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Blog

Research backed articles about fitness, nutrition, mindset, health and wellness.

If you don't see an article about a topic that you would like to see, shoot us an email and we'll be happy to cover it.

Why I’m Ditching the Bootcamp Mentality (And You Should Too)

6/9/2025

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By: Coach Kayli Montoya-Huston

Certified NASM Personal Trainer & NCI Nutrition Coach

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And what we’re doing instead at RISE at The Greenway. Let’s be honest: when you think of a group fitness class, your brain probably flashes to something like this…

🚨 Screaming instructor
💦 Sweat flying
🔥 Burpees, sprints, jump squats
😵‍💫 And a group of people silently wondering how long until it’s over


I know the drill.
I used to teach classes like that when I first started my career as a personal trainer. It’s what I thought I had to do. Push people to their limit. Burn as many calories as possible. Keep the energy high. No pain, no gain, right?


But here's the truth I can’t ignore anymore:
Those classes didn’t make people better.
They made them burned out, injured, and more discouraged than ever.


Here’s what I saw firsthand:
  • Women pushing themselves way too hard — not because it served them, but because they thought they had to “earn” their results.
  • Chronic soreness, low back pain, and nagging injuries from poor programming or rushed movement patterns.
  • No progression. No real strength-building. Just chasing exhaustion.
  • And the worst part? Most of them quit because it was unsustainable.

So I stopped running classes like that.
And now, I’m doing it differently.



Introducing: RISE at The Greenway

This is not your typical group workout.
It’s strength + mobility-based training for real life — not punishment for living it.




​We focus on:
✔️ Movement that supports your body, not wrecks it
✔️ Building strength through proper form, control, and intention
✔️ Mobility work that improves your posture, joints, and daily function
✔️ An empowering, judgment-free environment
✔️ No bootcamp chaos. No burpees. No shame.

Just smart training that helps you move, feel, and live better.


Who it’s for:
  • You’ve felt beat up or discouraged after group fitness classes
  • You want to feel strong, not sore for 3 days
  • You’re over the “go hard or go home” mentality
  • You’re 35+ and ready to take care of your body long-term
  • You want a coach who gets it — and a community that supports it

Here’s what to expect:
​

 
🗓 Every Saturday at 10:00 AM (weather permitting)
 📍 The Greenway — Downtown Pittsburg
 ⏱ 45-minute classes focused on functional strength + mobility
 💵 $10 per class (pay via Venmo or cash on-site)
 🎯 All levels welcome – beginner-friendly and easily modifiable


No pressure. No perfection. Just progress.


Why This Matters

The fitness world has spent years glorifying sweat, soreness, and extremes.
But the people I work with — especially women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond — don’t need more extremes. They need sustainability. They need strength. And they need to feel like they belong.

That’s what we’re building at RISE.

If you’ve been looking for a different kind of fitness experience…
If you’ve been burned out by bootcamps…
If you want to feel capable and confident in your body again --


I hope you’ll come join us. Spots are limited!

👉 Click here to [reserve your spot]
(or scan the QR code on our flyers around town!)


Let’s rise together.
— Kayli


​

Reserve Your Spot
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How to Speed Up Your Metabolism: Debunking Myths and Simple Steps to See Results in 2025

1/4/2025

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As the New Year kicks off, many of us are setting health and fitness goals. For those looking to lose weight or build muscle, one question often comes up: "How can I speed up my metabolism?" While the idea of revving up your metabolism sounds great, it’s essential to separate fact from fiction and focus on strategies that truly work.
In this blog post, we’ll bust common myths about metabolism and provide actionable steps to help you support your metabolism for lasting results.


What Is Metabolism? Your metabolism is the process your body uses to convert food into energy. It’s not a single organ or system but a series of chemical reactions that keep you alive and functioning. The speed of your metabolism—your metabolic rate—is influenced by several factors, including:
  • Age: Metabolism naturally slows as you get older. But not as much as think!
  • Body Composition: Muscle burns more calories than fat at rest.
  • Hormones: Thyroid function, insulin levels, and other hormones play a significant role.
  • Activity Level: Movement and exercise directly affect how many calories you burn.



Myth-Busting: What Won’t Speed Up Your Metabolism!

Before diving into what works, let’s dispel some common misconceptions:
  • Skipping Meals: Many believe eating less drastically will speed up fat loss, but this often leads to the opposite effect, slowing your metabolism and causing muscle loss.
  • Eating "Metabolism-Boosting Foods": While green tea, spicy foods, and apple cider vinegar have small effects, they won’t make a significant difference alone.
  • Excessive Cardio: Overdoing cardio can lead to muscle loss, which slows your resting metabolic rate over time.



5 Proven Ways to Support Your Metabolism

1. Build and Maintain Muscle: 
Resistance training is one of the most effective ways to increase your resting metabolic rate. Muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat, meaning you burn more calories even when at rest. Aim for at least 2-3 strength training sessions per week.
Action Step: Start incorporating compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses to build muscle.

2. Prioritize Protein in Every Meal: 
Protein has the highest thermic effect of food (TEF), meaning your body burns more calories digesting protein compared to carbs or fat. Protein also helps preserve muscle mass during weight loss.
Action Step: Include a source of protein (e.g., chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, or Greek yogurt) with every meal and snack.

3. Stay Consistently Active: 
While exercise is essential, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) also plays a huge role in calorie burn. This includes all the movement you do outside of workouts, such as walking, cleaning, or even fidgeting.
Action Step: Set a daily step goal, such as 8,000-10,000 steps, to increase your overall activity level.

4. Don’t Skimp on Sleep: 
Poor sleep disrupts hormones that regulate hunger and metabolism, such as leptin and ghrelin. Chronic sleep deprivation can make weight management more challenging.
Action Step: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night and establish a consistent sleep schedule.

