Karl Borromeo - Weight Management Specialist

Karl Borromeo - Weight Management Specialist Specialist in Weight Management, Fitness Nutrition, Corrective Exercise, Behavior Change, Senior & Youth Fitness, and Cancer Exercise

Helping you lose fat, build muscle, move better, and gain lasting confidence through evidence-based training, smart nutrition, and behavior change — without crash diets or gimmicks.

Using support doesn’t make the exercise “easier” in every sense. It mainly reduces the balance and stability demand, all...
28/08/2026

Using support doesn’t make the exercise “easier” in every sense. It mainly reduces the balance and stability demand, allowing the client to focus more on loading the front leg and producing force.

A Bulgarian split squat challenges strength, balance, coordination, and stability. They don’t all need to be the limiting factor at the same time.

Support can serve 3 purposes:

1. Skill Acquisition
Helps beginners learn the movement, build confidence, and establish consistent technique.

2. Stability & Control
Helps maintain movement control, pelvic control, and a consistent range of motion, especially as fatigue increases.

3. Performance & Loading
Allows the client to apply more effort to the front leg and progress reps and load without balance being the factor that ends the set first.

In other words, support can help clients better express the strength they already have without balance holding them back.

The rear leg still contributes, but the exercise remains a unilateral lower-body movement. The key is how the support is being used.

We’re talking about stable support.

Hold, don’t pull.

The hand provides stability, not significant assistance. Support doesn’t eliminate the balance component. It simply reduces it.

This isn’t just for beginners. Stronger clients can also use support when the goal is to maximize lower-body loading rather than challenge balance.

If the goal is specifically balance, proprioception, or stability, reducing or removing support can be appropriate. But if the goal is strength or hypertrophy, there’s no requirement to make balance the limiting factor.

There’s a difference between making an exercise easier and removing a limitation that isn’t the target.

Harder doesn’t automatically mean better.

The best variation is the one that matches the goal and the client.

Good coaching isn’t about making clients feel guilty when they don’t follow the plan.It’s about understanding why certai...
25/08/2026

Good coaching isn’t about making clients feel guilty when they don’t follow the plan.

It’s about understanding why certain behaviors happen, identifying barriers, and helping clients develop strategies that fit their lives and that they can actually sustain.

Accountability is part of coaching.

But so are empathy, education, individualization, problem-solving, autonomy, and behavior change.

The goal isn’t just compliance.

The goal is lasting behavior change and helping clients become more confident and capable of managing their own health and fitness.

🔥 HOT TAKE: You might get angry with me for this.Fitness is for everyone. But that doesn’t mean every fitness activity i...
23/08/2026

🔥 HOT TAKE: You might get angry with me for this.

Fitness is for everyone. But that doesn’t mean every fitness activity is for everyone, at least not yet.

HYROX and other race-style events are demanding. You’re combining running with repeated high-effort work, loaded carries, lunges, sled pushes and pulls, wall balls, and substantial fatigue.

So if you’re currently deconditioned, have obesity, are new to training, or don’t yet have the strength, aerobic capacity, and movement tolerance to handle that workload, I don’t think jumping straight into a race is necessarily the smartest place to start.

And before someone says, “But there are overweight people who can do HYROX…”

Absolutely.

Body weight alone doesn’t determine readiness. A well-trained person with obesity can have a very different capacity than a sedentary person at a lower body weight.

That’s exactly my point.

This isn’t about excluding people because of their size. It’s about matching the training demand to the person’s current capacity.

If your goal is to eventually do HYROX, I’m all for it.

As a coach, our job isn’t to stop you from doing it. Our job is to help you build the capacity to do it safely and effectively.

You don’t have to rush to the starting line.

Build your aerobic base.
Build your strength.
Build your work capacity.
Improve your movement tolerance.
Gradually introduce running and higher-impact work.
And if weight loss is one of your goals, work on that along the way.

Save the race experience for when your body is prepared to handle the race.

Because fitness is for everyone.

But readiness matters. Progression matters. And “I can finish it” isn’t the same thing as “I’m adequately prepared for it.”

You can love training, learning about the human body, getting stronger, improving your physique, and pushing your own li...
20/08/2026

You can love training, learning about the human body, getting stronger, improving your physique, and pushing your own limits.

But when you become a coach, fitness is no longer primarily about your own goals.

It becomes about the person in front of you.

