1) Who is Tayla Howe? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
Tayla Howe, 21. I’m from a small village called Skewen which is just outside Swansea. I’m on the road to the commonwealth games 2018 out in Australia and hoping for regionals too!! I’m a personal trainer / weightlifting coach and of course an athlete myself. I work and train from my home gym but do float around gyms to socialise a lil 😅
2) How many years have you been training?
I haven’t been training that long, I came from a gymnastics background so when I went into crossfit and weightlifting I took to it pretty quickly! I started training in February 2015, so almost 3 years ago.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
The hardest time in my career was when I stopped enjoying the sports, and was too focused on what the people around me were doing: “she’s doing this... she is so much better than me...”. It beat me down so badly that I hated training and was crying every session, I was broken. I thought I was never going to be at the level of those girls, but I came out the other side and here I am counting down the days to the games and training harder than ever to reach my goal of regionals in order to be one of those who did both. Everyone seems to say I can’t compete in both which makes me want to do it so much more.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
My training and diet routine is pretty easy... I eat I train, I eat some more I train some more. I’ll eat clean but I won’t be so strict when i need a day off.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
I’m learning new stuff everyday. The biggest thing I’ve learnt this last year is just do what makes you happy, I never want to have to compare myself to anyone again. Don’t worry about what they’re doing, what they’re lifting, how many muscle ups she can do, how heavy her squat is. Just train hard and focus on yourself.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I LOVE chocolate.
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
I don’t take supplements, I just prefer to get everything from my food. The whole checking for supplements; “you can have that, you can’t take that”, is just extra head work 😄 But one thing I do love to drink is NOCCO which has all the caffeine and BCAA’s I need for training. I
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
I wouldn’t change my physique, I’ve heard it all “you need to be leaner, you need to be tighter, to be good at crossfit”. I’m not just a cross fitter I’m a weightlifter too, I’ve got to where I am by being 75kg’s and I’m not going to change it now. I’ll always follow Camille; “I love my belly, it’s my secret little power pouch”. I’m never going to look like Sam Briggs!
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
My ALL TIME favourite is Sara Sigmunsdottir! I love her whole persona, she is everything I look up to, she also said in an interview she went through the similar thing of worrying about others, and that she stopped enjoying training, which is good to know that top end CrossFit athletes have felt like that too. And I have been told a good few times I look like her which is pretty cool lol.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
My advice for someone starting off would definitely be to stick to the programme, set your goals high and don’t stop till you get there. Also don’t worry about anyone else but yourself and don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do or achieve something.
11) What new goals are on the horizon?
My new goals are to smash the commonwealth games, have the time of my LIFE enjoy every second, give getting to regionals my all and I would like to represent GB at Europeans at the end of 2018 and gain my GB singlet as well as my Welsh ❤️
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Tayla_howe instagram
Tayla Howe Facebook
Tayla Howe Twitter
