LOS ANGELES — Among the muscleheads and gym rats throwing around the steel in Gold’s Gym in downtown Los Angeles, one man stood out. Carrying 291-pounds of twisted muscle on his 6-foot-3 frame, the wild-eyed behemoth was Ryback, and he was hungry. ( PHOTOS)
"Welcome to the food chain of pain,” the powerful Superstar shouted at the group gathered in front of him. "Let's get at it!"
Ryback was pumped up to put five WWE fans through a workout their bodies would not forget. In the weeks leading up to SummerSlam, the contest winners had entered their names at various Gold’s Gym locations throughout the LA area for the opportunity to train with a WWE Superstar. Their names were chosen at random and the competitor who showed up to push them to their physical limit was none other than the beast who has been devouring every man on the WWE roster, Ryback.
“This isn’t some phony workout for the cameras,” a characteristically intense Ryback told WWE.com. “These guys are going through Ryback’s workout — real weights, real intensity, real speed.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Over the course of an hour, the muscle-bound competitor put the contestants through his typical back routine, which consists of five punishing lifts performed in a nonstop superset. It was a grueling workout, but the fit winners more than held their own.
"They came in here and they gave it everything they had," an impressed Ryback said. "What I saw out of each and every one of those guys makes me proud."
After pumping iron with the five men, the driven competitor took time to discuss his diet and cardio regimen. More than anything, he hoped to share a bit of what a WWE Superstar goes through with the group.
"You have to be on your A-game every day," he said. "It takes a lot of work, but it's worth it."