Monique Cormier, who has overcome obesity and severe depression en route to becoming a world class amateur bodybuilder, joins Dave [ ... ]
Spotlight On NPC Female Bodybuilder: Laura Brown
Category you compete in: Women’s 
Bodybuilding
Date of birth: 09-11-1970
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Career: Fitness Training / Body Massage
Competition history:
2001 Greater Knox BB
2002 Eastern States Bodybuilding
2002 TN State Championships
2003 Greater Knox BB
2005 NPC Indianapolis BB
2007 Battle At The River Chattanooga, TN
2007 North American Championships
2010 Badger State WI
2012 Wisconsin State Championships
2013 Fox Cities Showdown WI
2013 Wisconsin State Championships
Next competition: Junior Nationals, IL
What do you feel is the WORST part of contest prep?
Dieting has to be the absolute worst part for me. I love sweets and sweets love me (just not in a good way). Trying to find time to fit in all my meals (8 of them) is a challenge as well, I work as a fitness trainer and I do massage (mostly deep tissue). So apart from just working the hours, my job(s) are pretty physical. Deep tissue on a 250lb power lifter works up a pretty good sweat. The best thing about my job is that when it’s time to eat I’m so hungry I don’t really care what the food is that I have to eat- I’m just sad when it’s all gone.
Would you please tell us a little about your workout schedule?
I train 5 days a week;
Sunday: Chest
Monday: Back
Tuesday: Bi’s & Tri’s
Thursday: Shoulders & Hamstrings
Friday: Quads & Calf’s
Card
io is done 5 days a week for 1 hour until 4 weeks out then I’m doing 7 days for an hour. People who know me will tell you that I don’t even look at a piece of cardio equipment until I’m preparing for a show (I think I’m allergic to it).
If you had to lose one of your 5 senses, which one would you prefer to lose and why?
I would say I could handle losing my sense of smell better than anything. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about smelling all the sweet stuff when I walk by it in the store. I have a heightened sense of smell so when I get down to the last couple of weeks before a show I know I can smell things even in sealed packages.
If you could change one thing about this sport what would it be?
I wish politics didn’t play as big a part in bodybuilding. Judging should only involve looking at a person from the neck down, comparing that person to the others on stage and assessing their weaknesses and/or strengths.
If you had a time capsule what would you put inside it and why?
Since women’s bodybuilding is soon to be a thing of the past I would probably put pictures of female bodybuilders in the time capsule so people of the future would know what muscular women of our time really looked like and that we actually existed.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
My hands down favorite vacation spot is the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. The hotels are beautiful, the water is spectacular and best of all, it’s adults only. It’s really nice to be able to lay on the beach without kids running around your feet yelling and screaming.
What advice do you have for women who would like to get involved in and compete in the sport of bodybuilding?
I would suggest they start training as early as possible, do not wait until they’re in their 30’s as I did since it makes it even harder to diet. If they were contemplating on using “performance enhancing supplements”- please take it easy, women do not need very much to make nice gains and changes especially in the first few years. Otherwise doing more than necessary leads to too many masculine side effects. When competing don’t worry about your competition, go into each show knowing you’ve done your best to get to where you are. If you’ve done your best there’s nothing to regret even if you place last.
What is a day-in-the-life of Laura Brown like?
I’m not an early riser or a morning person so my day starts between 7:30-8am. My boyfriend has to do nocturnal dialysis 6 days a week so the first 30-45 minutes is spent helping him get off the machine. I usually eat around 9:30, shower then off to the gym to workout around 10:30. My workout usually takes 45 minutes to 1hr 15 min depending on what body part(s) I‘m training. My work schedule varies by day so if I don’t have a client right after my workout I will go ho
me or do some errands until work time. After work which ends between 6:30 - 7:30pm, I go home to begin my hour of cardio on the treadmill where I do intervals of fast walking and sprinting. Once I’m done with cardio I wash dishes, feed the cats and start preparing my food for the next day. Then, it’s time to help my boyfriend get his dialysis machine ready for treatment. Once we’ve gotten that done we eat our last meal somewhere around 11pm then off to bed.
Favorite Motivational Quote:
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
In closing, Who would you like to give a shout out to?
My strength and desire comes from within but my success in bodybuilding comes from my boyfriend, Dino Baker. Without him I would have given up bodybuilding years ago. He’s truly my inspiration and well, my life.
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