Forward Movement Magazine SUMMER ISSUE 2016 | Page 12

about
ABOUT
woman. Some of the strongest
women I have ever met, were
Marines.

Tara A. Thatcher is the Founder of Perfectly Prepared (www.BePerfectlyPrepared.com), a company she created to
prepare and empower women in fitness
to approach life with passion and a
balanced perspective. As a 6 time figure
and bikini winner, Tara brings her extensive experience in posing, presence, and
mindset to her clients by helping them
bring their best self to the competitive
stage, photo shoots, publications, attaining sponsorships, and most importantly,
to life. Tara is a published fitness model,
writer, successful figure and bikini competitor, and has been sponsored by
many supplement and clothing companies. Her clients have released fitness
DVD’s, placed and won local, regional,
National and International competitions
and attained Professional status, been
published in, as well as graced the cover
of top Fitness Magazines including Oxygen, STRONG Fitness Magazine, Natural
Muscle, along with features on bodybuilding.com. Tara’s mission is to inspire
and lead women to achieve their goals
through a balanced approach to life and
health. To inquire about coaching, or
for more information, please visit
www.BePerfectlyPrepared.com
or call 651-336-7521.

DID BEING AROUND
MOSTLY MEN MAKE
YOU STRONGER? WHAT
KIND OF IMPACT DID
THEY HAVE ON YOU?
WHAT DID YOU TAKE
AWAY FROM THAT
EXPERIENCE?

Yes, it forced me to not to make
any excuses. To accept all
challenges that came my way.
To live, almost daily, outside my
comfort zone. To not to accept
mediocracy and constantly
strive for excellence. This
attitude earned me a reputation
for being a hard worker which
was something I was and still
am very proud of to this day.
The best part is that I take with
me the work ethic, the drive to
succeed, to push limits within
myself every day I wake up. To
be my best, no matter what is
going on around me, is my daily
goal.

HOW DID YOU GET
INTO FITNESS/
BODYBUILDING?

While I was stationed in New
River, North Carolina, I introduced to weight training.
Due to the pressure of having
to compete against men, being physically fit and strong
was critical to success. I
quickly realized how much I
enjoyed being strong and in
control of my body. The real
driver was my competitive

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nature. Our Physical Fitness
Test included a three mile
run, flexed arm hang, and
as many sit ups as you could
complete in 2 minutes. I am
proud to say that I scored
a first class PFT every time I
completed it which was the
highest score you could get.
When I returned to Minneapolis, I took a job as a personal
trainer at Bally Total Fitness
and a fellow trainer suggested that I come with her to
support her friend at a bodybuilding show. As a very
competitive athlete growing
up, this intrigued me. The
women in the figure category
were strong, muscular, feminine, and beautiful. I knew
instantly that that was my
next challenge and started
training to compete in my
first show the 2006 NANBF
Natural Mr./Ms. Minnesota
competition.
I didn’t have a trainer, a posing coach, or anyone to help
me. But somehow I was able
to put everything together. A
close friend did my hair and
makeup. My mom applied
my tanning solution. I bought
the required suits from an out
of state suit maker. I learned
how to pose by looking at
pictures and trying to copy
what I saw. Needless to say,
I was raw.
When we arrived at the
competition, I immediately

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