Coach Spotlight: Meet Taylor Crowell Part 1
Welcome back to the Fit Body Lifestyle, fam!
Every athlete has a story behind the physique.
Before the stage lights, sparkly bikinis, trophies, and competition photos, there are usually years of experiences that shape how someone approaches discipline, adversity, performance, and growth.
In this episode, Jami and Greg sit down with coach and competitor Taylor Crowell to rewind the clock and explore where her athlete mindset began.
From competitive dance starting at just three years old to lacrosse, weight training, and eventually bodybuilding, Taylor's story shows how the qualities we develop early in life often follow us into completely different arenas.
But this conversation isn't only about where Taylor started. It's also an honest look at how bodybuilding has evolved for her.
Taylor shares the contrast between her earlier years of extreme dieting, high cardio, difficult post-show rebounds, and an unhealthy all-or-nothing relationship with food versus the much more sustainable approach she uses today.
Her journey is a reminder that sometimes experience teaches us not only what works—but also what we never want to repeat.
5 Key Takeaways from the Episode
1. Discipline Is Built Long Before Anyone Sees the Results
Taylor's discipline didn't suddenly appear when she became a bodybuilder.
She spent years as a competitive dancer, sometimes practicing for hours while balancing school, homework, meals, and travel. That environment demanded structure, accountability, and an ability to perform even when things were difficult.
Later, lacrosse gave her another outlet for that competitive drive.
When Taylor eventually found bodybuilding, something clicked.
Unlike team sports, bodybuilding gave her tremendous ownership over the outcome. Her training, nutrition, recovery, and consistency were ultimately her responsibility.
That sense of control appealed to her.
The lesson for the rest of us is that discipline isn't necessarily something you either have or don't have. It's a skill built through repeatedly honoring commitments.
Every workout, meal, recovery decision, and promise you keep to yourself becomes another repetition.
2. Build the Lifestyle Before You Depend on the Stage
One of the most interesting parts of Taylor's story is that she was already interested in lifting and tracking macros before she decided to compete.
Then she saw the stage—and, yes, the sparkly bikini helped seal the deal!
Jami points out why this can be such an advantage.
When you genuinely enjoy training, learning about nutrition, and taking care of your body, the competition becomes an addition to the lifestyle rather than the reason for the lifestyle.
That's an important distinction.
If the only thing motivating you to train and eat intentionally is an upcoming show, what happens when the show ends?
Taylor already loved structure. Bodybuilding simply gave that structure another purpose.
Whether you ever compete or not, that's a lesson worth carrying with you: build habits that still have value when there isn't a finish line on the calendar.
3. More Isn't Always Better
Taylor is refreshingly open about how different her earlier competition preps looked compared with what she does today.
She describes periods of extremely low food combined with very high cardio and steps. At the time, she assumed her metabolism simply wasn't very good.
Today, her experience looks dramatically different.
Taylor's takeaway is powerful: sometimes you don't need to do more. Sometimes you need to learn how to achieve the desired outcome while doing less.
Jami can relate. She recalls an early competition strategy that started with a large amount of cardio and included an extremely restrictive diet followed by a timed free-for-all meal each week.
The physical demands were difficult, but the psychological impact was just as significant.
That feast-or-famine mentality created enormous food focus.
This is why experience matters. Just because something can produce a short-term result doesn't automatically mean it's the best approach for your health, mindset, or long-term development.
4. Post-Show Struggles Should Create Conversation, Not Shame
Taylor openly discusses something many competitors experience but may be embarrassed to admit: difficult post-show eating.
During her earlier competitive years, she'd finish a show after months of restriction and return home to highly palatable foods she'd been saving for the occasion. Restriction could quickly swing toward overeating, followed by attempts to compensate afterward.
Now, as a coach, those experiences influence how she supports her own athletes.
If something happens post-show, Taylor wants her athletes to tell her.
Instead of hiding it and trying to compensate through more restriction or activity, she wants to understand what happened.
What were you feeling beforehand?
How did you feel during it?
How did you feel afterward?
What might we change next time?
Greg discusses the value of creating a pause between an urge and an action—a moment to breathe, walk, drink some water, reflect, and recognize what's happening.
The goal isn't shame.
It's awareness.
Because you can't change a pattern you're unwilling to look at.
5. Don't Rush the Journey Just Because You Want the Next Title
Taylor's early competition history included several solid placings, but she didn't immediately earn her pro card.
Looking back, she's grateful for that.
After placing fourth at her first national competition in 2020, Taylor began to see that bodybuilding might truly be something she could excel at. But she can also look back at earlier versions of her physique and recognize that she still needed time to develop.
That's an important message in a sport where athletes can become consumed with reaching the next level.
Faster isn't automatically better.
Taylor encourages athletes to enjoy their time in the NPC, continue learning, improve their physiques, gain stage experience, and become confident competitors before becoming consumed with earning pro status.
As Jami and Greg discuss, there's a difference between strongly wanting an outcome and believing you're entitled to expect it.
Taylor's story embodies their philosophy of process over outcome.
Put your attention into becoming better.
The outcome will arrive when it arrives—and sometimes the extra time it takes to get there is exactly what prepares you for what comes next.
