Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

Hi my beauts and welcome to my channel if you are new here! I hope you guys are having a wonderful Easter long weekend so far ! So I have been super excited and have shared the news on Facebook and with friends and family already! Recently, I reached out to one of my idols and role models when it comes to fitness. I have been following this girl since she first started her journey and was completely blown away at her transformation pictures! I mean come on, just look at them, its mind blowing!

Through hard work and dedication, this beautiful soul managed to tone up and build up muscle to achieve her dream body. I remember my sister , Stefanie, telling me to check out this girl’s Instagram account because her story and journey is incredible. Right away I followed her and kept on following throughout her whole journey. I knew I wanted to do a collaboration with her for sure , but was completely hesitant to reach out to her considering she is so well known and has 15,000 subscribers , so who the hell am I ! Haha ! I literally thought,” what is the harm in asking?”. I was so thrown off and overwhelmed with excitement when I received a DM on my Instagram account! It was none other one of my absolute favourite fitness models but Sara Stone. I had given her the link to my blog to check it out and to let me know if she was interested in collaborating  with me . She responded that she really liked the content of my blog and would be more than happy to ! I couldn’t believe it ! Honestly, for you guys that do follow her on Instagram she is known for her rock hard abs and amazing body . But aside from her looks, I do not know Sara on a personal level but I can tell she’s such a sweetheart already. The way she awknowledges her fans , and her messages she was sending me , you can tell she is a very sincere and genuine person. So here we are today! I hope you guys really enjoy this collaboration as much as I did putting it together , shall we get into it or what ?!( I can’t wait any longer).

Photographer- Peter Levins (@Peterlevins)

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

I had so many questions that have built up over the years that I wanted to ask her ! Sara is a 25-year- old girl from Central NY who lives with her husband. Sara states, “my husband is my biggest fan. He may not be in the ‘fitness world’ and to be honest, i have grown to like it that way. He has such an outside perspective and at the end of the day, keeps me grounded. My brother is my best friend and the person who helped me learn to workout and continues to support and teach me things daily. My friends! I would be lost without the unconditional love of my friends. Some get it, some dont but all of them show up and at the end of the day, those are the people you want on your side”.  You honestly need to have a great support system in order to accomplish some of your goals and dreams , exactly what Sara is doing. I think it’s wonderful that her husband strongly supports her through her fitness journey even though he may not even be involved within the fitness world! What do they say again? Opposites do attract.  I absolutely love this.

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

I went in to ask Sara right away when she actually started getting into fitness, I thought this was a good place to start! Sara shares, “I got into fitness around the age of 20!. I have always been active, I played basketball for seven years, golf for four years, as well as tennis for two. But my passion for fitness came after college”. 

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

Do you do your workouts only at the gym, or do you do home workouts as well? “I prefer to work out at a gym, I find it to be more motivating, and I have full access to all of the equipment needed to complete my workouts”. I could not agree more Sara! Even though I have my mat at home and my weights, I still somedays can not find that motivation to workout at home. If I am at home I would rather stuff myself with a bag of chips to be quite honest while watching the notebook as I bawl my eyes out, literally. 

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

Staying on the topic of motivation, I asked Sara how she personally stays motivated. I know this is a big issue for a lot of individuals, and I personally need all the help I can get! Sara explains, “Motivation is tricky because sometimes it doesnt exist. My solution most of the time is to show up anyway. Sometimes if I don’t feel like doing something, I remind myself that if I do the thing that I reallyyy dont want to do at that moment, then the next time I’m presented with something I may not want to do, it will be easier to do it”. I think that’s wonderful words of motivation , to just show up! Often if I do not have the motivation to workout I just don’t go to the gym, but I am going to try this method to just show up . I think by just showing up ,  I will eventually just workout and do it! I will let you know how this goes Sara!

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

I was super super curious to find out if Sara had a personal trainer at all ! I know for a fact I could not get the body she has on my own! I thought for sure and was almost certain that Sara had a personal trainer. Sara states,”no personal trainer for me, and I typically train 5/6 days a week”. Good for you Sara that is unreal I am super proud of all your accomplishments and where you have gotten yourself today ! Working out close to everyday is not an easy thing, but leave it up to Sara! (You go glen coco).

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

Do you ever have any cheat days or believe in cheat meals? ” I am currently in competition prep so my diet is a direct reflection of the goals associated with stepping on stage. Outside of this, I do not track macros or diet. I am much more relaxed, eat intuively and dont consider any meals “cheat meals”.  I love this . You can see how dedicated Sara is to her fitness yet she still makes sure she lives a little at the same time. That is extremely important. Often when we look at well known individuals, we often think they do not have a life outside of their hobby or passion or career. Hearing this is always refreshing. It helps us keep in mind that these are normal human beings.

“I’m no stranger to the feelings that comes following a competition and sometimes we need to check ourselves. Sometimes we are the toxic person. We bring on the negativity. Sometimes the problem is our selves. And that doesn’t make us unworthy. Keep on growing. Keep on checking. Do better. You’re only human”- Sara Stone

Have you competed in any competitions? ” Yes! I will be competing in my fourth competition in 2 days actually.  I hire a coach for competition prep, this past time i prepped for 20 weeks in order to get ready for 2 shows back to back!”. Good for you! Wow 4 completions already that is insane. Sara puts so much time and dedication into her fitness it is honestly so inspiring (hence my reaching out to her). Wow ! 20 weeks! That is a long time , you for sure have to have the proper mindset to take on this journey! I could not be more proud of this beautiful soul.

