PHYSIQUE.By.SARI Sarani Tillekeratne’s Story

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Sarani Tillekeratne is making big waves in the Sri Lanka fitness scene. Her Instagram page known as @physique.by.sari has attracted a large following and is growing as we speak. Sari (as she is fondly known) has been involved with sports from a very young age but due to her academic commitments she took a break from physical activities and experienced excess weight gain. Sari realised the need to take her life into her own hands and began her journey back into fitness and training, which led her to become stronger, happier and of course prettier, than ever! Here is the story of @physique.by. sari…

My Relationship with Fitness & Sports

I’m a 22 year old “ex-fat chick” who is obsessed with weight training (bodybuilding/body sculpting). I am currently studying fitness and marketing and working as a freelance personal trainer. I spend my free time cooking new healthy recipes and playing with my dogs. My relationship with fitness & sports began when I was in school. I was always an athletic kid. I joined my school, the Ladies’ College hockey team, when I was 10 and went on to vice-captain the senior team. In 2011, I was selected to the Sri Lanka Hockey Under-18 pool and was awarded National Colours and Sri Lanka Schools Colours for hockey. During my school years I took part in many inter-house sports events like badminton, athletics etc. Though I was always a “chubby” girl, hockey practices helped me keep my weight under control. I love doing any sort of physical activity, especially team sports. It is very satisfying both physically and mentally.

Weight Gain and Depression; The Vicious Cycle

After sitting for my Advanced Level Examinations in 2013 I put on a lot of weight. This was due to lack of physical activities. Like most other girls, I experienced the typical emotions and consequences of stress and depression due to weight gain and all the other insecurities that come with it. I fought for about 2 years, trying to start my weight loss journey but had many failures and relapses. It was a cycle that I could not break at that point in my life. Though at times I was losing weight due to crash dieting and over training, I soon went back to binge eating and put on the excess pounds.

The Making of @physique. by.sari

The beginning of the journey finally came in April 2016, where I became fed up of my weight fluctuations. I decided not to become obsessed with weight loss but rather focus on a more sustainable approach to become healthier. I thought I will make small changes to my routine so that I can gradually make permanent changes. The trick was not to “overthink” weight loss. I discovered that fitness was a lifestyle and kept trying to find what workout routines and diets would actually work for me. What I discovered was that fitness was not just going to the gym or going on a crash diet rather fitness is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that should be enjoyable and fulfilling to the individual.

My Training

I started training for just 40 minutes a day in my bedroom. Easy full body circuits and abdominal exercises. This routine exhausted me in a short amount of time and I felt that was enough as a daily workout. As time passed, I got stronger and the workouts got easier and fat started melting off. It was now time to tone up. I hit the gym again and started weight training and did cardio after the weight training sessions.

My Nutrition

I love eating meat so all I did was that! Chicken, eggs, beef and fish. I would eat any kind of protein source that I could find. As my muscle weight increased, so did my daily protein requirement. I started taking a scoop of whey protein powder to supplement my post workout nutrition. I reduced my carbohydrates and added more vegetables and good fats to my diet. We are what we eat, so what and how much nutrients I put into my body played a big role in making me look and feel good.

EZ bar curl

Works:Bicep

Step 1

Hold the EZ curl bar at the wide outer handles with your palms facing forward and slightly tilted inward due to the shape of the bar.
Stand up straight and tuck your elbows in.

Step 2

While keeping your upper arms stationary, curl the bar up towards your body while contracting the biceps. Remember, only your forearms move.
Raise the bar upto shoulder level. Flex your biceps at this position for a brief moment.
Then inhale and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position.

Landmines

Works: Shoulders, Core & Upper Body Explosiveness

Step 1

Position the bar into a landmine or securely anchor it in a corner to ensure stability.
Take a wide stance and raise the bar with both hands (gripping the thick part of the barbell) from the floor to shoulder height. Keep your arms extended in front of you.

Landmines

Works: Shoulders, Core & Upper Body Explosiveness

Step 2

Perform the movement by rotating the trunk and hips as you swing the bar across your body 180 degrees while keeping your arms extended throughout the motion.
Now swing the bar all the way to the opposite side of your body.

Romanian Deadlifts

Works: Hamstring, Glutes

Step 1

Stand with your feet spaced shoulder width apart. Grip the bar using an overhand grip (palms facing down) and just outside of shoulder width. If the weight is very heavy then you may need some wrist wraps. Your knees should be slightly bent. Keep your back straight and look straight ahead.

Romanian Deadlifts

Works: Hamstring, Glutes

Step 2

Exhale as you bring the bar up while driving your hips forward. When lowering the bar to the starting position follow the same path as when lifting and remember to inhale.

Weighted Hip Thrust

Works: Glutes

Step 1

Begin seated on the ground (knees bent) with your shoulders resting on the bench directly behind you. The dumbbell rests horizontally on your stomach touching your legs.

Step 2

Begin the movement by driving through your feet, extending your hips upwards. Your weight should be supported by your shoulder blades and your feet. Extend up as far as possible, then reverse the motion to return to the starting position.

Standing Smith Machine Calf raises

Works: Calfs

Step 1

Place a block or weight plate on the floor below the bar on the Smith machine (to increase range of mortion). Fix the bar to a position that is comfortable for you to lift off the rack.Now step onto the block with the balls of your feet and rest the bar behind your shoulders.
Rotate the bar to unrack it with both palms facing forward.
Step 2
Push off with the balls of your feet and raise your heels as high as possible while exhaling. Flex your calfs at the peak of this contraction. Remember to keep your knees extended. Hold this position for a second.
Return slowly to the start position as you inhale.

My Goals

My main goal is to rebuild self-esteem and confidence in girls and women through fitness, weight-loss and total body transformation. I want to encourage females of all ages to start weight training and shun all the barriers and myths that have to do with women lifting weights. My personal goals are to complete my degree, further enhance my knowledge in fitness and to continue my fitness modeling career. I was blessed to have understanding parents and supportive friends who encouraged me on this journey. If I can be a source of encouragement and inspiration to more and more females to take their life into their own hands and get fit and feel better, I will be very happy.

For Advice Sari can be contacted via
Instagram: @physique.by.sari
E-mail: enquiries.sarani@outlook.com