Fabio Bonanno Coaching

Fabio Bonanno Coaching Fitness Behaviour Change Coach that helps busy male executives lose 14-20 lbs in 90 days and beyond

18/09/2026

I play basketball every week with a man who's better than me

Ben went to America on a scholarship. He was the best in the country at our age

He beats me every week, usually 4 or 5 to 1 or 2 😭

I turn up anyway, and I play like I can win, knowing I probably won't

I get better because of it. He's the reason, not the obstacle

Here's what I notice with the men I work with

They've spent twenty years arranging their lives so they're never the second best person in the room

Meetings they lead
Rooms where they're the expert
Decisions they're qualified to make

That's not arrogance, it's what happens when you get good at something

But it means they've had almost no practice at being visibly average

So when they walk into a gym and they're bad at it, in front of people, it doesn't feel like difficulty

It feels like they shouldn't be there

That's what ends it. Not the workload

I book an appointment with being second best every week

It's an hour of losing to a better player and it's the most useful hour in my week

17/09/2026

A lot of men respond to declining consistency by demanding more discipline from themselves.

But if the environment changed, the old dose may simply no longer fit.

Before adding effort, ask whether the system was ever redesigned for the life you have now.

Comment "CAPACITY" and I'll send you the Capacity Scorecard. ⬇️

A lot of men read the first signs of this shift as a motivation problem.They are training less consistently. Body fat is...
17/09/2026

A lot of men read the first signs of this shift as a motivation problem.

They are training less consistently. Body fat is harder to move. Recovery is slower. Energy is less predictable.

So they try to recreate the version of themselves who could simply push through.

But the environment is different now.

The useful question is not, "Why can't I do what I did at 25?"

It is, "What does my health need to look like for the life I am carrying now?"

That is a much better problem to solve.

Comment "CAPACITY" and I'll send you the Capacity Scorecard. ⬇️

17/09/2026

Working hard could be stopping you from making progress

Successful men know how to work hard, it’s probably the thing they’re best at

The hustle, the hours, the relentless grind

That’s where the merit comes from

So if that’s you, you could be stopping yourself from feeling your best

I don’t know many senior professionals, business owners or CEO’s that are very relaxed

It doesn’t come with the title

And that’s why pushing more makes sense

It’s what got them success in the first place

So applying it elsewhere makes sense

But you’re not all in

You’re doing some work,

But the focus and bandwidth are being stolen by work

That’s why you need to understand your situation

Not just info from Chat GPT, but how you think, how you feel

Then bring an intentional plan to the table

So you’re not spinning your wheels

16/09/2026

If you’re busy, stressed and not working out 5-7 times per week, you don’t need to eat protein every breathing second of the day

Busy men looking to feel better…

You need to have enough protein, but more isn’t better

The reason this is repeated so much is because it’s simple and you don’t have to think

More protein, done… now get on with the day

Add in fibre, digestion, protein variety… then it gets complicated

And complicated doesn’t work

I’ve had clients lose 20lbs easily and not hitting the guidelines of 1.6-2.2g of protein per kg bodyweight per day

It’s not because protein is bad, but above a certain level, you’re talking marginal gains if any

Most people will do well getting more fibre in,

Balancing cards for sustained energy throughout the day to manage that mid morning and mid afternoon crash that you try to survive with caffeine

If you’re trying to live longer, look better and feel better…

Getting enough protein is vital,

But so is everything else…

Like managing stress, improving fitness, managing alcohol, getting more sleep

Eveyone knows what to do, everything is a quick Chat GPT question away,

But integrating it is the hard part because you’re identity has to shift and that’s not as simple as just “eat more protein”

If you’re struggling to find rules that survive when your week goes sideways,

Comment below “worst week” and I’ll send you a framework that’s easy to follow even if you are working 60 hour weeks

Schools are back, so your routine should be tooIt isn'tI was looking to get into full flow last week and we still had an...
16/09/2026

Schools are back, so your routine should be too

It isn't

I was looking to get into full flow last week and we still had an academic review day

So my boy was off

Same for anyone managing any kind of responsibility

You think you'll get a normal week

You rarely do

You might get four of those a year

That's not a problem

Once you know the landscape is more unpredictable than you'd like, you plan for that

Not for the rare four

Too many men rely on motivation and a clear calendar to work on their health

Those are the exception, not the rule

So I plan for the worst weeks, not the good ones

Then when a good one turns up, you're already in a good place

If your plan needs a clear week and a motivated version of you

It was never a plan

15/09/2026

Your body probably isn't what's holding you back

I've seen it with a lot of clients

They can physically do it

The ability is there

What's missing is the capacity, the belief or the identity that makes them do the work

They've built a life of comfort

They work hard, they get rewarded for it, they're very successful in that one area

So when it comes to their health, where it used to be against where it is now, they've got limitations

That's not good or bad

They're busy, overwhelmed, very little bandwidth

They're at capacity

Something happened last week in Hyde Park

There was a fence I wanted to jump

My boy said he thought I could do it... I knew I could do it

Then I ran up to it and panicked, and I didn't jump

So we walked away, looked at some birds and fish...

