money but rather the reason WHY you want to make those things happen. For example if your goal is to get fit then your WHY is how being fit changes your life? What will it allow you to do that you can not do right now and who will it have a positive impact on? Once I discovered my WHY I had a greater purpose in life which was beyond any fitness goal or financial status I wanted to reach. It gave me the energy to persist beyond will power and self discipline and it was aligned with my future identity and values. Do What You Love The ‘grind’ is not only hard on your head and body but it is hard on your heart… And when you are in that mode it is easy to forget about the love and passion you once had for life and doing the things that make you happy. This could be hobbies, spending time with friends or doing anything that gives you joy. Neglecting these things is an energy killer but sprinkling them into your life will charge you so that you can tackle that ‘grind’. For 8 years I put aside my hobby of graffiti art and hanging out with friends. When I was at my lowest, an old friend invited me to a Hip Hop jam where I would be part of a graffiti mural. The vibe lifted my spirit massively - the breakdancing, DJ’s, artists and old friends that I neglected gave me strength and I realized that this needs to be a part of my life once again. 2) Movement Walking Walking is not only exercise but a time to create space from the clutter and busyness of life. We all heard of 10,000 steps a day and for good reason - walking decreases stress, burns fat calories, manages blood sugar, keeps your heart, muscles and body functional and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For decades, I relied solely on workouts and sports, but as an adult, I discovered that adding walking to my routine made my body feel better and more energized. Rather than going straight to the computer screen upon waking (which I did for years), I started going outside for a 15 minute walk. I started to incorporate more walks into my day as breaks to get away from the chaos. Walking allowed me to clear my mind and come up with new ideas. Walking is also how I keep fat from piling up on my waistline. Tailor Workout Intensity Based on Your Nervous System It blows me away to see how so many ‘stressed’ people workout so hard at the gym following the ‘no pain no gain’ mentality. What people don’t realize is that working out is a stress on the body. If your life is stressful outside of the gym and you pile more stress on with hard training you are ‘smashing’ your nervous system. This can lead to decreased energy, sleep problems, poor muscle recovery and lack of progress towards your fitness goals. Understanding how your nervous system works by tracking something like HRV (heart rate variability) is one of the smartest ways to tailor your training program to your stress levels AND still get results. When my daughter was born and I was managing a fitness club in West Vancouver I was under a lot of stress. I still had this mentality of going hard in workouts. I remember working out hard with clients at 7pm (end of my day) and feeling awful in the workout. However it was not until 5 years later (when I hit the wall) that I realized this was the wrong way to train. One practice I began that helped my nervous system for working out was to create a transition time between life and the workout. This is a time to relax before a workout such as sitting in the sun, sauna, meditating or stretching. This has helped to regulate my nervous system and prepare it better for a workout. 3) Nutrition Eat Food The Way Your Parents Taught You Growing up, you probably have been told things like eat breakfast, chew slowly, sit at the dinner table when eating, eat your veggies etc. But as life gets busy in our 20s we throw it all away. We skip breakfast, skip meals, decrease calories, eat on the go, eat in front of computers, inhale our food to get back on with the day and scroll on phones without any regard to the food in our mouth. All of this creates stress on the body. Stress from being malnourished (low calories, low protein, low carbs, not digesting well from not chewing etc) and a disconnect between our body and the fuel we need to perform our best. I was like this too. I even remember a time when I was annoyed having to eat when all I wanted to do was work. And when I did eat I wolfed it down. On top of that I was cutting carbs - little did I know that carbs were the very energy my body required. As a very active individual under a lot of work and family stress, eating low carb and low calorie was more stress on my body. Once I began eating like a human being, instead of a machine - by sitting down to eat, chewing slowly and eating in a low stress environment away from work, food began to work better for me. It gave me the energy I needed to focus and perform my best in all areas of my life. Eliminate Inflammatory Foods If you get punched in the face it will become inflamed. If you eat inflammatory foods the same thing happens in your body. The problem with inflammatory foods is that unless you are severely ill after (ie: celiac person eating bread) the inflammation is low and you do not feel it. Wheat/gluten, dairy, sugar, corn, soy and processed vegetable oils are common inflammatory foods that most people consume every day. As a