Every person who chooses to transform their life through fitness has suffered setbacks. Let’s face it, getting strong and fit is tough. Setbacks happen at every level.
This includes elite superstars in the fitness industry.
One of these superstars is Ryback. This professional wrestler has inspired many, but he has been plagued by criticism and injury.
Every barrier that this incredibly dedicated wrestler faces is met with an even more intense approach to physical training.
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What Training Setbacks Have You Experienced?
For most people, training setbacks include things like not having enough time to hit the gym. They can also include mental roadblocks like the false belief that a great body is unachievable.
Ryback is the perfect example of a person who has achieved a high level of fame and success because of how he performs athletically. Still, he has suffered setbacks, and he keeps training harder.
Ryback is also a master at modifying workouts to focus on those things that he knows holds him back from his true potential.
Ryback’s personal goal is becoming the WWE heavyweight champion. Yours might be to lose belly fat, or to work up enough guts and stamina to enter a Spartan race.
Take a look at Ryback, and you will begin to understand what fighting adversity in the fitness arena is truly about.
Who is Ryback?
Ryback was born Ryan Allen Reeves in Las Vegas, NV in 1981. He grew up watching professional wrestling, and he knew it was his calling from an early age.
His look led his childhood friends to call him “Silverback” because they said he had a striking resemblance to a gorilla.
This resemblance included a phenomenally muscular physique. While working security at many Las Vegas casinos, Ryback was invited to participate in the WWE.
His top matches eventually included pairings with celebrities like John Cena.
Between 2012 and 2016, Ryback suffered incredible injuries. These only led him to adopt a completely new training regimen that focused on stamina, flexibility, and athletic versatility.
What are His Physical Stats?
- Height: 6’ 3”
- Weight: 290-300 pounds
- Chest: 51”
- Biceps: 20.5”
- Waist: 37”
- Top Official Bench Press: 550 pounds
How Long Has He Been Working Out?
Ryback was a star wrestler and baseball player throughout high school and college. He started training athletically as a teenager, so his training has been consistent for about 25 years.
His training focuses mainly on power lifting, but he regularly incorporates workouts that are well-suited to Cross Fit environments.
He combines multi-functionality with extremely heavy weights and ballistic movements.
Ryback Workout Routine
Ryback’s core workouts can be considered “old school.” He believes in working toward failure sets while lifting, and designing inventive routines that stress body function.
Monday: Chest
* 5 press and fly exercises using free weights and cables. 4 sets of 15-20 rep maximums with a focus on failure.
Tuesday: Shoulders
* 4 press and lateral exercises with a 15-20 rep range.
Wednesday: Arms
* 3 exercises each for biceps and triceps with a 20 rep range.
* Body weight and belted dips are essential.
Thursday: Back
* 4 exercises with an emphasis on rowing motions and lifting extremely heavy loads.
Friday: Legs
* 16-20 sets of squatting and pressing exercises that utilize 15-20 reps to failure.
Ryback also includes alternative exercises that are more likely to be found in a Spartan race, Cross Fit gym, or a strongman competition.
These exercises include sledgehammer swings, high box jumps, and stone lifting.
Interviews With Ryback
Ryback is a very private individual. This has become more true since his injuries in the WWE. Though he is very open about his goals as an athlete, he is cautious about his involvement in the mainstream.
Most of his interviews are presented in the form of personal journals. Ryback treats his setbacks and achievements in a very professional way.
He is a truly mature and calculated individual when it comes to performance and training.
Ryback Workout YouTube Videos
Nothing but intensity pervades Ryback’s training videos on YouTube. He possesses a talent for explaining his struggles to viewers that bypasses most professional athletes.
His videos are heartfelt and raw. They simply show him doing sets and reps with intensity and determination.
That is the takeaway. If you want to overcome physical and emotional setbacks in your training, intensity is the only way. Ryback does this with grace and authority.
Ryback Diet Plan
Ryback’s main goal when it comes to diet is eating enough calories to fuel his intense workouts. He is known for eating at least eight meals per day that are protein-dense. They also include a wide variety of complex carbohydrates.
Ryback’s mantra in the wrestling ring and life itself is, “Feed me more!”
Not only does this mantra reflect his diet, but it reflects his passion. He thrives on crowd energy, and his fans love to participate. When it comes to diet and nutrition, Ryback believes huge amounts of pure food fuel is essential.
Ryback Workout and Diet Tips
Much of Ryback’s training and nutritional philosophy comes from the recognition that there are too many bad products being sold to consumers.
These products contain things like aspartame and sucralose, and they only work to hinder athletic progress.
Because he is so cautious about never sabotaging his athletic performance, Ryback has started his own line of workout supplements.
They include raw and potent ingredients like amino acids, plant proteins, and beneficial sugars.
Ryback takes the “Feed Me More” mantra very seriously, and he tries to instill that passion into anyone who follows his model for workouts and nutrition.
So, what should you take away from Ryback as a role model for working through setbacks? In short, getting it back is better than getting it in the first place.
Never stop, work harder, be inventive, and always concentrate on improving your weaknesses.
Ryback’s ultimate goal is to become the WWE champion. What is yours? Is it to lose that last 20 pounds. Is it to finally hit that big 315 pound bench press PR?
Ryback’s philosophy is to attack every training task with all the intensity that he can muster. This includes time at the gym, and preparing each and every meal throughout the day.
Whatever effort you give to overcoming setbacks equals big payouts over time.
Sources:
- https://feedmemore.com/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd7lPrZ6hhg
- https://www.wwe.com/inside/wwe-superstars-max-bench-press
- https://stronglifts.com/dips/#gref
- http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/bios/t/ryback/