Their goals, preferences, experience, limitations, and the reality of their life all matter.

What works for you may not work for them.

Your favorite exercises may not be what they need.

That’s why the best program isn’t necessarily the most impressive one.

It’s the program that makes sense for the person, supports their goal, fits within their life, and gives them a realistic path to progress.

This also requires setting your own preferences aside when necessary.

Sometimes, the best coaching decision isn’t the hardest variation or what you would do yourself.

It’s what makes sense for that person.

Because coaching is more than knowing exercises or writing programs.

It’s listening, communicating, adapting, solving problems, and knowing when to push and when to hold back.

A technically great program is only useful if the person can actually apply it.

As a coach, your success isn’t just measured by your own progress.

It’s measured by the progress you help someone else make.

Being passionate about fitness may be what draws you into the field.

Being a good coach means learning how to use that passion and expertise to help someone else move forward.

A client recently asked me, “Why don’t you stretch me after our workouts? My previous trainer always did.”It’s a fair qu...
04/08/2026

A client recently asked me, “Why don’t you stretch me after our workouts? My previous trainer always did.”

It’s a fair question.

Stretching after a workout has become part of the culture in many gyms, and for some clients, it has become an expected part of personal training.

But I don’t stretch a client simply because the workout is finished.

Stretching has its place. It can be useful when a client needs to improve their range of motion for a specific movement or has a limitation that is relevant to their training.

But if you already have sufficient range of motion for what you need to do, there may be little reason to spend valuable training time trying to increase it further.

That’s where coaching comes in.

If stretching isn’t addressing a relevant need, I’d rather use those few minutes for whatever is most valuable to your training that day, whether that’s improving technique, building strength, working on conditioning, addressing a movement limitation, or simply giving you the recovery time you need.

You hired me to help you reach your goals, not simply to fill the last 10 minutes of every session with stretching.

And if you enjoy stretching, find it relaxing, or prefer having it as part of your session, that matters too. Your preferences are part of the conversation, as long as they fit within what we’re trying to accomplish.

The point isn’t that stretching is bad.

The point is that it should have a reason.

Just because something is common in the gym doesn’t make it necessary.

Good coaching means knowing what to do, what not to do, and why.

THE QUESTION ISN’T HOW LONG YOU’VE BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR PROGRAM. IT’S WHETHER IT’S STILL HELPING YOU MOVE TOWARD YOUR GOA...
24/07/2026

THE QUESTION ISN’T HOW LONG YOU’VE BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR PROGRAM. IT’S WHETHER IT’S STILL HELPING YOU MOVE TOWARD YOUR GOAL.

Your body responds to the training stimulus you consistently provide, not the number of weeks you’ve been following a program.

A program doesn’t need to change just because it’s “old.”

It should be updated when it’s no longer the best tool for helping you reach your goals, not simply because a certain number of weeks have passed.

Here are a few signs it may be time for a change:

✅ You’re no longer making meaningful progress toward your goal despite appropriate progression, consistent training, recovery, and nutrition.
✅ Your goals have changed.
✅ An exercise is causing discomfort or is no longer appropriate.
✅ Your coach’s reassessment shows your current program no longer matches your needs.
✅ Your schedule, preferences, or lifestyle have changed, making the current program difficult to follow consistently.

Changing a program doesn’t always mean changing every exercise.

Many people feel they need a completely new program because they’re bored, want more variety, or think their body has “adapted.” While those can be valid considerations, they don’t automatically mean your current program has stopped helping you make progress.

If your current program is still producing results, there’s often no reason to replace it.

In many cases, you can continue making progress through progressive overload by adjusting training variables such as:

✅ Load
✅ Repetitions
✅ Sets
✅ Tempo
✅ Rest periods
✅ Exercise order
✅ Weekly training volume

In some cases, replacing a few exercises can provide a more appropriate stimulus while keeping the overall goal of the program the same.

The goal isn’t to change your program just for the sake of change. It’s to help you keep moving closer to your goals.

The best programs don’t restart. They evolve.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH MOST TRAINING PROGRAMS ISN’T THE PROGRAM.It’s what happens after the plan is written.A well-des...
22/07/2026

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH MOST TRAINING PROGRAMS ISN’T THE PROGRAM.

It’s what happens after the plan is written.

A well-designed plan is only one part of the equation.

For it to keep working, it needs ongoing feedback and adjustments along the way.