result, most people are in this state of chronic inflammation and it is one of the major reasons why they are stuck in their pursuit of good health. You cannot optimize your health, drop body fat or avoid illness if you are in this state. I used to eat pizza, beer, cheese, yogurt, soy milk, tofu, fried food, cookies, chips, you name it each week. I can not tell you how much better I feel having eliminated 95% of this from my diet. I once had constant phlegm, hives, allergies at my parents house and felt bloated after most meals. Now it is all gone. Removing these foods from my diet was one of the best decisions I ever made. Sure I still have pizza once in a while… But it is going to be the most expensive, best quality pizza in town once… Once every 3 to 6 months, not every week.. (these days, you couldn't pay me enough to eat a cheap pizza like a McCain Deep n Delicious! 4) Stress Magnesium Magnesium is vital for over 300 body functions, including energy production and muscle health. Stress depletes magnesium quickly - that includes work, injuries, alcohol, poor sleep, tight muscles etc. On top of that, most of us are eating a diet high in processed food and/or low in healthy calories which compounds the magnesium deficiency. Magnesium has been a saving supplement for me. It has improved my sleep, calmed my nervous system, helped recovery after workouts and even helps me stay regular. Next to vitamin D, magnesium has been one of the best supplements I have introduced and is a regular part of my routine each day. Nature Sometimes all you need in order to clear your head and release tension is to get into nature. This is a free resource available to everyone yet few of us take advantage of it. Our DNA thrives on fresh air, sunlight, and the natural sensory experiences that come with being outdoors. In addition to stress release, nature will increase energy, boost immune function, decrease blood pressure, improve mood, sleep and happiness. There was a place in my town where I would go every Friday for a walk in the forest. Like making my workouts part of the weekly routine, going for this particular forest walk each week was something I ritualized because it was the very peace I needed away from hardcore workouts and ‘grinding’ at work. As a bit of a spin off to this, I even began growing my own vegetables. Spending time in nature and making an effort to be in physical contact with trees, water and soil was a huge part in my healing process. 5) Recovery Sleep Hygiene This means having a system around your sleep, whether it is a pre bed-time ritual, sticking to a specific lights out and wake time or adjusting things like light, sound and temperature when sleeping. Good sleep has a massive ROI on your health - fat loss, cognition, detoxification, mood, mental and physical performance… The list goes on! I realized that my current sleep habits were formed from my years as a teen and during my 20’s. And let’s be honest, those sleep habits don’t work for a lot of men over 35. Sleep was one of the things that got bad for me and if I was going to improve it I needed to follow a better system. I created a schedule that I stuck to for example not staying up past 10pm. I incorporated other tricks like earplugs, lowering the temperature and not sleeping with a cell phone near my head. Sleep for me has been a tough one to master as I find it is highly influenced by everything else going on in life too - hence why I am such a firm believer in a holistic approach. Early Morning Sun We are ‘heliotropic’ beings, meaning we are drawn to light. Light has a huge influence on our health - energy being one of them. Exposure to early morning sun is important because when the light hits the retina of our eyes, it tells our body that it is day and to create energy. If you want to improve your energy, get more natural sunlight on your eyes first thing in the morning as this sets your circadian rhythm and your circadian rhythm drives your energy levels each day. Being on a screen and working in doors living in the northern hemisphere, it is easy to skip the sun. Plus I was always one who wore sunglasses. I began to make it a priority to get sun on my face and eyes as early as possible in the day. Not only did the warmth make me feel better, my energy levels were better in the day and it was easier for me to then fall asleep at the end of the day. There you have it, 10 things that made a dramatic change to my health when I hit my ‘mid-life crisis’. My goal at the time was just to be healthy and get myself out of ‘the deep end’... The crazy thing is, that now at age 46 I am not only past the struggles that I was trying to solve but I have more energy, am stronger, more fit and accomplish more in a day than I did in my 20’s and 30’s. And this is why I do what I do in life - health coaching and holistic transformations based around the ‘5 Pillars’. Whatever you are struggling with, looking at your life from a 360 perspective is the key to solving the problem. Even if you are healthy, a focus on the ‘5 Pillars’ is going to catapult your health and performance into the stratosphere like you never imagined.Trust me, I’ve been there and have taken many people on the same journey. If you want to explore any of these 10 concepts or how the ‘5 Pillars’ can be improved in your life email me Josh@NovaHealthClub.com