5. Fuel Your Body Consistently: 
Under-eating can cause your metabolism to slow down over time as your body tries to conserve energy. Ensure you’re eating enough calories to support your activity level and goals.
Action Step: Work with a coach or use a calorie-tracking app to determine the right caloric intake for you.



Kickstart Your 2025 Metabolism Goals

The start of a new year is the perfect time to take control of your health and set yourself up for success. By focusing on building muscle, eating enough protein, staying active, prioritizing sleep, and fueling your body properly, you can create a lifestyle that supports a healthy metabolism—no gimmicks needed.

If you’re ready to start the year strong and want expert guidance, let me help you achieve your goals! I specialize in helping women in their 30s-50s regain confidence, build strength, and simplify fat loss with sustainable methods.

 Let’s work together to make 2025 your healthiest year yet. Click below to learn more about my personalized coaching programs!


Phoenix Coaching
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Muscle-building workouts: my breakdown

8/3/2024

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Author

By Coach Kayli Montoya-Huston

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I have a bone to pick today, as I'm feeling a bit rant-y.
But mostly, I'm frustrated.
Because I think you're getting tricked and it's time you learn the truth...

See, the workout "truths" you've been fed are things like,
  • "Pilates and yoga will give you toned, lean muscles!"
  • "If you want to look like an athlete you have to train like an athlete!"
  • "You should ditch machines and do free weights to be more functional!"
  • "Kettlebells train stabilizers and all planes of motion, which prepares you for real life!"

And I'm here today to tell you this is all nonsense.

Ok, to be fair, it's not all nonsense - there is some truth in each one.
But it's nonsense to the fact that ~95% of the people reading this newsletter lift weights for aesthetic reasons.

Aka you lift weights to look better.

Sure, you know it's healthy and therapeutic and helps you move better and makes you stronger, yada, yada.

And yes, I get it ⏤ you don't want to look too bulky like a bodybuilder, or get too obsessed with your muscles, or not fit into your favorite outfits.

I understand all of that.

But at the end of the day, you MOSTLY go to the gym to 1) build muscle and 2) lose fat so you feel more confident in your clothes and proud of the body you see in the mirror.

You want to be in-shape. Slim, defined, and muscular in all the right places.
(And hey, me too. No shame here.)

So if you agree that that is your main motive in the gym, then believing the "truths" above will only prevent you from reaching your goals.

And why is that, exactly?

Firstly, muscle and fat tissue can ONLY do three things:
  1. get bigger (gain muscle or gain fat)
  2. get smaller (lose muscle or lose fat)
  3. stay the same

So, knowing this, and knowing that the main outcome we're working out for is to increase our muscle mass and decrease our fat mass, then we should judge our workout's effectiveness solely on how well it does those two things.

And, again, yes we can also workout to improve our cardiovascular fitness, explosive power, core stability, and so on. Or just to have fun!

These are all by-products of muscle building workouts too, they just aren't the primary focus.
You can go to the gym and do whatever feels good for you.

Do the HIIT class, the kettlebells, the battle rope, or Crossfit workouts.

Just don't be upset when your body doesn't look the way you want, even though you're working out hard.

Because remember: our goal in the gym is NOT to sweat the most or get our heart rate up as high as we can or to train for the NFL combine.

Our goal is to gain muscle and lose fat. Period.

Which means we need to do workouts that are built for exactly that.

There's obviously way too much to break down in one blog, but I'll give you my general template.

My muscle-building workout breakdown
  1. Warm up - increase body temp with cardio and dynamic stretching of target muscles
  2. Heavier compound lifts - multi-joint exercises like bench, squat, deadlift, overhead press, etc (all variations)
  3. Accessory lifts - more machines, cables, and stabilized exercise choices for isolating target areas
  4. "Athletic" lift - ONE exercise that is single leg/arm and multiple planes of motion (this prevents injury)
  5. Cardio/Core - this will be either long distance cardio, a HIIT finisher, or an ab workout

To clarify, 2 and 3 are 80% of these workouts.

And the other 20% ⏤ 1, 4, and 5 ⏤ support 2 and 3 to make them more effective via injury prevention and core stability. Or cardio, which supports fat loss.

Notice how everything is hyper-specific to the goal of building muscle or losing fat.

And, of course, the exercise selection, sets, rep ranges, and weekly progressive overload are the other components required to optimize all of this, but this is the skeleton.

Maybe I'll chat on those another day, but I hope this was helpful.

I'm passionate about making this clear because I want you to get results.

And I've had too many clients come to me thinking they've been working out the right way, except they've looked the same for the last two years.

Not because they weren't trying.

But because they were putting their efforts in the wrong place.

So my hope is to help you prevent that.

You only have so much time, energy, and bandwidth to make it to the gym in the first place.
If you're going to be there, I want you to make it count.

Not wasting your time on fluff, false promises, or exercises that simply don't move the needle.
One last thing, if you want to completely take the guesswork out of workout programming check out our ASCEND Training App. This app will help elevate your fitness journey with an all-inclusive collection of personal training programs designed to help rise to new heights.

Thanks for listening to me rant.

If you have any questions, just comment below.
​

Thanks,
Kayli


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    Author

    Kayli is a certified personal trainer and online coach that specializes in fitness, wellness, nutrition, mindset, mobility and everything in between.

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  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Personal Training
    • Online Nutrition and Fitness Coaching
    • Custom Training Programs
    • Senior Fitness Classes
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Entrees
    • Dressings
    • Snacks
  • Blog
  • Phoenix Rising Podcast
  • Product Recommendations
  • Contact Me
  • Ascend Mobile App