The Metropolitant team wanted to speak to Ryan right after he was crowned the Champion of Singapore Physique War 2015 Teens. At 17, this young man has shown the dedication and discipline to diet and train for the various competition. Growing up as a very active youth, he participated in all kinds of sports activities. Ryan have been awarded 4 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 5 bronze medals. (not including bodybuilding) in various sports!
Let us get to know Ryan a little better.
Give us some background Ryan. What drew you to the sport of bodybuilding and what titles have you won?
I have been into fitness since the age of 5, at that age I have already started kicking soccer balls and running across fields. And at the age of 14, that’s when I started my very first body-weight training, A.K.A Calisthenics. After training for 2 years, I build my foundation and was inspired by a European athlete, Steve Cook. He was promoting fitness and health all over the world. That’s when I told myself I just wanna be like him and till today I have a word for everyone, a well-built physique is a status symbol. It reflects the hard work you’ve put in. You can’t steal it, you can’t borrow it and you cannot hold onto it without constant work. It’s from dedication, discipline, self-respect and dignity. After training for 1 year, I read an article online and that’s when physique was introduced to Singapore and there’s an age category for myself, I decided to go for it. I have won;
Singapore Physique War 2015 Teens – Champion
Singapore Fitness Model Search/ Singapore Nationals Physique Juniors – Champion
Singapore Fitness Model Search/ Singapore Nationals Physique Opens – 3rd
Asia Fitness Model Search/ Singapore Physique Opens – 3rd
Ryan is on the extreme right.
What’s your current age, weight, and height?
Age- 17, Weight- 65kg, Height- 168cm
What are you doing these days Ryan?
As mentioned, I am an active person. And as a student, I spend most of my time doing weight training, studying and managing my social media as it’s a good way for me to express my feelings with my audiences and it allows me to promote fitness furthermore.
I hear you are also preparing for other competition. How much of your time is currently spent on preparation for these events?
Yes, I’m preparing for my upcoming competition in April 2016. As the Singapore Nationals Fitness Model Search 2015 was just over, many athletes are taking a rest, I have already planned all my schedules, training and diets for my next show. And as a student, my time management was under restriction and I have to pursue my studies at the same time. Hence I always tried to maximise my training time, thus I spend 3-4 hour on average daily on weight training and preparing my diet.
Young Ryan with his basketball mates
Describe your current training schedule.
I’ve take my training seriously and planned my schedule before hand. I train 7/7 weekly and I’ll try my best to target on areas I’m weak in. As my caloric intake increases, my diet changes as well. I will try to put on as much muscle mass as possible and I find that Hypertrophy training worked well for me. I train 2-3 body parts a week and I ensure that I hit them from all angles.
What is your diet like at the moment?
After dieting for 12 weeks for Nationals, my body fat percentage have dropped to an unhealthy level and my metabolism have dropped to an uncertain level. And as a profession in this sport, I’ll put myself through a 12-week reverse dieting to increase my caloric intake and maintain my weight. Also, reverse dieting will enable me to adjust my fat level and metabolism back to a healthy range for maximum performance. As for supplements, I make sure i take them on a regular basis as supplements is an essential for athletes like us. I take Musclepharm Combat Whey Protein, BCAAs, Amino and pre-workout to ensure that my diet will allow my body to reach the fullest potential while training and even when I’m resting.
How will your training and diet change leading up to other competitions?
As a physique athlete, we should be aware that our diet is always related to our training and how our body reacts. I will be switching reverse diet into a normal diet which consists of High protein, Low fat and constant calories deficit. I will also switch all carbs intake to mainly wholemeal and taking in as much fruits as possible as it will help me to improve my digestive system and enhance my body to absorb more nutrients when I am 20 weeks out from physique war 2016. I believe that this will lead me to a whole new level of physique and conditioning which allows me to defend my title next year. And as for supplements, I will take in more BCAAs, vitamins, and Fish oil. BCAAs acts as an ozone layer for my muscles and it helps me to prevent as much muscle loss as possible while training. Vitamins is an essential as the diet gets more strict as I am not able to get a different source of vitamins from chicken breast and eggs which is what mainly consists in my diet. And vitamins will ensure that my body immune system is strong as athletes like us couldn’t afford to fall sick during this period of time. Last but not least fish oil, it provides me with health fats or AKA organ fats. These fats will improve my digestive system and also at the same time providing me with a healthy looking skin.
I have seen the photos of the Physique Wars, Singapore Bodybuilding Weekend and you looked awesome. Describe your experience of competing at these events.
A well-built physique is a status symbol. It reflects the hard work you’ve put in. You can’t steal it, you can’t borrow it and you cannot hold onto it without constant work. The results come from dedication, discipline, self-respect and dignity. I am proud to present my physique to everyone, but I am also quite nervous when I’m on backstage as everyone seems to have a great physique and I am pressured by the atmosphere. Nevertheless, I managed to put on a smile and honored to present my physique and emerge champion in the juniors cat at the age of 17.
What would you consider to be your biggest achievement in bodybuilding?