What is a Pod Call? A Pod Call is a live online 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 (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 both 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) Feb 11, 2025 (7:00pm): Topic: Evening foam rolling recovery and relaxation (active session) Coach: Zack Fernandez Feb 12, 2025 (7:00pm) Topic: Preparing for InBody and interpreting the results Coach: Meredith Foley Feb 18, 2025 (7:00am) Topic: Kickstart your day with morning mobility (active session) Coach: Kayla Hutchinson Feb 20, 2025 (12:00pm) Topic: Spine mobility & blood flow for better strength and recovery Coach: Matthew Nadler Feb 18, 2025 (6:00pm) Topic: Addressing women’s hormones for optimal wellness Coach: Heather Layton Feb 25, 2025 (12:15pm) Topic: The 5 most common workout mistakes that hold back progress Coach: Josh Allen Mar 4, 2025 (3pm) Topic: Benefits and techniques to barbell movements Coach: Tyler Hann Mar 5, 2025 (2:00pm) Topic: The importance of having power as you age Coach: Colin Soltesz Mar 8, 2025 (1:30pm) Topic: Functional Range Conditioning and creating active range of motion Coach: Kim Vo 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!

Congratulations to Sandra Hurl-Smith, Our February SuperNova! 

A NEW Approach to Fat Burning When it comes to burning fat, most people (including fat loss experts) only know the old school approach - more exercise and disciplined nutrition. And while tweaking these 2 things is super important when it comes to fat loss… It won’t address metabolic stressors that are causing fat storage in the first place. The ‘stress reduced fat loss’ approach considers all the pillars of health - not just exercise and nutrition… It works by specifically targeting the things that cause stress on the body… Stress & Fat Gain It is important to first understand that stress is not good or bad. Stress is just a stimulus that takes your body out of homeostasis, or in other words out of balance. Our bodies were designed to be healthy, lean and energetic. It is extremely capable of adapting to stressors and fixing problems… But when there is constant exposure to stressors (often years) it results in metabolic damage resulting in the accumulation of body fat and other health problems. Simply put, the more body fat a person has, the more their body is under metabolic stress. The ‘stress reduced fat loss’ approach works to reduce stress… Not stress that’s hard to control like work, family or running behind schedule… But rather stress that you expose your body to every day, in most cases for decades that you have full control over! The Evolution of Fat Loss The ‘stress reduced fat loss’ approach is the newest most advanced method to burn fat! We live in a world that is very different from the one we lived in even 30 years ago… As the world evolves to one that creates more and more metabolic stressors on the human body, the approach to burning fat must also evolve. As a result, the old methods of fat burning by simply cutting back on wine or chips and increasing workouts just isn’t going to cut it anymore! Until you consider all the pillars of health, by honing in on your specific metabolic stressors, fat loss will continue to be this elusive thing you keep chasing… The ‘stress reduced fat loss’ approach is the exact system we use at Nova Health Club in our LeanDads and Femme Fusion coaching programs. And it has helped so many people… People who have tried the old school ways for years but without success. Determining Metabolic Stressors The old school approach does this… It will have you step on a scale and then say you got 10-20lbs to lose… And you get back on the same hamster wheel of increasing exercise and trying to cut back on foods you enjoy. This approach does not work for people over 35 who have ‘racked up’ years of metabolic stress. The new ‘stress reduced fat loss’ approach however uses a 5 step assessment to determine exactly what metabolic stressors need to be fixed… Stressors like poor sleep, impaired digestion, allergens, toxins or vitamin deficiencies - all of which are ubiquitous in our modern life. You see, when these things are improved, exercise and good nutrition work better. But when there are metabolic stressors left unchecked, exercise and nutrition tactics don’t work like they should. If you want to burn fat, boost energy, be in great shape and live your healthiest life it’s time to evolve your approach… It's time to expose and zap those hidden metabolic stressors that have been holding you back from reaching your full potential. And it all starts with looking at your health with a new perspective - not just by what the scale says… But through an assessment that identifies what is happening within your body that’s making you gain fat weight. If you are curious about this 5 step assessment email Josh@NovaHealthClub.com for more information. And if you're serious about improving your health or losing fat and want to incorporate this new approach, all without extreme workouts, rigid diets or a huge time commitment - consider joining the LeanDads or Femme Fusion program today.

Introducing Nova's Newest Coach We are proud to welcome Kim as our newest member to the Nova health club team ! Kim has joined our team as a holistic health coach who specializes in the nervous system, functional mobility, dance and endurance sports. Growing up she was introduced to everything from alpine skiing and volleyball to competitive dance and theatre. She has since channeled her passion for movement into health, fitness, performing arts and endurance events. With over 10 years of coaching experience, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa and is a certified FRC & FRA Mobility Specialist. One of Kim’s greatest strengths is her ability to inspire and connect people. She thrives on bringing people together toward a common goal, leading with passion and purpose. This is evident in her theatre collective, an ensemble of actors and dancers she brought together to create, workshop and build stories that celebrate and amplify the unsung marginalized voices. Her short term goals include widening her knowledge on bridging the gap between neuroscience and movement, writing and performing a solo show and completing an Ironman in 2026! We are excited to support her goals and for her to help team Nova grow towards our company vision .

Fulfilling a vision comes down to being in tune with your core values. At Nova Health Club, our core values fuel who we are and who we wish to be. We are looking to align ourselves with people who resonate with our values because we know we can then make a bigger impact in your life. Our Core Values 1)Performance: Focus, energy and strength to perform better at your life’s goals and purpose. Being a performance driven company means we have an objective to support you in thinking and acting in ways that will help you perform better at whatever you want to be better in - whether it is working out, sport, work or relationships. 2)Excellence: Learning, growing and challenging ourselves to become better than we were yesterday. We hold ourselves to high standards, striving for exceptional results in our community by challenging the status quo, embracing vulnerability, and stepping out of our comfort zone to foster growth and improvement. 3)Engagement: Experiences that empower individuals and communities to better health. Opportunities to inspire and empower people to actively engage in their personal journey toward better health is the essence of Nova coaching, accountability and motivation. 4)Holistic: Wellness through the 5 Pillars of Health - mindset, movement, nutrition, stress resilience and recovery. Supporting your health goals, making them a reality and becoming the highest version of yourself is best done when we consider how each pillar affects the other.

