The Fitness Industry

I have been in the fitness industry most of my life. It’s all I’ve known. It has changed me a lot and I have watched IT change a lot. The growth of social media, in particular Instagram, has given everyone a platform and a voice. While I’m all for sharing; context and qualification is critical when it comes to health and human movement. I’m sorry to say this, not everyone needs a platform and a voice.

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We, as health and fitness professionals, need to clean up the industry a bit. It has become much too muddled with crap recently. Consider this a bit of a callout.

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1. If you’re not sure what an exercise does, haven’t done it yourself, or don’t understand the biomechanics don’t post it and recommend it.
2. If you need to post a shirtless selfie/ass pic call it what it is. Don’t slap a motivational quote on it and try to pass it off as something it’s not. You like how you look in the photo and you want other people to see it too. It’s completely okay. We’ve all done it . . . But as a whole the social media fitness space needs less of this.
3. Don’t post about FAD diets if you don’t understand the physiological mechanisms of nutrition, performance and fat loss.
4. Don’t shill out worthless supplements everywhere. We need a clean-up when it comes to that, not more of a mess.
5. If you have a fitness account try to provide direction within your lane. Support, through quality content and inspiration through professional, scientific or anecdotal insight. (Not a pic of your ass/abs.)

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To put it bluntly, if the social media fitness space was actually making a predominantly positive impact, we wouldn’t still see massively rising obesity rates. There are ONE BILLION on IG alone, after all. Instead, the space has turned into a sloppy mess of pseudo-pornographic material, self-serving content, bad advice, supplement shilling, and fad diet peddling with a small sprinkle of good in there. This makes it difficult for the novice weight lifter to determine quality information from myths. As a community I want to see more of the good!

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Let’s take the opportunity to be better as a fitness community on social media. I know I follow some pretty awesome accounts, and I want to see more like that.

If you want good quality fitness and nutrition advice, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. You can also find some tips and a link to apply for a free coaching call at my website www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com. Working with me gives you access to a large network of other credible fitness professionals that I work with personally and professionally. If you’re looking for a reading or podcast list, shoot me a message and I’ll be glad to send you some of my favorites.

Protein has been a bit overplayed by the bodybuilding crowd. You don’t need to eat multiple chicken breasts, or guzzle protein shakes daily.

That being said, most beginners I train, especially women, are under consuming protein.

What’s so great about protein?

The most obvious benefit: you’re going to be able to build more muscle. The amino acids in protein are the building blocks of muscle. If you’re not getting enough protein, you’re shorting yourself results in the gym. Your physique won’t change as fast as it should be.

“I am so full all the time!”

-All my clients when they start eating more protein.

Protein is the most satiating of all the macronutrients. It keeps you full the longest. When trying to lose weight/restrict calories, your biggest enemy is hunger. Eating more protein makes losing weight easier, since you’re full, longer.

Thermic effect. Our bodies require energy to digest food and turn it into fuel. When you use this extra energy to convert food to fuel, your body burns more calories than it normally would – this is “the thermic effect of food” or TEF.

Out of all the macronutrients, protein takes the most energy to turn into fuel. Hence, a greater portion of your caloric intake coming from protein calories means a greater percentage of those calories being burned off in digestion via TEF.

As a generalized recommendation: for most, eating .8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily, will give all the benefits of protein.

Do you know where your macros should be to hit your goals? Jump over to my website, www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com, and apply for a FREE coaching call to find out.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, IG and YouTube for free tips about all things fitness.

30 Minute Anabolic Window??

Do you have goals to gain lean mass? (AKA Muscle)

“After this workout I made sure to get my 30g of whey isolate protein shake because I have to get it in the ‘30 minute anabolic window’ . . . “

Who has heard of this before?

What it I told you that you do NOT need to get your protein shake in right after you work out??

Current research has shown that as long as you have protein 1-2 hours around your workout (pre or post) and have an adequate amount throughout the day, you will be just fine.

So, for example, if you have enough protein 1 hour before your training, then getting in protein post workout, or in the “30 minute anabolic window” is not necessary.

If you do not eat before training, let’s say in the morning, then it is important to get your protein in after your workout, but once again, within a 1-2 hour window . . . not 30 minutes, if your goal is to gain lean muscle mass.

I personally enjoy eating a real meal that is high in carbs and protein after working out instead of just a protein shake. On days I know I’ll be running short on protein, I can always add a shake in later in the day. It’s best to strive to meet your protein goals through real whole foods first if you’re able.

Struggling with nutrition and hitting your goals? Follow me on Facebook, IG, or YouTube for more free tips and content. You can also check out my website, www.kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com, and apply for FREE coaching call with me.

Do you need to do cardio?

Cardio is not the main catalyst for fat loss. It can be helpful to create a bigger calorie deficit. Prioritize the following before cardio…

• Moving 8,000+ steps/day
• Resistance training 3-5 times/week
• Consistently be in a calorie deficit

I’ve been talking a lot of trash on cardio. But the truth is, cardio has its place in your training routine.

The issue is, many believe cardio is the main catalyst for fat loss, which is far from the truth.

Fat loss comes primarily through creating a calorie deficit via your diet.

So is cardio necessary for fat loss? No. But, it can be useful to create a bigger calorie deficit.

People often get stuck in the cycle of eating whatever, and then trying to “burn it off” via cardio. This never goes we . . .

Before you add cardio, you should be doing the following:

• Walking 8k-10k steps/day
• Consistently resistance training
• Consistently in a calorie deficit ( highly recommend tracking you food)
• Have at least a few months experience in the gym under your belt.

Got all those?

From there, it’s really up to you.

HIIT style training is great for burning a few extra calories at the end of or in-between training sessions.

Being in better cardiovascular condition will also help you recover faster when lifting weights, so it has applications to improve gym performance.

Just remember, cardio isn’t the end all be all of fat loss. It’s helpful, but less important than diet, resistance training, and just focusing on moving more throughout your day. So have those on point first.

What are your thoughts on cardio?? Want to lose the cardio and still maximize fat loss?? Shoot me a message and let me help you with your nutrition, fitness programming or both! You can find me on Facebook, Insta, and YouTube. OR . . . You can check out the brand new website that is up and running now at https://kaylimontoyafitness.weebly.com