Karla Bosnar is a mum and business owner. She is an online exercise physiologist who has a unique approach that combines evidence-based training, nutrition for fat loss and mindset work, with 11 years of experience. Karla grew up playing tennis, loves the outdoors, and is passionate about creating programs that get women strong, powerful and resilient! She has battled through her own disordered eating and found true food and body freedom. Faith and family are important values! Movement mastery, body transformation and mindset work! Karla has seen women break through their barriers and achieve their full potential through this work. She created a life she truly loves and wants the same for other women.
Karla Bosnar, Exercise Physiologist
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better. The first thing that comes to mind whenever I’m asked this question or similar, are my values, which are faith, family and my health! My parents met in Croatia, I was born there and they came to Australia to give their kids a better life (I believe the war was still going on).
I’m very grateful for my upbringing, I had the opportunity to play sports, mainly tennis. I continued my passion for health and fitness by becoming a personal trainer, which I have now been for 12 years. I was also completing my bachelor degree in Exercise and Sports Science, followed by Master in Clinical Exercise Physiology at the time. I think the human body is amazing, I love movement, I love strength. I love helping people feel strong and move well! My ongoing learning has involved going deeper into biomechanics and human movement for exercise rehab, but I am also passionate about helping people achieve the body they want, a body they feel amazing in through mindset work and the science of nutrition. I struggled with body image and an eating disorder for a very long time. The fad diets, the quick fixes, the 8-week challenges will never give people what they want. It’ll never help people achieve lasting results or results that actually feel easy to maintain. I did that for over 10 years. However, when I began mindset work, so much shifted for me within the first 6 months. In my group program which I am currently running, “Mastering your Macros and Mindset”, I’m speaking to the importance of becoming aware, of how and why we use food, emotional intelligence and endurance work, building confidence and why this is what you need to do FIRST (it doesn’t work the other way around, losing weight is not going to give you uncircumstantial confidence) as well as food, pleasure, comfort and next level mindful eating which actually leads to easy and lasting results. This is all before we go into the science of nutrition for fat loss. The women are having some massive realisations which is awesome! Anyway, other things you should know about me, I’m a mum to 3 (2 in heaven, 1 on earth), I’m married to the kid that I played tips with at the park when I was 8 years old, I never miss church on Sunday, I love the outdoors and I’m barefoot as often as I can be. My diet is all about good quality meat, fish, fruit and veggies but I still love my pizza and ice cream. It’s all about balance, right? I believe the best mindset work, the best way to learn and live is to DO. Get out there and start DOING. Take action!
What inspired you to start Karla Bosnar Exercise Physiology, and what are your long-term goals? Originally I began my journey because I was following my passion for health and fitness. Later I realised I loved understanding more about the body, the way we move, how to help people move better, get stronger, recover from injury and have the best quality of life.
My other passion is helping people transform their body and mind. It’s weight loss, but done the right way. Often, the health and fitness industry doesn’t address the fact that there is more to achieving and maintaining the body you want, to feeling happy, confident, all the things that just a meal plan and training program. A diet plan, a training program, an 8-week challenge alone is not going to give someone lasting results. Rarely do they help people become aware of how and why they use food. An example of why this is important: if someone uses food to regulate their emotions, if they’re eating when they’re not physically hungry, this means extra calories which leads to weight gain.No matter what diet or how many diets they do, unless they become aware that they eat when they feel stressed or overwhelmed and unless they change the way they cope with uncomfortable emotions (insert emotional intelligence work), they will continue to struggle with losing weight or keeping it off. I’m also very unique in that I combine high-level coaching from both a training, nutrition (for fat loss) and mindset point of view. My own journey and seeing people struggle to feel happy, be confident, achieve lasting results, feel strong, fit and free is what inspired me and still inspires me every day to do what I do. My long-term goals are to continue with 1:1 coaching but to also grow my group programs to impact more people! I’ve also been a part of (and still am) a lot of group programs and often you have even bigger transformations as you learn so much from others.
Who is your target audience, and how do you cater to their needs? When it comes to exercise rehabilitation, my target audience are those who have tried all sorts of programs and therapy but still haven't found anything to help them move or feel better.
When it comes to training, a lot of women are afraid of power development work, strength training, they're afraid of building muscle and upping the intensity when it comes to cardio. This style of training changed my life! And I want women to experience how good they can feel, to reach their full potential, to have a better quality of life and slow down the aging process! We lose power, speed, strength and muscle from 30 onwards. If you don't use it, you lose it!
And finally, when it comes to weight loss, I help a lot of women who have struggled with binge eating and yoyo dieting. The women who have struggled with achieving their goal body for a very long time.I help them through mindset work and teaching them the science of nutrition so they have the knowledge and skills they need for life! What products or services do you offer in your business, and what sets them apart from competitors? Currently, I coach clients 1:1 online. I have coaching containers which include personalised programming, nutrition coaching and education as well as mindset work. Everything is delivered via the Everfit training app. The videos my clients have are the ones I record with my own voiceover instructions, which I believe is important as my clients want to learn from me.
What separates me from the rest is the experience I provide. It’s not just about the surface-level stuff, we go deeper! My years of experience as well as my passion, how much I actually care about my clients means we form beautiful relationships, which is so important. I’ve seen my clients who have communicated their needs, the ones who have been willing to be vulnerable and lean in, they’re the ones who achieve the best results!
I also run a group face-to-face session in a small physio clinic in Sydney. All fitness levels, quality training which includes power development, strength and conditioning. I bring in connection cards to the session and we often go for coffee after! Its quality training with connection.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
The quick fixes. The programs that promise people amazing results but never address mindset work or teach people about the life-long skills they’ll need to not just maintain results but to continue growing. A meal plan, the diet alone, a training program, isn’t going to address why you struggled with food, gym, confidence, consistency and self-worth in the first place. Not enough people are willing to be honest or have these tough conversations. Selling a quick fix is much easier.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
The birth of my first daughter changed my life. She was only with us for a very short time, but she made me stronger! Life has never been the same since. I have a deep love for life and I love my mindset! I know I can achieve anything with God by my side. I strive to be a role model, to be the best example for my daughter, my family, friends, clients and even those who I have never met. I’m a leader for many.
I’m strong, I’m resilient and I know I’ll be able to achieve whatever I set my mind to. This is why I believe I am where I am today, loving the life I’m building for myself and I want to share this with others.
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