“To redefine the fitness industry by evolving into holistic health coaches who transform lives and operate in the 'blue space' where competition is irrelevant.” This is our company vision and I would like to share some perspective behind this vision and how it impacts you as someone in our Nova Community. 25 Years Experience I started personal training in the year 2000 when I was 20 years old. When I started personal training in 2000 I was a trainer who only knew about exercise. My 4 years studying Kinesiology at University only taught me about human movement. My knowledge in areas such as nutrition, mental health or sleep was next to nothing. I also never had any health adversity that would have ever taught me anything other than how to workout. Like most young personal trainers, I had high energy, ate whatever I wanted and could do things like party till 2am drinking alcohol. It was not until I was 30 years old (10 years into my personal training) that I started to see that health was more than just working out. I started noticing unfavorable changes in my metabolism, ability to recover and stress levels. When I was 36 years old, severe burn out brought my health to a screeching halt. It took me 5 years to recover from this and during this time is when I connected the dots to health and really started to appreciate what my clients needed. Personal Trainer to Health Coach As a young personal trainer who trained a clientele with the average age of 50 I only focused on how to ‘train’ a client with exercise. As I matured I realized that exercise was only a small part of my responsibility to my clients and if I continued to only focus on that, I would be creating a disservice to them. I started to observe things with my clients that proved my point. For example, the 6am high stress client who had a poor sleep needed a specific type of workout at 6am and coaching on how to sleep and manage stress. The client who was always getting injured needed support with stress, recovery and nutrition - not just rehab training. The client who was struggling with weight loss did not need more working out, they needed support in the other areas of their health like digestion, insulin management and sleep. My biggest epiphany came to me when I realized that few of my clients were reaching their goals. I had clients that had the same goal year after year with little progress towards it. Sure they were active but the working out was not making as much impact in their lives as it could if I connected the dots for them. This did not sit well with me and was not the legacy I wanted to leave behind. I started changing the tune of how to ‘train’ my clients. Though my sessions were founded on getting a ‘workout’, my priority was to support them as much as possible in areas OUTSIDE of fitness that I call the 5 Pillars of Health. Because I realized that what happens outside the gym determines what happens in the gym and ultimately the results and transformations that people wanted. The ‘5 Pillars of Health’ 1)Movement 2)Nutrition 3)Sleep 4)Stress 5)Mindset The Wellness Revolution Wellness is a holistic term which takes the 5 Pillars of Health into consideration. Personal trainers focus on fitness, but fitness is just one piece of the puzzle. Without addressing the other elements of holistic health, fitness alone will fall short of taking you as far as you want to go or resolving the core issues that led you to start your fitness journey in the first place. Fitness is a gateway to wellness and is probably the best place to start. That is why people see their personal trainers multiple times each week and not their doctors. Personal trainers therefore have a larger responsibility than they know. But the industry is changing and Nova Health Club is going in the direction of wellness. That is why our name is Nova Health Club and not Nova Fitness. We want to create a massive impact in your life by supporting you beyond just working out. To do this our vision is to evolve from personal trainers to health coaches. Fitness will always be at our core, but as we grow, we seek coaches with a holistic approach to training. Nova ‘Health Coaches’ will be equipped to support you in the 5 Pillars of Health, going beyond simply pushing you to work out harder. We are also going to continue expanding our programs and services to offer more support in nutrition, sleep, stress and mindset. The Blue Space One of our core values is ‘Excellence’. This means we have the desire to do great things and stand apart from the rest. We are confident that achieving our vision of redefining the industry as holistic health coaches will take us into an area that we refer to as the ‘Blue Space’. The name ‘Nova’ means ‘new’ and the ‘Blue Space’ is new unchartered territory where few people and companies go to. As industry leaders it is our long term vision to move in this direction, exploring new areas of health coaching that have never been done before. We’re excited to be on this journey and invite you to join us, moving closer to your true potential and living your healthiest life yet! The Nova Health Club Vision: “To redefine the fitness industry by evolving into holistic health coaches who transform lives and operate in the 'blue space' where competition is irrelevant.”

Congratulations to Rob and Pam Smith, our SuperNova duo for 2024! Congratulations to Rob and Pam Smith, our SuperNova duo for 2024! This recognition is a long time coming because since they joined Nova 6 years ago, they have proved consistency every year. This is seen not just in them showing up to workout at the club each week but by challenging themselves to do something bigger with their fitness each year.