Kelly Riffel

Pilates Instructor and Personal Trainer at Fit Monkeys in Carlsbad, CA

Education

University of California, Santa Cruz; B.A. in Psychology, graduated Summa Cum Laude

Certifications & Specializations

Certified Pilates Instructor through JL Body Conditioning
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist
NASM Senior Fitness Specialist
NASM Behavior Change Specialist
NASM Stretching & Flexibility Coach
Certified Yoga Instructor through YogaSix
CPR/AED Certified

Experience

18+ years

Clients Kelly Commonly Works With

Kelly works with a wide range of clients and goals. The examples below highlight some of the people she most commonly trains.

Adults returning to exercise after joint replacement or injury, following completion of physical therapy
Individuals building strength and mobility while navigating back or joint limitations, such as scoliosis, spinal stenosis, or similar considerations
Pregnant and postpartum women seeking safe, effective movement to support pregnancy and beyond, while building strength and mobility
Women exercising with fibroids and those looking to build pelvic floor strength
Older adults focused on staying active, strong, and independent
Recreational athletes looking to improve strength, mobility, and resilience
Clients rebuilding strength and mobility after injury, inactivity, or life transitions

Background

Kelly’s passion for fitness began in middle school through cross country and track, where she discovered a love for running. As she got older, however, she developed scoliosis and began experiencing pain during and after runs. This challenge led her to expand her fitness and wellness journey through yoga and Pilates, helping her build strength, improve mobility, and return to running stronger, more mobile, and pain-free.

Before heading to college, Kelly decided to become a certified Pilates instructor, unaware of how pivotal that decision would be. She completed a 500-hour Pilates apprenticeship under Julian Littleford and later graduated summa cum laude from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Psychology. During her time in Santa Cruz, she taught Pilates at multiple studios while exploring a career in therapy, ultimately realizing that her true passion was helping people through movement and exercise.

After college, Kelly continued working at Pilates studios throughout San Diego. Recognizing that many clients needed more than Pilates alone, she became a certified yoga instructor through YogaSix and a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. This allowed her to create more balanced, well-rounded programs that addressed strength, mobility, and movement quality beyond a single method.

In 2015, Kelly and her mom, Denise, opened their own studio, Fit Monkeys, combining the best elements of Pilates and personal training into a personalized, one-on-one training approach. Since then, Kelly has continued expanding her expertise through certifications in corrective exercise, senior fitness, and behavior change, with training grounded in exercise science and tailored to each client’s goals and interests.

Kelly offers both in-person and virtual training, including guidance for clients building home gyms. She is currently expanding her expertise through NASM’s Women’s Health Specialization and has extensive experience supporting pregnant and postpartum women. As an avid runner, Kelly is also pursuing certification as a recreational running coach, allowing her to help runners improve performance, movement efficiency, and injury resilience.

Hobbies

Distance Running
Hiking
Front-End Web Development & Coding (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
Drawing
Writing