When Matthew Tsinkorang looks in the mirror, he sees a 176-pound mini colossus.
He has been featured in fitness magazines around North America and his likeness is plastered on packages for fat-burning supplements. He'll be competing Saturday at the Canadian bodybuilding championship in Saskatoon, and most certainly belongs.
Yet, it definitely wasn't a natural progression.
"It's kind of the story where I've gone from being an overweight, chubby kid to the way I look now," he said. "It's a total transformation. I was never a lean, athletic kid. I was overweight.
"People are amazed. They can't believe how I've changed myself."
Tsinkorang, 28, didn't start bodybuilding until a football injury in high school with the Evan Hardy Collegiate brought him to the gym to rehab. Soon friends started noticing his blossoming bulk and encouraged him to take up the lifestyle competitively.
He got his first taste of competition at an event in Toronto in 2005 and finally punched his ticket to nationals after winning the light middleweight crown at provincials in 2009.
Tsinkorang and trainer Franco Savino decided on a 20-week plan in preparation for nationals as opposed to a typical 12-week regiment.
"Doing it over a long period of time, your body just gets more conditioned, it gets harder and a bit more dense," said Tsinkorang. "Doing it over a short period of time you can really sacrifice muscle because you're really trying to push yourself to drop that fat.
"Me, I slowly dropped that fat while still maintaining that muscle."
His diet has been highly regulated, requiring the right combination of carbohydrates or proteins at the right time. Typically Tsinkorang will have to eat every two hours, meaning his lifestyle can conflict with friends or family who are more laissez-faire about their consumption.
And he is not done either. On Monday he weighed 170 pounds, and began a heavy carb cycle on Thursday in order to bring himself up to his classification's 176-pound requirement.
"You're in the zone, you don't want any distractions and you just want to focus on your diet, your posing and all that," he said. "If you get distracted you get off course, so you kind of isolate yourself in the diet for those 20 weeks or so.
"It's stressful and people don't realize that. They see us on stage and how we look, but it's 24-7."
Tsinkorang demonstrates the same diligence and dedication in other facets of his life.
He owns his own realty investment company despite not having any post-secondary education. Plus, in January he launched physiquebook.com, a Facebook-styled social networking site for health and fitness enthusiasts. The site has roughly 6,500 members.
For all his passion and progress in bodybuilding, Tsinkorang still has a way to go. He is no spring chicken in the sport, but does have time on his side. Saskatchewan resident Vince Wawryk captured a national title in 2007 when he was 38, earning himself a pro card through the International Federation of Body Building and Fitness in the process.
Tsinkorang has similar ambitions.
"A lot of guys get to their peak when they're around 35 years old," said Tsinkorang. "It does take a while to get up there and right now I'm not even at my peak -- there's still a ways to go."
The preliminary round for the national bodybuilding championships begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday at TCU Place. Judging in the finals commences at 6 p.m. Tickets for the preliminary round are $25. Finals are $50 to $65.
jhartshorn@sp.canwest.com
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