But it bugged me the whole time, so I had to go back and try it

I got it

Huge win

Which sounds ridiculous

39 years old, jumping a fence

But it was never physical. I knew I could clear it

It was what if I fail, with a load of people watching outside the Serpentine

Two reasons I went back

1 - my boy

I have to show him what's possible mentally, not just physically

2 - I didn't want to leave that belief sitting there

It's small and it's silly

But every time you say no to something like that, it gets a bit easier to say no to the next one

Small no's become a pattern

Patterns become a way of thinking

A way of thinking becomes your identity, how you see yourself... who you are

And that's what limits you

Just because you're great in one area doesn't mean you get to protect yourself in another

Be sensible

Don't hurt yourself

But start challenging yourself again, because that'll give you more than any program will

14/09/2026

Doing work isn't the same as getting a result

I've had a lot of conversations lately with men who know exactly what to do

They're doing something, so they think it's enough

Looking at the diet, cutting back on the extras, the chips, the extra drink

Training again

So they're fit-ish

Kind of fit, nothing to brag about

And they tell themselves it's not that bad, because they're doing something

When you do nothing, you eventually have to be honest about it

The gap gets big enough that it can't be ignored

But when you're sort of exercising and sort of looking at your diet, there's work happening

It's just not producing anything

So you're not as bad as you could be

You're not as good as you could be either

And you'd get there with less effort than you're currently putting out there

Half assing it isn't easier

It's less efficient than focused blocks that get the job done in half the time

And spinning your wheels has a cost...

The fog in the afternoon, the coffee you need to get through the next pitch

Almost every man I speak to works his ass off

That's the problem

They're stuck in a more trap

Wanting to change costs nothing

Intending to costs nothing

Doing the work for years and not changing is what's tiring

11/09/2026

Being the best in the room at work can be a problem

You might have built a life on your career

The title, the accolades, the success

So it stops you from being a beginner again

The ego is a tough one

It drives you to succeed, to do the work

But if you stay in your lane, comfortably uncomfortable, you know the landscape so you stay there

Most men in this position arrange their life so they're never publicly incompetent

The issue isn't that you're not competent

It's that you're so good in one area that when you step into somewhere you're relearning, it feels like you shouldn't be there

Starting over feels the same as failing

My boy had some big growth moments this past week

Moved up an age group in BJJ, a new basketball class, games designed for older kids

He thought they'd be easy and fun

Not yet...

Emotions were high and he got upset

Once we managed expectations he changed

He committed, and he got better

For me there are areas I hate being uncomfortable

Dancing is one of them

I'd rather destroy myself in the gym or on a basketball court than embarrass myself on a dance floor

Whatever your uncomfortable is

Diet, mobility, strength, fitness

You're not going to be good at the start

But you have to start to be good

I chunk it down for clients, because their intentions are good and their life doesn't allow them to go all in

Then I set the expectation

You're going to suck at times

And that's cool. It gets better 🤜🏼

10/09/2026

VO2 max is stopping you from progressing, here's why

A tonne of guys are trying o optimise for performance and longevity

I'm all for it, but here's why I don't test all my clients

Because it's not the main metric that matters

Your watch will give you a number, the test will give you something else

And depending on where you do the test, what kit you use, time of day, stress levels and nutrition status... you'll get a different reading each time

People try and add a few points to their score when it's already superior

But they miss out on good running mechanics

Losing the power of the engine to flat tyres will waste your efforts

If you can do a VO2 max test, cool

Just don't look at it as the only metric

Can you recover from a moderate run?

How's your breathing during higher intensity runs?

How quick does your heart rate drop post exercise?

Are you lean or carrying extra weight?

There are so many things to think about

Quite often, it's just bragging rights anyway

No-one else really cares,

It is cool to have but it doesn't tell you the full picture

I take a macro view on things

Health, diet, stress, body composition, sleep, strength, mobility

All these contribute to your capacity or lack of it

VO2 max is just one metric

If you want a VO2 max test in central London,

Comment below or message "VO2" and I'll let you know the details

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London Borough Of Islington

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Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 6pm

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+447832184739

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