Local bodybuilder Ryan Troutman recently won 5 categories, including Open Bodybuilding Overall and Best in Show at the NPC Big Cat Classic! The event held on Saturday, October 1st, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Allentown was a national qualifying show.

Troutman is owner and manager of the Fitness Factory, located in Williamsport. When he’s not training for competition, he is busy managing a fitness facility that promotes a friendly atmosphere and offers full-service facilities that include personal training, group exercise classes, and open memberships. Though the athlete and businessman is busy these days, he was able to spare some time for an interview.

Dave – Tell me about the contest you recently entered.

Ryan – I won 5 categories, including Light Heavy Weight (176.25 to 198.25), Master 40 and over, Masters overall, Open Bodybuilding Overall, and Best in Show. Masters and Open Overall earned me two championship swords, and for Best in Show, I received a championship belt.
Dave – Please describe the competition.

Ryan – The purpose of the competition was to ensure quality candidates on the national stage. You need to place first in your category, which I did, in order to move on to the next stage, which is nationals. At nationals, if you win, you are considered a professional bodybuilder. This is the goal I have been chasing for years. Once you qualify, you only have a year to achieve your pro card, or you start over.

Dave – How did you get into bodybuilding?

Ryan – I was a weightlifting enthusiast for as long as I can remember and was inspired by my Uncle Paul, who was an old-time bodybuilder. What pushed me onto the bodybuilding stage was a friend who invited me to one of Craig Johnson’s bodybuilding shows. That friend was Eric Hales. He bet me I wouldn’t do the show with him the following year.

That was the end of powerlifting and the start of bodybuilding for me. I fell in love with it and never stopped.

Dave – How long have you been bodybuilding?

Ryan – I started in 2012 and have been competing for ten years.
Dave – Why do you love bodybuilding?

Ryan – I love bodybuilding for so many reasons. Bodybuilding has given me a chance to meet so many great people. It has also helped me to help others. Through me trying to achieve the extreme goals of bodybuilding, I have done a lot of research on food and supplements and how they are used to fuel the body and not only for appearance but for overall health in and out. For me, it works for everything. It puts me in a better mood. It also really helps me clear my mind when struggling with problems or in a bad mood.

Dave – What motivates you to train and compete?

Ryan – The love of the sport, the challenge, the discipline, and the overall feeling you get from the endorphins when training. When you are healthy, you feel good.

Dave – Do you enjoy the competitive aspect of bodybuilding?

Ryan – I love competition. When you put in hard work, you don’t want to step on a stage with people of a different mindset. I love the challenge; that’s how I got here. I will continue working as hard as I can until I retire from the sport, always knowing someone else is also hungry out there. I will always be the hungriest and work the hardest, that doesn’t mean you win on stage, but you can rest at night knowing you gave all you had.

Dave – Give me an overview of your training. Days per week, time per workout? Cardio, strength training, etc.?

Ryan – Training in season is six days a week (12 to 18 weeks before the show).

2 sessions of 20 minutes of cardio

1 session for 1 hour of small muscle group weight training for legs

1 session for 2 hours of large muscle group weight training

Off-season training is five days a week.

45 minutes to 1 hour of large muscle group combined with smaller ones

A 15 min cardio session

Dave – Give an overview of your diet off-season vs. in-season.

Ryan – In-season, I consume 3,000 calories over the course of six meals a day. Mostly white fish, asparagus, sweet potatoes, rice, and Muscle Eggs supplement. My diet off-season is around 7,000 calories over the course of 6 to 7 meals a day — steak, chicken, turkey, bagels, Muscle Eggs, cream of rice, oats, and fruit.

Dave – Is there anything else you would like to say?

Ryan – I wants to thank God for being blessed to have the opportunity to chase my dreams and to be able to do discipleship while doing it. I want to thank my wife, Jodi, for cooking thousands of meals while I am working at the gym and being there for other struggles we have crossed during this journey. She is a rock, and I couldn’t do it without her. Michaela Henne, thank you for holding the gym down with my awesome staff while I trained extra and had less time for the gym. Mitchel Thomas for driving me back and forth to the venue and being a major support while making sure I was coherent enough to make it out on stage when being called. The Fitness Factory Fam, you guys are the best. The support and love I got from the gym during this competition was unreal. I can’t thank you enough. Dan Emmick from LPG Muscle for all the support and guidance, and my sponsor, Gains in Bulk, for the great supplement and financial support.