That’s why program development is a team effort.

Like any partnership, it works best when both people communicate openly.

As a coach, it’s my responsibility to create that space, start those conversations, ask the right questions, and listen to your feedback.

Your role is to share what you’re experiencing openly.

Help me understand:

✅ What feels good and what doesn’t during training
✅ Which exercises you enjoy and which ones you don’t enjoy
✅ Any challenges with your schedule, recovery, or consistency
✅ If your goals or priorities change
✅ What’s working well and what we may need to adjust

Sharing feedback isn’t complaining.

It’s part of the coaching process.

The more I understand your experience, the better I can make adjustments that help your training fit your goals and your life.

Sometimes, a small adjustment is all it takes to help you keep moving forward.

And consistency is what drives long-term progress.

The best training plan isn’t the one that looks perfect on paper.

It’s the one that evolves with you and helps you stay consistent.

Better communication leads to better decisions.

And better decisions lead to better results.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a coach is assuming the best physique equals the best coach.Buildi...
21/07/2026

One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a coach is assuming the best physique equals the best coach.

Building an impressive physique is an incredible achievement.

It takes years of consistency, discipline, and hard work. But building your own body and helping someone else achieve their goals are two different skills.

When you’re choosing a coach, you’re not just looking for someone who looks the part.

You’re looking for someone who can assess your needs, understand your goals, and design a program that fits your experience, abilities, and lifestyle.

That’s because no two clients are the same.

Everyone brings different training histories, preferences, lifestyles, and individual needs.

Good coaching isn’t about giving everyone the same program. It’s about applying sound principles to the individual in front of you.

A good coach should also be able to explain not only what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it.

When you understand the reasoning behind your program, you’re more likely to make informed decisions and stay consistent over the long term.

Your coach’s physique may catch your attention.

Their ability to assess, educate, adapt, and guide you is what helps you achieve your goals.

ARE YOU TRAINING HARDER… OR JUST REPEATING YOURSELF?If you’ve ever found yourself adding one more chest press just to ma...
20/07/2026

ARE YOU TRAINING HARDER… OR JUST REPEATING YOURSELF?

If you’ve ever found yourself adding one more chest press just to make sure you don’t miss any part of your chest, keep reading.

It’s a common mindset. More exercises feel more productive.

We convince ourselves that another exercise will finally hit the muscle from the angle we’ve been missing.

But sometimes, you’re just adding exercise redundancy, where different exercises provide a similar training stimulus without adding much unique benefit.

If your chest workout includes a flat machine chest press, a plate-loaded chest press, and a Smith machine bench press, ask yourself:

Are these truly providing different stimuli, or are they mostly different ways of doing the same job?

Your muscles respond to the stimulus you create, not the name of the exercise.

Once you’ve accumulated enough productive sets, adding another exercise with a similar training stimulus often provides diminishing returns while adding more fatigue.

Before adding another movement, ask yourself:

“What does this exercise provide that my current program doesn’t?”

If it doesn’t provide a meaningfully different stimulus, you may just be adding variety for the sake of variety.

Variety is valuable when it meaningfully changes the stimulus, not simply because the exercise looks different.

This doesn’t mean repeating an exercise is wrong.

If your goal is to accumulate more quality training volume, repeating a movement can be a perfectly valid strategy.

The key is understanding why it’s in your program.

The next time you build a workout, don’t ask how many exercises you can fit.

Ask whether each exercise earns its place.

Because more isn’t always better.

Better exercise selection is.

I get my haircut every two weeks.Not because it makes me a better coach.It doesn’t.But to me, it’s part of being a profe...
20/07/2026

I get my haircut every two weeks.

Not because it makes me a better coach.

It doesn’t.

But to me, it’s part of being a professional.

Coaching doesn’t start when the session begins.

It starts with the very first interaction.

That means communicating clearly, being prepared, maintaining a clean and welcoming training environment, and showing up professionally.

The haircut itself isn’t the point.

It’s one of many small details that help create the experience I want every client to have.

When someone trusts me with their health and fitness, I believe every interaction should reflect the same level of care and professionalism they should expect throughout our coaching journey.

Whether you’re a coach, a business owner, or anyone in a client-facing profession, people begin forming an impression before you ever have the chance to demonstrate your expertise.

Your knowledge and skills help people achieve results.

But the way you show up helps people feel confident enough to trust you.

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