Cape Girardeau women hit the bodybuilding circuit with strength and determination

Several months ago, Tara Landewee wrote her goal of appearing in a bikini bodybuilding competition on the goals board in the Osage Centre fitness room.

A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in health management with an option in health promotion, Landewee has been focused on her health and working out for most of her life.

"I'd always been in the working-out field, but over the years I'd gotten more dedicated and more serious about it," she says.

In the past six months she started focusing on bodybuilding and bringing her fitness to a whole new level.

"It had always been kind of like a dream to me," she says. "It was something you wanted to set goals and do, but I was scared to death to do it, primarily because of the hard work, the dedication you gotta put in, the stage time -- you actually have to do posing classes and you have to wear the bikinis."

At the time, a couple of her friends who also exercise at the Osage Centre had participated in competitions before and were looking to do another. They asked her to come along, and she decided to take the chance and compete.

She hired a trainer and worked with him to set a meal plan and workout schedule. She met her goal with her first competition on Aug. 13 in Arnold, Missouri, after which she proudly added a note of completion on the goals board at the Osage.

Tara Landewee stays fit with regular workouts at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

Working to get in bodybuilding shape has been no easy task, but Landewee says it's all been worth it so far.

"It still is intense and hard, but it's getting easier," she says. "I'm getting stronger, so I'll just keep competing as well. The process becomes an addiction, I guess, kind of a little bit. It becomes a lifestyle after a while, because it's fun."

Along the same lines, Annie Morozko, who works and trains at Snap Fitness in Cape Girardeau, has always had an interest in fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

A veteran of the Marine Corps, she was no stranger to regular physical training. After serving four years as a corps member, she started to lift more weights and found inspiration from female bodybuilders on Instagram. Eventually, she found a coach on Instagram and decided to work toward becoming a bodybuilder.

"It was kind of like my training was already there; it was more of the diet that I hadn't done," she says. "So I think lifting more and getting stronger and seeing what it does to your body, what it does to your mind, just kind of drives more to keep doing it."

Morozko competed in her first bikini competition in May 2015, and has most recently competed for a second time in a figure competition in September.

Bikini competitions typically center on slim figures and less on muscle, whereas figure competitions focus on well-defined muscles and clear definition.

In either situation, diet proves to be a key factor in terms of success.

"Diet's definitely one of the biggest things. You have to be really good about it because you can work all day long, but you're never going to outwork a bad diet, so that's what it comes down to," Morozko says.

On a personal level, Morozko says bodybuilding takes a supportive group of people who understand the process and the dedication it takes to improve and succeed.

It also takes a positive mindset.

"You have to do it to be happy with yourself, to be happy with where you get, and only compete with yourself … you have to be happy with you, and you kind of have to set your own goals when you're training to beat yourself prior to that," Morozko says.

Along with role models she follows on Instagram, Morozko says her mom is an inspiration because even when facing obstacles, she has continued to work out and stay strong.

"She is my inspiration … she has two knee replacements and her back's been out a few times, and she's gotten through it and still worked out, so I think it started me to be like, 'OK, stop being a baby, you should probably do more,'" Morozko says, laughing.

Tara Landewee stays fit with regular workouts at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

Bodybuilding also can be a platform to help others.

Landewee says she wants to use her bodybuilding to encourage community members and people around her to live healthier lifestyles, and she is working toward educating people on how to live their best lives.

"Being healthy makes you feel fabulous … I feel good all the time, and I'm able to pass that on to my kids as well as my family and friends," she says. "I try to help them and encourage them to be healthy as well."

Although it can be fun, Landewee says bodybuilding presents a number of challenges and a hectic life, including meal preparation for a couple hours on Sundays and being in the gym hours upon hours during the week, not to mention more gym hours toward competition time.

Morozko says the serious drive to want to see physical change in her body is what keeps her going in times of doubt.

"You just have to have that realization that this is not always how it's going to be, but if it's something you wanted and it's a goal you set, then how hard could it be to actually get there?" she says. "This is what you wanted to do, then that was your choice, so just do it … because nobody's telling you you have to do it."

Morozko and Landewee both say they are working toward competitions planned for the spring.