Name: Stacey Pillari
Birth Date: May 14, 1965
Height: 5'1"
Weight: 100-102lbs on-season  106-110lbs off-season
From: Hillsborough and Wilmington, North Carolina  USA
 
 
CONTEST HISTORY
2010 NPC Masters Nationals* - 1st Place in both Lightweight 35+ & Lightweight 45+
 *Awarded IFBB Pro card
2009 NPC Nationals - 4th Place in Lightweight
2009 NPC Arnold Amateur - 3d Place in Lightweight
2008 NPC Junior USA - 8th Place in Figure A
2008 NPC Arnold Amateur - 9th Place in Figure A
2007 NPC Elite Muscle Classic - 5th Place in Figure A
2007 NPC Mountaineer - 3d Place in Figure A
2007 NPC Atlantic Coast Crystal Cup - 5th Place in Figure A
2007 NPC Gold's Classic - 1st Place in Figure A
1997 Adidas Best on the Bench - 2d Place: 145lbs raw
1987 Crystal Light Semi-Finals (Charlotte, NC) - 2d Place in Fitness
1987 Crystal Light Regional (Charlotte, NC) - 1st Place in Fitness
1986 Bodybuilding (Burlington, NC) - 3d Place in Ultra-Lightweight
1985 Fittest Female Finals (Durham, NC) - 1st Place
1985 Fittest Female (Durham, NC) - 1st Place
 
 
RFOS Q&A
 
How long have you been training?  
Since 1980 — and going strong!
 
 
What would like to see done to help improve or promote the sport?
Awareness, accurate information, role models. Some women are afraid if they lift weights they are going to "get too big and too muscular." The more we athletes are used as positive role models — fit, sculpted and still feminine — the more other women will be encouraged and motivated to do what it takes to look like we do. Figure competitions have done this for the sport. I hope we will see more and more women in the weight room. Also, women trainers in the weight room are wonderful!
 

 
Do you get negative comments from people with regard to your muscles?
Yes, some people think I am too muscular. I have even been accused of doing steroids. I don't, by the way; never have. I have been lifting since I was 15, which gives me a lot of muscle maturity and development. I have been told to go back to Bodybuilding, that my physique is more suited for that. However I am welcoming the challenge of changing my physique to what conforms more with Figure. That is what this is all about: the challenges, seeing how you can change or improve your body. It can be done; it's hard work, but well worth it.
    
  
Have you ever surprised yourself with you own strength? Like you forgot you were THAT strong???
Yes. I lift as much weight in the gym as some guys. For my size — 5'1" and 104lbs — that is a major feat. My best lifts were when I was Powerlifting: my bench was 150lbs, my squat was 350lbs, my deadlift was 305lbs — all raw. Not any more, though. I still can push a lot of weight, but I no longer go for the max. I lift as much as I can, normally doing 10-12 reps; that is, unless I am building muscle.
 

 
How have you used your physical strength outside the gym, when it has come in handy?
I train horses and teach riding lessons. Working with these large animals on a daily basis, sometimes unexpected things can happen; that is when being strong physically really comes in handy. For instance, after a bad riding accident, the doctor told me that were my traps not so strong I would have snapped my neck and been killed instantly. Wow, am I glad I lift weights now!  
 
 
Any message for fans?
Keep at it; change things up so they don't get boring, I know. I have been doing this for more years than not. I box, run, ride horses, do plyometrics, cardio, and change my lifting to shock the muscles. In my 40s, I have no health problems or aches and pains. I feel like I am 25, thanks to exercising! Competing is fun. Do it for just that, if you chose to compete. However, exercise and eat clean for a lifestyle — the benefits are amazing!  
 

 
What is the best way to contact you?  
staceypi@yahoo.com
 
 
Where can you be found on the web?
http://fitnesscalendars.net/stacey/index.cgi - check out my Store!
 
You can also learn more about me here:
http://myspace.com/145036998
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/StaceyPillari
 
Another profile:
http://www.bodybuilders.com/stacey_pillari.htm - Over 40 Bodybuilder of the Week!
 
Here I am with Star, a horse that my husband and I rescued:
    

 
What else you would like to share?
My husband who is a photographer, OneShot Photography, and I have put together a website where we are hoping to help bring exposure for the women who compete, both amateurs and Pros:
http://fitnesscalendars.net
 
Our site sells calendars of these athletes with a portion of proceeds going to charity. You can buy a calendar of 12 competitors, or buy a custom calendar of your favorite athlete. Thanks for the support! We are trying to show that women can be both beautiful and strong!  
 
I am an AFAA certified personal trainer with CPR certification. I have trained men, women and kids for 20 years, off and on. I live what I teach; that is what makes me so effective. I juggle husband and kids, own three businesses, manage two homes, and still have time to train and eat clean. That is what I help others to do: Manage it all and make time for themselves to be the best they can be.
 
Training is offered online or in person — at my gym, or at yours if it's within an hour of Durham/Chapel Hill or Wilmington. I am available for training in Wilmington on weekends only. I am also in process of building on my property a bootcamp training facility: a military-based obstacle course which will also meet the criteria of the WTF (Women's Tri-Fitness) for those that want to train and compete in WTF contests. This will be open to train individuals certain hours and will offer day camps for training, fitness, diet, nutrition, time management, contest preparation as well as spa! My facility will be available to all ages and sexes; it will be great for teens for athletic conditioning as well as team building.
  
I also own and manage Heart & Hoof Horse Farm and Therapeutic Riding Center in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina (right outside of Hillsborough). I do horse boarding, teach riding lessons, and train horses using more of a communicating and understanding method. Also, I teach riding lessons to "special needs" children, mostly those with autism. It's amazing what these animals can do for these truly wonderful kids, and vice versa. For more information about the horse farm, email me: staceypi@yahoo.com
 

 
I want to thank these talented photographers for the courtesy of using their pictures:
Side chest, kneeling double-biceps & back - Dan Ray of http://rxmuscle.com
Double biceps & single bicep - Gene X. Hwang of http://musculardevelopment.com
With rescued horse -  my husband, Francesco Pillari of http://oneshotphotography.com