Where and when were you born?
I was born in Germany, Mühlhausen, Thuringia on February 20th, 1979

What is your profession?
I am working as a nurse in a hospital.

What kind of activities/sports did you do before you started lifting weights?
Before starting with bodybuilding i was involved in different kind of sport, such as Acrobatics and Track and Field.

How and when did you get involved into lifting weights?
At the age of 18 I decided to go to a gym just to form my body a little bit. At the age of 19 I tried to gain some muscles, because I loved muscles my whole life, but I didn’t have the knowledge so I started to read every muscle mag that I could get or I tried to ask my brother-in-law. He was in the sport a little bit. In this time a was an absolute fan of Monica Brant and Timea Majorova.

Was it a goal for you to compete in bodybuilding competitions right from the beginning or was it something that grew in your mind as time went on and you saw the progress in your body?
At the age of 22 I moved to another state, a few hundred miles away from home and there I met my current trainer, manager and very close friend René de Homont. He worked and still works with many athletes in different kind of sports on a professional level and has much experience in every part of bodybuilding. From this day I really lived the sport and changed my whole nutrition and training and took it very serious. Because of the real hard work and my ambition the changes came very fast and after my trainer asked me if I want to go onstage I decided to try to compete. Before this it was a dream and I never thought that it could be reality.

What was your first competition and how did you place?
The first competition was the West German Championship in 2003, where I achieved 1st place in the body class.

And which contest has been the biggest success for you yet?
The Miss & Mr. Universe in 2004, Madrid/Spain. I achieved 1st place.

Could you please add a history of all contests that you have entered so far?
West German Championship in 2003, 1st place
International German Championship in 2003, 1st place 
International German Championship in 2004, 1st place 
The Miss & Mr. Universe in 2004, Madrid/Spain, 1st place

International German Championship NAC 2005 - 1st Place
Mr & Ms Universum NABBA International in Aachen - 1st Place

Please describe a typical day in the life of Cornelia Brandt.
I wake up at 5.00 am, take my breakfast and drive to work at the hospital. My work begins at 6.30 am. End of workday is at 14.00 pm. I drive home, eat something and go to bed for a little nap till 18.00 pm. Then I eat my meal and go to the gym. My training starts at 20.00 pm and ends at 22.00 pm. I go home, eat and go to bed at 1.00 am. By the way I eat every two or two and a half hour at my work. Sometimes my daily routine changes because I have to work from 14.00 pm till 21.30pm and sometimes I have to work at night. So its not like getting so less sleep every night ;-)

Please tell me something about your daily training routine.
I train every body-part once a week except calves and abs (twice). My workout lasts about 2 hours. In pre contest it can be about 3 to 4 hours. Through out the year I mostly train with heavy weights and basic movements for all muscle groups. In pre-competition I work with special movements and muscle separation depending on actual weak-points and increase my cardio too.

How often do you train in a week?
I train 5 days on and two days off. (except cardio in pre contest)

What are the main differences when you train for a competition and in off-season?
The main difference in pre-contest training: much more cardio; mostly within the last 2 month before competition. Otherwise I train with heavy weights throughout the year. I really love heavy weights and my body seems to need them to grow and retain the muscles throughout my diet. I just change some exercises and techniques, as far as my trainer tells my, to match up some weak points or to try to get more separation.

If you don’t mind would you give me some stats (best lifts and some body measurements)?
Bench press: 308 lbs (140kg) for 3 to 4 reps
Squads: 484 lbs (220kg) for 8 to 10 reps
Leg press: 1320 lbs (600kg) for 7 to 8 reps
Barbell curl (standing): 143 lbs (65kg) for 6 to 7 reps
Hammer curl: 93,5 lbs (42,5kg) per dumbbell for 5 clean reps

Measurements (off-season with 14% body fat):
Arms: 17.5 inches (44,3cm)
Legs: 27 inches (68,5cm)
Calves: 16.5 inches (42 cm)
Shoulders: 54 inches (137 cm)
Chest: 48 inches (122 cm)
Body weight off-season: 209 lbs (95kg)
Body weight competition: 165 lbs (75kg)

Which body-part is your best in your opinion?
I think my upper body is quite big. My best body part is my back and shoulders I think.

What is your favorite exercise in the gym and which one you don’t like so much?
My favourite exercise standing barbell curl, I don’t like squads, but I like leg press. Generally I love to train every muscle group.

Judging in Women’s Bodybuilding has always been criticised in one or the other way. Please tell me your honest thoughts about today’s judging in Women’s Bodybuilding.
For me bodybuilding is about building muscles, especially very big muscles. I love big muscles on men and on women. But there has to be a certain symmetry combined with these big muscles. For me, in my class, (body class) it is also important to have a nice face, because a woman should look like a woman and I want to go shopping with a big sweatshirt and others shouldn’t see at my face that I am a bodybuilder. This is even more important in figure classes I think. So in my opinion, if a woman combines these things such as muscle mass, symmetry, femininity…. she should be placed high.

Please tell me about what else you are doing when you don’t work out (profession, hobbies, etc.)
I play and walk with my little dog (Angie). She is a Yorkshire terrier and soooo sweet ;-) If I have time or in the time when I don’t train at all, this is about 3 weeks a year, I really love to read books, see some films at home with my friend, go out an walk on the beach, as far as I can find a nice beach in Germany ;-), meet some friends and normal things like this. I love to stay at home and relax, I am not the kind of person that loves to go out and party every day.

What are your future plans for 2005/2006?
My plans for 2005/06 are to improve my body and qualify for the National Team at the German Championships and compete at the Universe contests. I try to defend my Ms Germany title and try to defend my Ms Universe title. For 2006 I wouldn’t like to commit myself yet but up to now my plans are to go to the states (the very fist time) with my trainer and train there for a few weeks and hopefully meet some pros (looking really forward to this) to get some motivation and contacts.

Please note:

Cornelia does not do sessions or wrestling of any kind. Please don't ask!!