WHEN BEAU RYAN decided to retire from rugby league in 2014 after eight seasons in the NRL, he thought he’d have some time on his hands for once. But in the years since, he’s gone from strength to strength. First, he released a charting song with Justice Crew in 2014, then he became a permanent co-host on The Footy Show, which led to hosting roles on The Amazing Race, Top Gear and Gladiators. Now he’s got a spot on Triple M’s breakfast radio show.
The truth is, Ryan’s life is busier than ever. While he doesn’t train as often as he once did, fitness is just as important to him, and he still needs energy to get through the day – which isn’t something that gets easier with age, according to Ryan. “At my age, man, I feel old sometimes. I wake up some days thinking why is my elbow sore? Why can’t I check my blind spot when I’m driving?” he says.
“I want to give the best version of me to everyone, so I need energy,” Ryan continues. “I’ve trained my entire adult life doing five sessions a week, full cardio sessions. Training obviously has benefits, but you also feel tired afterwards. Now I don’t have to tackle guys or run straight into a 120kg front rower, but I still need the energy to do what I do. So much of that comes from putting the right stuff into your body.”
Ryan’s solution is simple: supplements. Specifically, supplements from Famous Nutrition. “I’ve found a really good balance of what I put in my body with Famous Nutrition,” he tells Men’s Health. “I’ve been approached by half a dozen brands to work with, but none of them work for me like this.”
Image: Aleks Pepelasev | Instagram: @alekspepelasev
Ryan isn’t new to supplements. In fact, he says he’s “always been a supplement guy,” regularly taking multi vitamins, magnesium, glutamine and vitamin C tablets. His problem was, it was all too much. As he says, “With Famous Nutrition, you get so much stuff just in one pack.”
For Ryan, Famous Nutrition supplements have become part of his daily routine. “I get up in the morning, I have my protein shake, I take my water bottle with some pre-workout in it and that ticks all the boxes for what I need in the day,” he says. “I have a high protein, high fat diet, but it takes a lot of eating to hit my protein goals. Supplements help with that.”
In addition to the protein shake and pre-workout, Ryan also utilises Famous Nutrition’s Hydrate mix. “I’ve done a lot of travelling through South East Asia and I’ve spent time in deserts, so I need to drink a lot of water when I’m away. But you can get really sick if you don’t have enough,” he says. “The hydrate mix makes that so much easier with all the electrolytes and coconut water powder.”
Famous Nutrition has also helped Ryan cut down on his coffee intake, by providing a healthier source of caffeine. “I’ve been a big caffeine drinker for a while, but Famous Nutrition’s pre-workout is slowly helping me end my love/hate relationship with coffee,” he says. “It’s because of the carnitine and glutamine in it, so I just have pre-workout daily, instead of coffee.”
Image: Aleks Pepelasev | Instagram: @alekspepelasev
“If someone said that they just have pre-workout all the time, even when they’re not working out, you’d probably look at them like they’re an addict or something,” he continues. “It really works for me though. I can get the same amount of caffeine as a double shot flat white, without the crash once the caffeine wears off.”
As Ryan says, avoiding the post-coffee crash is crucial for him, due to his full-day schedule. “I can’t crash on-air because it’d have big consequences, and my wife won’t let me crash at home or I’ll be in big trouble. If I’m not playing basketball with my son, send help,” he says.
When speaking of his experience with Famous Nutrition, Ryan keeps coming back to how much better he feels, and how much his approach to health and fitness has changed since his playing days. “I’ve always trained and eaten to perform at my best as a rugby league player and it felt laborious,” he says. “Eating meat and carbs, carb loading, all of that; I didn’t really enjoy eating and having supplements. It was always to reach a goal that was based around performance on the weekend, whereas now my diet and supplements are based around feeling good.”
That’s a change for the better, according to Ryan, because he no longer needs to worry about spending long hours in the gym and still feeling like he hadn’t done enough. As he says, “I feel like I’m in a position where I can cut back on training and still feel healthy and strong by just focusing on what I eat with Famous Nutrition.”
Image: Aleks Pepelasev | Instagram: @alekspepelasev
Related:
Beau Ryan opens up about fatherhood and learning from his mistakes