Who else is dying to know how Sara gets those rock hard abs and amazing bod? I am ! I had to ask Sara just how she does it ! Sara explains, “ I dont think anyone is going to like my answer but abs come when i clean my diet up. I have trained abs for many years so i have build some muscle maturity but it’s not until i diet down and lose total body fat, that they come out to play”. I can totally see that how abs are literally made from the kitchen! It really is all about eating clean in order for those abs to come out just like Sara said! Even though we don’t want to hear it someone has to say it! Lets all take into consideration that Sara Stone is saying this, she’s not just a pretty face!

What do you usually eat each day as I am assuming you meal prep? ” My meals vary based on my macros! A few of my daily staples during prep are shredded chicken breast (crock pot!), ground turkey, basmati rice, brussel sprouts (fave veggie) & kettle corn rice cakes with PB!” It’s nice to know that I am on the right track with my meals as I eat a lot of these things too! How unreal is the peanut butter on rice cakes though?! I add some honey and it makes such a great snack with a glass of milk! Mmmmmmm!

Are you always conscious about what you eat? Do you count your calories? “During competition prep, i track my macros and outside of that, I eat intuitively. I try to live by 80/20!”. 

Now moving onto the gym and workout topics! I was so interested to hear about Sara at the gym and using the equipment . I had asked Sara how long she works out for at the gym. Sara states, “My workouts range usually 1-2 hours, depending. My favorite muscle group to train would probably be back”.  When I workout I usually workout for around 1 and a half hours or so. I think 1 to 2 hours is the perfect amount of time at the gym to still get other things accomplished afterwards.

“Do not lose sight of who you are on this journey”- Sara Stone

Photographer-Emily Olin (@darling.em)

Best advice someone has given you when it comes to fitness? “That’s a tough one but something that I was told that has always stuck with me was to not loose sight of who you are on this journey. It’s something that can be interpreted in many ways but i think the root of the message is to stay true to who you are. (Which can apply to all aspects of life, really!)”. I absolutely love this quote and statement. I honestly think that is going to stick with me too! I think that’s a great reminder in the back of your head going through life and basically going through any path or journey. Be you. Don’t be someone else and don’t lose touch of who you are as an individual.

“… take it slow, there is no finish line”

Photographer- Emily Olin (@darling.em)

I really wanted to know Sara’s advice and thoughts for someone who was just starting out in the fitness world and literally had no idea where to start off. Sara shares, “The best advice i can give to someone just starting out would be to take it slow! There is no finish line and making drastic changes in a short time is not sustainable for anyone. To follow up on taking it slow, my next peice of advice would be to be persistent & consistent! :-)”. Thanks for the awesome advice Sara! I think hearing this will be so beneficial to someone who is new with the type of lifestyle and wanted to start. It can be extremely overwhelming that is for sure when it comes to trying something new. Hearing others advice is something I absolutely love hearing.

Photographer- Emily Olin (@darling.em)

What do you like to do in your spare time? “I spend a lot of my spare time with my husband, friends and family. I enjoy going out to dinner (ahem dessert), being outdoors, going on adventures, traveling. I also love relaxing at home. I am a very busy person so sometimes i really appreciate just being a home body”.  That’s interesting to hear Sara! There is nothing better than spending quality time with friends and family members. I also enjoy doing  those things as well , even being the home body is always nice some days too ! I think that everyone needs that for sure!! I am glad that you have other hobbies as well !

Photographer- Nicola Vincenzo Rinaldo (@nicola_visuals)

Finishing up this collaboration I wanted to find out what Sara Stone’s goals were in general. Sara explains, “my goals change quite frequently. Right now, my short term goal is to finish this 20 week prep to the best of my abilities. 2 more days! Longer term goals would be to find and maintain balance in my life again. I’m truly looking forward to living a flexibly, healthy, happy life.”. I absolutely love this and think these are amazing short term and long term goals! I wish you nothing but the best Sara with your 20 week prep and your future competitions! You have done absolutely amazing so far pushing your self each and every day! You have so much determination and motivation you should be so proud of where you have gotten yourself! Thank you for taking the time out of your day to do a collaboration with little old me ! You truly are an inspiration and deserve nothing but the best in life ! I still can’t believe you reached back out to me, I literally have not gotten a good sleep in days because I was way too damn excited for life. You are such a beautiful human being and inspire so many people all across the world to just “go for it”, keep up the great work Sara !

Photographer-Emily Olin (@darling.em)

I hope you beauts enjoyed this blog post and learned so much from the talented and beautiful Sara Stone! I am sure we can all take home lots of important messages from reading this blog and seeing her output on certain things. Be sure to follow my other social media sites located on my home page to stay up to date with the latest blogs!

(Going to try to get a good sleep tonight, probably won’t but wish me luck, still too stoked for life).

(uhmmmmm….. I think this is the highlight to my blog, she looks better than me saying it, you’re hired Sara Stone!)