After rediscovering her love for CrossFit, Howe is ready to crush her goals.
Last updated on October 18, 2024
In 2019, Tayla Howe decided to go all in on CrossFit and set her sights on becoming a full-time athlete to make it to the CrossFit Games.
- Howe almost qualified for both the 2021 and 2022 Games.
She placed 11th in the 2021 CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown semifinals and eighth in the 2022 CrossFit Strength in Depth semifinal (the top five women qualified for the Games in both events). In 2022, Howe was also invited to the Last Chance Qualifier, where she placed 11th.
- A year later, Howe finished 20th in the 2023 European semi-finals.
During these years, Howe established herself as a serious contender outside of Europe, picked up sponsors and became a professional athlete.
But it came at a cost.
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Losing her way
Somewhere along the way, Howe realized she had lost her love for the sport.
- “I think in this game, [I] it feels too much like you’re doing it for other people most of the time. You know, you’re sponsored, you have to wear it when you’re on the floor, you have to take this supplement, you have to be on this program,” Howe, now 27, said. “It got kind of overwhelming and I forgot why I was doing it… I wasn’t doing it for myself anymore.”
She added: “Even in 2022 when I just lost [qualifying for the Games]I can’t really say I took the word and prospered or enjoyed it. I was just full of anxiety and stress and injuries.”
So last fall, Howe set herself on a quest to remember why she got into the sport.
He took off for a holiday, first to Australia and then to Bali. But because he had qualified for the Dubai gymnastics championship, he decided to fly there and compete.
It didn’t go well. Physically and mentally, he just didn’t want to be there.
- “I arrived in Dubai and I was mentally and physically ill. I did the first two practices and I was like, “I can’t compete. I just can’t.’ My body was cramping. And then the emotional pain and the mental pain. It was like, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing it … I didn’t have anything in me that wanted to fight,'” he said.
So, he withdrew from the competition and returned to Australia.
A young athlete
Howe has moved to the United Kingdom, in Newcastle, with her boyfriend and training partner Reggie Fasa, another Semi-Final athlete. He also works remotely with trainer Antony Monks.
Today, Howe said she has returned to the way she approached the sport in the days before sponsors, agents and pressure.
- “It’s that hobby feeling [again]and if i can make money from it, amazing,” he said. “I’m in a really good place in my life where I feel like I’m doing it for myself again. It feels good to be back in a place where I’ve untangled all this mess.”
Another change was her relationship with Fasa. In the past, Howe said they had not yet matured and at times there was almost a “jealous competitiveness” between them, she explained.
But now, Howe said they’re in a place where they’re “really able to support each other.”
- “Now it’s, ‘I’m proud of you. Let’s go.’ And I know it will be there [for me] all the way,” she added.
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To ensure she stays more balanced, Howe has returned to coaching clients one-on-one and is also pursuing an online degree in counseling.
- “It gives me separation from CrossFit,” she said, adding that when she was a full-time athlete before, she was very anxious about what she would do if CrossFit suddenly ended.
Tayla Howe’s new perspective
Today, Howe knows there’s more to life than CrossFit.
- “I definitely have that balance again, where if something were to happen, then I have my life to fall back on. CrossFit is not the be all and end all. I have a life and I can get on with it after CrossFit,” she said.
Howe’s message: “Just always remember why you’re doing it. And if you ever start to question it, it’s okay to step back and reevaluate.
- “Stick to your core values. I definitely lost my whole self in that process and it took me a long time to feel good again physically and mentally,” he said.
Looking ahead at Rogue
Howe insists she has “no expectations” for the 2024 Rogue Invitational.
- “I’m going to Rogue just literally being myself and just wanting to have fun. I feel like I haven’t done that in so long. I have Reggie there. I have my family there. And I feel like that’s all I need right now. And I’m just excited about the whole experience,” she said.
Howe added: “It feels like I’m starting all over again, but in a completely different way, so I’m really excited to try it and I’m happy to race.”
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Featured Image: @taylakalisehowe / Instagram
