NIAGARA FALLS — As a bodybuilder, Ron Primerano obviously knows what it is like to be the center of attention.

In a sport that is all about looking good, he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t get noticed. The LaSalle High School graduate did exactly that when he earned an automatic berth in a national competition of his choice by winning the NPC Tri- State Championships last month in Erie, Pa.

It’s the first time that Primerano has been voted best-in-show at a national qualifying bodybuilding competition, earning a two-year ticket to any sanctioned national competition he chooses.

He will likely take his time before cashing in on his chance because he is preparing to fade into the background. That’s what happens when you’re about to become a first-time father. The focus automatically shifts when life is changed by the pitter patter of tiny feet.

Primerano’s wife, Crystal, is expected to give birth to a baby girl Dec. 8.

It’s something Primerano has prepared for with the same zealousness that went into training for what is expected to be his final bodybuilding show for quite a while.

“That’s something I’m totally prepared for,” said Primerano, who has competed in the sport for four years. “That comes with maturity. I’m going to be known more so as Ron the dad instead of Ron the bodybuilder. I’m at a point in my life where this is something we — me and my wife, Crystal — chose to do and planned on. This is going to be the most important. Then come my businesses.”

“My priorities will shift where the child and family are first, but I’ll take care of myself and continue to train hard,” he added.

Is he ready for fatherhood?

“As ready as a first-time 27- year-old owner of two business can be,” Primerano said. “I’m trying to prepare myself. . . . Just taking maternity classes, trying to get as much sleep now because I know I won’t be sleeping as much when the baby is born.”

He has set up his schedule for his personal training and Primerano Printing businesses so that he can do most of his work in the morning and afternoon and spend as much time with his wife and child after work. He said he has phenomenal employees at his businesses, making it possible for him to devote more time to home than the office.

While he has been doing his best to prepare for fatherhood, training for his defining championship moment also was quite challenging.

Bodybuilders are judged in four categories: aesthetics (the way a competitor looks and how one’s muscles flow together), symmetry (how the back of one’s body matches the front and how the top matches the bottom), muscle mass and conditioning. Judges vote for the person they think should be in first place. The competitor with the most first-place votes wins.

To get that championship look, Primerano — who is technically a competitive amateur — enlisted the services of professional bodybuilder George Farah to help him with his nutrition leading up to the Oct. 10 event in Erie. He did a seven-week prep that included a diet of just whole food sources for proteins and carbohydrates. He ate chicken, egg whites, white fish, baked potatoes, oats and yams.

Fifty-six hours before the competition, he stopped drinking all fluids and then ate a baked potato every two hours two days prior to the competition, consuming just very small amounts of protein to satisfy his appetite.

Lack of variety on the food menu is one thing, but no water for 56 hours?

“It’s not crazy if you do everything right with your potassium because you don’t have to worry about your muscles dehydrating,” said the 6-foot Primerano, who had only 2.8 percent of body fat two days prior to his win.

“If the potassium levels are high enough and you cut your sodium out at the right time, any water will be stored in the muscles and prevent cramping. It makes you look extremely more defined. Your skin looks like Saran wrap because your skin is holding no water. If your timing is on, your muscles should be full and hard and your skin Saran wrap thin.

“Just coming in as a bodybuilder you want to be as lean as possible and at the same time present as much of a muscular package as you can.”

He said his wife played a huge role in his triumph. She spent an average of 15 hours a week preparing his food (cooking, portioning and weighing) during his training period.

The training method worked for Primerano, a former football, basketball, hockey and track athlete in high school who participated in hockey and track at Fredonia State College. He added that every competitor’s preparation differs in the days leading up to the events.

While he weighed a lean, mean 225 pounds during the competition, that drastically changed three days after his win. He went on a water-drinking binge, and the chocolate chip pancakes he ate after his triumph were just one of many tasty goodies he indulged in as he packed on about 25 pounds in 72 hours.

“I started eating like a normal person again so your body is going to hang on to stuff longer,” he said.

Primerano plans on using his Erie win to compete in a national event in 2011. He wants to put on an additional 10-15 pounds of muscle mass so that he looks even better in competition.

But that has to wait since there soon will be a little one commanding his undivided attention.

“I really used that as motivation for the show, in case that’s the last time I get on stage,” he said. “Usually I compete once a year. If being a father and running my businesses seem to be more overwhelming than I first thought, then it’ll be a while before I compete again.

“My initial goal when I started bodybuilding was to win a national qualifier and compete at the national level. I’ve pretty much already hit my goal.”