Ryan Terry: Natural or Steroids?

Ryan Terry is an English fitness model and Men’s Physique competitor, who’s battled it out against big names such as Jeff Seid, Steve Cook, Jeremy Buendia and Sadik Hadzovic on the Olympia stage.

Ryan placed 4th in 2015 and 2nd 2016, narrowly losing out to the dominant Buendia.

Ryan has always been athletic, enjoying gymnastics and swimming from a young age. Despite his sporty nature, Ryan admits that he first started lifting weights because he he had confidence issues (1).

Before pursuing a career in bodybuilding, Ryan’s looks earned him Mr Britain and Mr International titles, successfully portraying an idealistic man.

Ryan Terry’s Stats:

Height: 5 ft 10

Weight: 187lbs (85kg)

Body fat: 5%

Ryan doesn’t address steroids on social media anywhere. He hasn’t boasted about being natural and hasn’t denied taking steroids.

However, Ryan isn’t as scrutinized compared to other bodybuilders/fitness models because he has a natural look to his muscles and isn’t overdeveloped.

BUT plenty of guys around the world DO take steroids and aren’t huge, so lets investigate…

The Controversial Before/After picture

Some people have pointed to this transformation picture and claim these gains are unrealistic to achieve in such a short space of time (if you’re natty).

Here’s the pic they’re referring to…

His gains have more or less come in the space of a year. Ryan began lifting weights at 14 years old (2), thus by April 2013 he would’ve been 24…having lifted weights for 10 years based on his birth date: 1988.

An experienced (natty) bodybuilder gaining this much size in 1 year is unrealistic.

However, the March 2014 picture is taken in the gym so there’s a good chance Ryan has a pump, making his muscles appear bigger. And the April 2013 picture was taken whilst he was competing in the UKBFF, against his idol Rob Riches.

For the unaware: Rob beat Ryan to 1st place in this competition, but was later stripped of his title, testing positive for a banned stimulant that he didn’t know about in a pre workout. Consequently Ryan became the national champ.

Sorry, back on topic…

Natural guys that diet hard for a show are more susceptible to losing muscle because they’re consuming lower calories than normal. They can also appear flat, due to less glycogen and water in the muscles.

To back up this point, here’s what Ryan Terry looked like several months before the April 2013 picture…

5th December 2012

Although he’s in a different pose, you can see Ryan’s considerably bigger here…several months before the April 2013 picture was taken.

Thus it’s obvious Ryan lost some size in the build up to the UKBFF show and later regained this muscle/glycogen, once he started eating normally again.

Also if Ryan DID take steroids for this transformation, it wouldn’t make any sense because he’d be a lot more jacked in the March 2014 picture.

Guys who take steroids don’t just gain 5-10lbs of lean muscle, they BLOW UP. They transform from a charmander into a charizard.

Has Ryan Been Drug Tested?

Ryan will have been tested in UKBFF competitions, but only after coming off stage.

The UKBFF do not conduct random drug tests (when athletes aren’t expecting them).

Thus allowing their competitors to run different anabolics throughout the year and then stop before a competition. So by the time of the competition they are technically ‘natty’ and pass the tests.

The IFBB do not test for steroids in any of their divisions. This will only come as a shock to you if you previously thought Phil Heath/Kai Greene were natty…

So from Ryan’s competition history there’s no evidence to suggest he is natty OR taking steroids.

Gains Timeline

I couldn’t find any pictures of Ryan when he was really young and first started lifting weights.

But what I do know is Ryan has a similar amount of muscle mass, compared to his beauty pageant days.

The only difference is he’s got more shredded, appearing more ripped/muscular.

“But he could’ve juiced before Mr International?”

If he juiced before becoming Mr International, he would’ve surely used stuff again when he decided to compete as a fitness model – where guys are bigger than him.

But instead, he bulks in the off season putting on a little extra fat to try and build more muscle.

…Otherwise known as a ‘Terry Bulk’.

If he was juicing, he could simply run more cycles to gain size, without his body fat fluctuating.

No Steroid Symptoms

Ryan terry has none of the following symptoms/side effects associated with prolonged steroid-use:

• Balding
• Flushed skin
• Bloat (water retention)
• Androgen-dominant muscle groups (Ryan’s got small traps)
• Gyno
• Acne
• Bad skin

Not even one.

Verdict: Natty

Ryan’s muscle size is purely down to having great genetics. He has made some small gains in the last few years, which is the result of mild overeating during the winter period.

His success in several competitions can be attributed to his competitive nature, instilled in early childhood where he participated/succeeded in many sports.

Ryan Terry is a great example of how much bigger you can look if you get leaner.

Going from 9% body fat to 5% will make a massive difference to your physique. As a rule of thumb, if you can get below 6% BF, your body will start to develop that ‘wow factor’.

References:

(1) http://www.mid-day.com/articles/want-a-body-like-star-bodybuilder-ryan-terry/15191070