Singapore Fitness And Model Search 2015 Nationals. I would consider Nationals 2015 as my biggest achievement in bodybuilding so far as this is my first year competing and I managed to clinche champion in Nationals Juniors at just the age of 17.
Any disappointing moments?
Although I managed to clinch the Championship in the Junior class, I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to win the overalls junior title. But I am confident that I’ll bring a better package to stage to all upcoming contest being the next Mr.Jr Physique.
Three cheers for baby Ryan!
What are your non-bodybuilding related interests and hobbies?
Most of my hobbies and interest are mostly sports related. I do basketball as it may improve my agility and also I can sometimes take it as cardio. Sometimes I do participate in sporting events like Tri-Factor Run and Run For Hope as I would like to fitness and healthy living.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring bodybuilding, what would it be?
I would say applying the 3D’s. Dedication is very important as bodybuilding requires lots of time and you need to stay dedicated. Discipline, another key factor that all bodybuilders need, having to eat chicken breast and eggs over and over again for half a year isn’t easy at all. And I have heard many complaining ” I have to eat these crap over and over again “, However if you are disciplined and dedicated to the sport, you will feel fortunate that you have meals that are tailored to your needs. I have also seen many people cheated during their contest prep, eating fast foods and all, And that’s when your discipline comes in and say no. Because I have a contest coming up and I have to show my peak condition. Determination, if you want to do good in bodybuilding, you need to be determined. Nothing good is easy and when it’s easy, it’s never good.
Remember to eat clean!
What degree of importance would you attribute to diet and aerobic training when building mass?
Most PRO bodybuilders say, ” 30% training and 70% diet”. I fully agree with what they say. I do believe that dieting is one of the most important factors when building mass. And usually bodybuilders will call this phase “bulking” and that occur during the off-season’s of bodybuilders. And for training, I will also say that it links with the diet. And for me, I usually take in high protein, moderate carbs and low fats while putting myself through a training method of doing my exercise really heavy ( 3-5 reps).
In your experience, is supplementation worth considering, and if so, what supplements would you recommend and why?
Yes, Supplementation is definitely essential for athletes like us need. I do take many supplements as these supplements that helped me to reach my fullest potential and keeping my nutrients on track and allowing me to perform my best off and on stage. I take:
Musclepharm Whey Combat Protein – Allows me to recover my muscle as fast as possible as it will always be in a ready-to-train state.
Cellucor C4 Pre-workout – Allowing my to perform extra well and giving me that extra rep or pump during my workout
Muscleharm 3:1:2 BCAA –BCAA acts as an ozone layer for my muscles and it will protect my muscle from being burn off while I am on a contest prep as my carbs are low and muscle catabolic occurs easily.
Optimum Nutrition Amino – Amino helps me to perform better and allowing muscle growth to enhance during training.
Musclepharm Fishoil – Fishoil to balance up my healthy fats and I will also improve my skin condition while contest prep.
GNC vitamins – Vitamins is an essential as it helps me to increase my immune systems and we athletes can’t afford to fall sick during these periods of time.
Optimum Nutrition Oats – Oats provide me with the whole-meal needs and wholemeal food allows my digestive system to improve while contest prep and it helps me to absorb the nutrients better.
What do you do to psych yourself up for the major contest?
As many people say that winning is just the bonus, however to me, I will tell myself to do my best and I will always set a goal for myself. And I will take the nationals last weekend as an example, I aimed for the Singapore juniors overall title, but I came in 2nd for that category. I am very disappointed and in order for me to reach that goal next year, I am already back to contest mindset and already started to prep for next year nationals. I will still tell myself that no matter who is competing, as long as I do my best, I will win myself, The biggest competitor is still myself. And that is how I psych myself for majors contest like the nationals.
Have you any plans for your post-bodybuilding life?
Yes I do, I have a long vision for myself, As what I am already doing now, I have already started to set in part of my income into my savings, and further down the road when I have enough capital fund, I will run my own business. Just like many other bodybuilders, I will run a business that is selling gym apparels and at the same time promoting fitness and health.
We wish Ryan all the best! Thank you for taking time off your busy training schedule to speak to us. So girls, if you are looking for a fine young gentleman with discipline, dedication and determination? You will have to wait for him to turn 18. Meanwhile, feast your eyes on his shredded physique. (we were told to use the word SWOLE) Do follow this fine young lad on his Instagram account. https://instagram.com/ryanheng_98/
So disappointing that these fine young men seem to be afraid of posing trunks. American Christian fundamentalism has no place in Singapore – nor anywhere else for that matter! These fundamentalists are sadly ignorant of a sound theology of the beauty of the human body – all of it!
Asians are generally more conservative I guess.
Thanks for your reply, and I do appreciate what you say – but hundreds, thousands of young Singaporean guys, for example, have seemingly had no problem with posing trunks over the years – I would hate to see a more conservative trend developing, and I do lay the blame at the door of those “frightened fundamentalists”.
We have to blame the people for taking advantage of these young bright talents.