Category Archives: Introduction

📣 Reintroducing Fityak: The Return of a Mission

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In January of 2012, I was 37—overweight, unhealthy, and feeling stuck. I knew I needed to make a change. So I made a decision: to reclaim my life, my health, and my purpose.

From that moment, Fityak was born—not just as a nickname, but as a mission.

  • 🏋️‍♂️ I transformed my body.
  • 💼 I built a brand.
  • 💻 I launched a blog filled with workouts, nutrition, and growth.
  • 🏁 I became a sponsored triathlete and certified fitness professional.

My Life Continued to Evolve

I met my wife, Anna, a lifelong educator with over 25 years of experience. She opened the door to a new path—teaching. Her belief in me led to a career where I could support my family and pour myself into the lives of others. And this was my life for 7 years while I coached cross country and track.

Eventually, I stepped away from coaching to be more present at home—for our kids, who continue to inspire me every single day:

  • Natalie lives in New York, managing a brand and pursuing her dream of performing on Broadway.
  • Sydney is graduating with a degree in photojournalism and beginning her master’s program this fall.
  • Addison competes in collegiate indoor and beach volleyball and leads with quiet strength.
  • Davis is a multi-sport athlete—football, basketball, and hurdles—and is already on a college-bound athletic path.

Refocusing on My Own Health

Somewhere along the way, with all the roles I’ve taken on—husband, father, teacher, mentor—I found myself without the time or energy to take care of me the way I’ve taught so many others to.

Now, at 51, I’m saying this:

  • 👉 I’m not done.
  • 👉 I’m not starting over.
  • 👉 I’m building on everything I’ve learned—this time with more clarity, purpose, and heart.

What Fityak Really Means

Fityak isn’t just about fitness. The name started as an idea—a space where people could “yak” about getting fit. But like everything else on this journey, the meaning grew deeper.

In the Himalayas, the yak carries the heavy gear up the mountain. It’s strong. Dependable. Steady.

That’s what Fityak has come to represent:
A kind of fitness sherpa.
Here to help guide the journey, carry some of the weight, and walk the climb with anyone ready to rise again.

Let’s Climb Together

If you’re ready to reset your life—or just need someone walking the same road—let’s do this together. This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up again, and again, with purpose.

Thanks for being here. Let’s take the next step.

— Ryan

Sometimes you just need to start over

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This is me.

Eleven years ago, I set out on a health and fitness journey. I was 37, fresh out of a divorce, overweight, unhealthy, unhappy, and needed a change. In January of 2012, I did what so many people try to do, I made a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight and take control of my life again. Well it worked, really well. So I started a blog to keep track of what was working and to share it with the world.

Fityak.com was created on May 2, 2012 (launch date May 6, 2012) with the mission of being dedicated to sharing the most up-to-date information about Health and Fitness as well as chronicle the life of a Father, Business Professional, and Sponsored Age Group Triathlete. And after 10 years, I filled that blog up with daily workouts complete with everything I ate every day for at least 3 or 4 years. Then as I decided to change careers and go into education and high school sports coaching, I slowed down on the posts. And then eventually the posts stopped, and so did any progress on my fitness. (The website even decided to stop working too, but we’ll talk about that in a bit.)

In 2020, right before the pandemic, I injured my bicep throwing a shotput during practice. As a result, I couldn’t throw the ball with my son or swim freestyle and had a hard time getting into the doctor to get it fixed. In 2021, somehow I got an abdominal hernia which took a turn for the worse and required a second and more serious surgery a couple weeks later. All good now. I finally got my bicep fixed earlier this year and I couldn’t be happier with the result! So now, as we near the end of 2022, I am feeling like this neglected body of mine needs a jumpstart before I turn 50. I have 15 months to figure all of that out.

Since my blog decided to stop letting me add any more posts, and that seemed to be the way that I remained accountable to myself for many years, sometimes you just need to start over. This time I am not waiting for everything to completely fall apart. It’s time to get back to it. Maybe you’ll join me on the journey?