00:00She hoists stones, pulls pickups, and lifts many times her own body weight.
00:05Sandra Bradley is Germany's strongest woman, has won European titles, and has set world records.
00:11But her greatest strength was hardest won.
00:1520 years ago, I was dissociated from my body. I was separated from myself, and now I'm 100% myself.
00:21Strength training helped her out of the biggest crisis of her life.
00:24Will her physical and mental strength now bring her victory at her next competition in Scotland?
00:29Sandra lives in Nuremberg in southern Germany, where she trains almost daily.
00:37Her next goal is to take part in the Scottish Highland Games.
00:41She's focusing on training her torso and back muscles, and improving her stability.
00:47But physical training isn't everything.
00:50The most important thing is I will pick out competitions that push me outside of my comfort zone.
00:55Not just physically, but also mentally.
00:57And with every preparation for a competition, I want to learn something new and grow from it.
01:02In her early teens, Sandra struggled with an eating disorder.
01:05Wanting to be as thin as possible, at times she weighed as little as 47 kilograms.
01:11But at 16, she discovered strength training and put on muscles and weight reaching 83 kilograms.
01:17Training really helped me with my eating disorder because I found out that I really need to nourish my body to be able to put up a performance.
01:26And it really helped me to see that and to make it clear that I needed to fuel myself to be the best, most strongest version of myself.
01:32After school, she became a police officer. Now she's a personal trainer and health coach.
01:38And she helps women free themselves from social expectations.
01:45We are not really welcomed when we gain more muscles and when we look a little bit more muscular than society thinks of us.
01:53And this also really motivates me to inspire and also support the next generation to not only find their physical most strongest self,
02:01but also to help them empower themselves in the rest of their lives.
02:06Sandra has won the Germany's Strongest Woman title four times, Europe's Strongest Woman once,
02:12and been a World Championship finalist five times.
02:15She was also the world's first woman to lift the 154-kilogram Husefellstone in Iceland.
02:22Born in 1988, the athlete co-founded the Strong Woman Germany Club with six other women in late 2024.
02:30Her client Julia is one of the co-founders.
02:35Our main goal is to build a community and big community in Germany for all women,
02:40focused on competitions, also on training camps, training seminars.
02:46So our claim is connect, support, inspire, and that is what we are standing for.
02:52Studies confirm that sports can also improve well-being.
02:56Regular strength training reduces the risk of depression and anxiety.
03:03For Sandra, new records are now on the horizon at the Jan Todd Games,
03:07which form part of the Scottish Highland Games.
03:11On the morning of the competition, Sandra starts the day with a healthy breakfast in her accommodation,
03:16which she shares with her competitors.
03:18Her partner Lutz makes sure that the athlete eats right.
03:22I do have to maintain a healthy diet and I do have to watch that I eat enough protein,
03:29also carbs and fats, and a good distribution between everything.
03:32It's like a race car.
03:33You want to put good stuff in your race car so you have a good output.
03:37After breakfast, she heads to the competition venue.
03:41Like all participants, Sandra first puts on the proper outfit.
03:46In Scotland, that also means a kilt.
03:49The patches reveal how many Highland competitions she has taken part in.
03:53Can she add to her achievements?
03:55I compete with two other world champions, so it's definitely going to be a hard fight
03:59and very interesting to see how we all do throughout the day.
04:02But the goal is definitely to win and do my best.
04:17The disciplines include lifting, throwing, carrying and pressing stones.
04:22While the men compete against dozens of others, only three women are taking part this time.
04:27Several others have had to withdraw because of injury.
04:34For the last discipline, Sandra has to lift four stones in different ways.
04:42Her competitors couldn't manage it,
04:55but Sandra's impressive strength brings her victory.
05:05The awards will be presented personally by the event's namesake,
05:09American powerlifting legend, Jan Todd.
05:14I feel great.
05:15It was such an honor to win here also with Jan Todd being present.
05:19So that was the most amazing thing to win with her watching.
05:22So I feel very elated.
05:25This win is much more than a trophy for Sandra.
05:28It's a milestone to achieving her goals.
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