Transformation: Ryno Cordier

This month’s impressive body transformer is South Africa’s Ryno Cordier. His before and after photos were taken two years apart. During that time he dropped 26 pounds, took his bodyfat down 18 percentage points and packed on plenty of solid muscle. 

Why I got started: From a young age I participated in all school sports and activities. I did lots of cycling and later competed in track cycling, which prompted me to join the gym. I went to the gym two to three days per week, mostly to train my legs and conduct maintenance on my upper body. I quickly realized that I had good genetics to grow muscle and became too big and heavy for track cycling.

Ryno’s Stats

Before

Age: 26
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 213 pounds
Bodyfat: 22 percent

After

Age: 28
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 187 pounds
Bodyfat: 4 percent

I increased my training to five days per week but eventually got bored, lost motivation, stopped training and became lazy and fat. From there it was downhill.

I started training again four years ago after deciding that enough was enough. I realized that I needed to make a plan, and nobody was going to do it for me. I wanted to change for myself.

I began to take training seriously two years ago after my friend Paul Prince started to help me. I learned to live healthy and implemented the diet of a fitness athlete. I competed later that year, and it exploded my motivation and hunger to achieve more.

How I did it: It wasn’t always easy. I had to make big sacrifices, but it was worth it in the end. I lost a few friends who didn’t understand my journey. I later replaced them with new friends who had positive attitudes. Surrounding myself with positive people made me positive about myself.