Ryan Hughes is one of America's most recognisable physique athletes.
The New York bodybuilder is 220lbs of lean muscle and has featured on the front of some of the world's biggest fitness magazines.
The BSN-sponsored athlete was one of the first ever to gain his IFBB pro card and is considered a elite level trainer in his native US.
But he hasn't always been this way. He started out as a skinny, 130-lb teenager like everyone else.
He has had to work for every single pound of muscle, downing 7,000 calories a day to pack on some dirty size and training seven days a week.
JOE met Hughes to find out about his decade-long journey from hardgainer to cover model.
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How did you first get into training?
I first started working out when I was 15 or 16. I was incredibly thin, 135lbs and 6ft 1in – so I wanted to put on some size. I got hooked on training and working out straight away. I started personal training at 18 and entered my first competition at 19.
You were quite light growing up – you were a hard gainer?
I was very thin. I had very little muscle. I used to wear like six shirts to school just to make myself look thicker. It was a struggle.
How did you train and eat back then?
I did whatever I could in the gym. I didn't know a ton when I started. I did internet reading, got some bucks and learned what I could. I put on a quick few pounds but then it became a struggle after that.
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How do you write a programme for someone that struggles to put on size?
I’ve trained for over 10 years now, but over the first couple of years I learned a ton about my body but someone who has a similar physique to mine where they’re skinny or they struggle putting on weight.
What worked for me I’ve kind of tracked that and built a programme around it. Obviously it is heavy on the food. I could never eat enough, then there’s the style of training which helps as well.
So what does your weekly training programme look like?
I go through a single muscle group split and then just repeats, so I don’t takes days off unless I have to. Or I feel like I need one. But with a lot of the travel you’re forced to take a day off here and there, but typically I train seven days a week.
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Would you class yourself as an old school bodybuilder, or do you like to introduce new methods and techniques to your training?
My style of training incorporates a lot of old school bodybuilding techniqiues, but some new age stuff as well. A lot of volume training, some rest-pause and then high-intensity training, so it’s all kind of mashed into one which I’ve found has given me the right results.
What have you found are the key muscle-building moves that you cannot do without in your programme?
I think all of the compound lifts have a place in every routine – so your bench press, your squats and your deadlifts.
You should try to build your routines around those, especially if you’re just starting out, they will give you the most bang for your buck.
Aside from that, I have a full gamut of exercises. I never keep to the same things.
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What rep ranges do you find work for you. Will you keep in the 8-12 range, or mix it up?
I am all over the place. I have some 5x5 workouts or also 8x8 (8 sets of 8 reps), which is a good bit of volume with shorter rest periods. But then I also do traditional bodybuilding style of 8-12 reps. Then I can do anything up to 100 reps, building in some rest-pause there.
What do you think of variables like time under tension and tempo? They seem to be getting a lot of attention at the moment?
There’s definitely some good science behind it. I have experimented with it here and there. There’s definitely something to be said about spending more time under resistance than rest in the gym. It’s a matter of finding what works for you as well. Some guys just have better success with traditional bodybuilding, where other guys throw in a lot of the volume style training and can get good results from that as well.
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You say you have to eat a lot to maintain your size, what’s your diet like every day?
Right now I am typically around 3- and 3,500 calories a day, and that’s pretty much maintenance for me. When I started training and had to put on weight I was in the 5- to 7- range for a lot of time. The heaviest I have ever been was 250lbs in the off-season one year. I haven’t touched anywhere ear that since, as I have to stay in shape now. About 3,000 to 3,200 keeps me around 215-220lbs.
Can you still stay pretty lean and put on the muscle that you want now?
Yeah. I mean it’s a much slower process now for me. My goals now are for me to maintain my shape and just improve on my conditioning and improve on the overall look and feel of my physique.
But putting on a ton of size now is probably out of the question for me.
How do supplements come into that? How have supplements helped you in your training whether it’s getting lean or putting size on?
They play a pretty big role, especially with travel. So you’re kind of reliant on supplements a lot of the time. Amino X I used two or three times a day, always. Before training, after training and between meals. Then obviously I use protein shakes – the new Syntha-6 Edge that has dropped. They have some great macros and they have improved the taste and the protein per scoop.
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What do you look for in a protein shake?
I have a lot of shakes because I travel a lot. So for me it's the macronutrient breakdown, which for me is the great thing about BSN's new Syntha-6 Edge. They were able to increase the protein per scoop from 40% to 62%. It's got 24g per scoop and they dropped the fat down to under 4g per scoop and the sugar is only at 1g.
Obviously when choosing a protein, taste comes into play, for sure. You want to have something that tastes good, especially if you're consuming it multiple times a day. But if you are using it multiple times a day, it has to fit into your macronutrient profile
What do you say to people who think you can’t get in shape sustainably or naturally?
You can definitely do it. At the end of the day there’s really no excuse. It can definitely be a more challenging road for some. It was definitely more challenging for me, but once you find out what works for you, you can take your physique to the next level.
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Ryan Hughes is a BSN-sponsored athlete launching BSN's new Syntha-6 Edge protein powder.
