The Body-Positive Reason Emma Stone Was Excited to Gain Weight

Emma Stone is the strongest and fittest she’s ever been—and, according to her trainer, she couldn’t be more ecstatic. The 28-year-old actress gained 15 pounds to play tennis legend, Billie Jean King, in her upcoming film, “Battle of the Sexes,” but instead of frowning when she stepped on the scale, Stone couldn’t help but smile at her weight progressively going up.

In an interview with People, Stone’s “Battle of the Sexes” trainer, Jason Walsh, revealed that Stone trained for three months to get her “petite, dancer-type body” into tennis-pro shape. To prepare for the role, Stone amped up her time at the gym from three days a week to five days, with some days when she would train twice. By the end of it all, Walsh revealed that Stone had become “really strong”—so much so that she could push and drag sleds weighing hundreds of pounds. “It really became fun for her. [She] would be like, hey, what kind of record are we going to beat this week with the weights?” Walsh said.

Source: Instagram

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To play one of the most iconic tennis players in history, Stone’s” “full body training regimen” was clearly no joke. Along with weight lifting, Stone would also practice tennis moves, such as L drills with bungee cords and foot box drills to make sure she had nimble footing. Toward the end of the training process, Walsh said that Stone was able to do 300-lb hip thrusts, 70-lb dumbbell curls, 185-lb deadlifts, and push ups with heavy chains on her back.

Like a lot of people are when they first start working out, Stone was hesitant that she could reach the potential Walsh wanted from her. However, she eventually realized that her body could do so much more than she predicted. “[At first] in her mind there’s disbelief about whether she could do any of this stuff, and when she’d do it she’d scream [with excitement],” Walsh said.

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And though Stone’s probably enjoying the Oscar buzz she’s already receiving for “Battle of the Sexes,” out September 22, she also appears to be enjoying her newfound strength, judging from how excited she was to see her weight steadily increase. “She was ecstatic when she got on [the scale],” Walsh said. “Most girls who get on the scale and gain weight freak out, [but] she had the biggest smile in the world when the weight started to increase.”

Source: Instagram

Though Stone’s movie-star workout regimen isn’t realistic for everyone, it’s still empowering to see her exceed her preconceived expectations of her body to become her strongest self.