1) Who is Taylor Reber? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I am 27 years old and I’m from New Braunfels Texas. I am a mom to an awesome 5-year-old little girl named Rylie and I’m married to my best friend Grant Reber. My husband and I own an affiliate here in New Braunfels called Einhorn CrossFit and that consumes pretty much all of our time, and we absolutely love it!
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I started CrossFit in 2012 to get out of the traditional gym setting. I watched the Games that year and loved the competitive side of the sport. I would say I was pretty much addicted right away. I went on and got my L1 Coaching Cert and continued to coach from there on out. I wouldn’t say that I got really serious about being competitive until 2019. That was obviously a bad year to commit to the sport with everything that was going on in the world. But I knew that I wanted to make a real go at CrossFit before my husband and I decided to grow our family.
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)
So far the hardest would definitely have to be managing my time while owning and running a gym. I’m in the gym all day long, coaching, programming, personal training and other day to day operations. When it comes time to train, I am absolutely tanked sometimes. It takes a lot some days to muster up some energy to focus on my training sessions. The biggest thing I try to focus on is getting home and getting straight to bed. Which isn’t always possible with a crazy little mini me running around haha but we do our best to get her ready for bed by 8pm so I can get some decent sleep before that 430am alarm clock goes off. My husband is a huge help honestly. From coming home and cooking me dinner so my plate is ready right when I walk in the door to getting Rylie ready for school in the mornings while I’m coaching, I would not be able to manage everything without him!
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I follow Mayhem Athlete for my training, and I love it. I’ve been following their programming for over a year now and I have seen so much amazing progress from it. As far as my food goes, I eat….a lot lol. I used to be so stuck in the mindset of calorie restriction until I started CrossFit. I was fortunate enough to have a best friend who was a nutrition coach and one day she was like, listen sister if you want to do big things, you’ve gotta feed your body. And that’s what I do haha. I eat roughly 3000-3500 calories a day depending on how my body is feeling. For example, I know I’m not getting enough nutrients when I start to feel soreness lingering longer than normal, energy levels are down and sleep is becoming disrupted. I’m a huge believer in food is fuel and if there’s something going on with my body I always try to fix it with food first before trying any other approaches.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future)
In this last year I’ve learned a lot. I think this was my biggest year for growth. The biggest moment for me was finding my faith in Jesus and that has impacted my life in the best way possible. In that I have learned to believe in myself and put my best efforts forward and let God take care of the rest. My training has turned into a more fun and positive experience because my mindset has shifted from “I HAVE to do this” to “I GET to do this.” That in itself has been a big game changer for me. It’s allowed me to take the pressure off myself and just have fun with it.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Ahhh shoot! Well, I definitely don’t believe in “cheat meals” I work really hard, so they are definitely “treat meals” lol. But I would have to say I can mess up some Chick-fil-A or Great American Cookie with a side of some Marble Slab. Or both hahaha.
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
It’s absolutely going to have to be my pre workout. When I start a training session, I need something to “gas me up” and whether it works for me anymore or just serves more as a placebo effect I absolutely rely on it to get me going. I’d say that or my Micro Factor Vitamins from 1st Phorm. I notice a big difference in my body when I’m not taking my micronutrients.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
Truthfully, show myself some grace. I was hard on myself mentally and physically in the beginning and that kind of messed me up in how I saw my body or how I viewed my success. Us girls are hard on ourselves sometimes and don’t always look in the mirror and think positive things. If I could start over knowing what I know now, I’d be more patient with myself and a lot more understanding of the process that it takes to get to this point in a competitive sport.
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
I look up to a few women in CrossFit for sure. One of them being Alexis Johnson, she’s one I met who I instantly felt like “dang she’s so genuine and just 100% herself.” I loved that about her because being a Games Athlete she could have absolutely walked around like all that and a bag of chips but she didn’t. She was super personable and easy to get along with. I also look up to Tasia Percevecz because again, super genuine human being and I love that she is proud to share her faith as an athlete. I think that’s really awesome and she’s just a great role model to have. And of course, who doesn’t love Annie Thorisdottir. She’s a badass mom, a ray of sunshine and I love the way she carries herself.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Find a gym that will properly coach you through the movements, feed your body with quality nutrients and don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll enjoy the process a lot more if you let go of harsh expectations and let yourself have fun with it.
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
My goals are to continue to grow in my faith so that I can be the best person/wife/mom/athlete that I can be. And make it to the CrossFit Games as an individual athlete. Boom I said it. Let’s just manifest that real quick lol.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
Instagram: @taylorareber
Gym website: www.einhorncrossfit.com
