Paul Ryan has gone back to work on Capitol Hill ... as a mere congressman ... and the question on everybody's mind since the election ... DOES HE STILL FIND TIME TO WORK OUT???

Mitt Romney's former #2 was taking a stroll through Washington D.C. today ... when our camera guy asked the Wisconsin rep if he's been able to hit the gym since he's been back.

Of course, Ryan is a gym-aholic -- who's rumored to have a killer set of abs ... like the kind of abs that would give Rep. Aaron Schock a run for his money.

The answer ... you'll have to watch and find out!

Republican VP hopeful Paul Ryan should've thought twice before saying he's a fan of Rage Against the Machine -- because the band's bassist tells TMZ, it makes Paul look like a complete idiot.

Tim Commerford was out in Malibu this week when we asked about Paul's love for the notoriously left-wing group -- and Tim responded, "Clearly [Paul's] not smart to be admitting that."

He adds, "It seems like it's stupid for him to even bring it up, so he's obviously not that smart of a guy."

Tom Morello -- Rage's guitarist -- has already ripped Paul over his fandom, saying, Paul "is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades."

You'll recall, last time we spoke to Commerford he hinted at a new Rage album in the works. This time we asked if the new album was for real, and Commerford replied, "DEFINITELY ... maybe ... Anything is possible."

Thanks for clearing that up.

Not since, "Wanna wash these?" ... has Paul Ryan faced such a tough question: Could a terrorist ever become vice prez? We really hope the candidate (and his armed security) got the reference to "Homeland." 

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Campaign tip for Paul Ryan: skip the kitchen chores, and stick to cute baby photo-ops -- 'cause no one's gonna give ya a hard time about cleaning them properly. Unless ...

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The guy who runs the Ohio soup kitchen that Paul Ryan appeared at this weekend tells TMZ ... contrary to his earlier statement, Ryan DID get dirty with dirty dishes.

Brian Antal tells us ... the V.P. hopeful was only at the kitchen for 10 to 15 minutes and only interacted with one of their "clients."

Antal -- who wasn't at the soup kitchen at the time of the Ryan visit -- said his volunteers left some dirty dishes in the kitchen for Ryan to clean.

But when we asked him if the Ryan people had orchestrated the dish-cleaning stunt, Antal said, "No comment."

There is video floating around, showing Ryan giving a pan one scrub -- and that was the extent of the washing.

Veep wannabee Paul Ryan pulled a fast one at an empty soup kitchen, pretending to pitch in and wash dishes that were already clean ... this according to the President of the charity.

Brian J. Antal says Ryan and his wife showed up at the kitchen in Youngstown, Ohio, AFTER all of the food had been served and the patrons had left ... and the dishes, pots and pans were already washed.

Antal says he was not at the kitchen at the time of Ryan's visit -- but says if he was, Ryan would not have been allowed inside because the soup kitchen has a strict apolitical stance. Antal says Ryan's team convinced one of the kitchen volunteers to open the doors.

Antal says Ryan was there 15 minutes and it was just a shameless photo op, adding, "He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall."

We tried getting a comment from Ryan's camp, to no avail.

Now we know why Paul Ryan's ex-girlfriend was so tight-lipped yesterday when we asked her about the VP hopeful ... turns out she was indicted by the Feds back in 1999 and spent months in prison for committing wire fraud ... TMZ has learned.

Deneeta D. Pope -- who made headlines recently as Ryan's African-American GF in college -- was indicted by a Grand Jury in November 1999 for allegedly swindling her former employer -- Ernst & Young -- out of $77,000.

Pope pled guilty in 2001 to stealing a lesser amount, but admitted she inflated expense reports, fabricated receipts and turned in phony invoices. She then used a wire transfer to move the money from a bank in Delaware to a different account in Chicago.

Pope created the scam by claiming she attended an educational course for work.  Turns out ... the course didn't even exist.

Pope served 5 months in Federal Prison.

FYI -- Ryan dated Pope approximately 10 years before she was indicted. They met at Miami University of Ohio in the early 90's.

Paul Ryan's college sweetheart -- who happens to be black -- says she's a full-fledged Barack Obama supporter ... but she still can't help but cheer for the GOP's Vice Presidential candidate.

In case you didn't know ... Ryan has claimed he experienced racism because his sister-in-law is black ... and his own college girlfriend was black too.

Now, Ryan's 40-year-old college gf is speaking out -- her name's Deneeta Pope, and she tells the Daily Mail, "I am indeed a Democrat. That’s no secret. But although I have a different political association to Paul, I support him and wish him continued success."

As for the racism Ryan talked about -- Pope says she never saw it ... but adds, "Paul is a very nice guy, a kind guy and a family guy."

And if that's not enough to show he's still on great terms with his ex -- Pope says Ryan and his wife even attended Pope's wedding in May.

Well, at least we know Ryan's good at break-ups.

Oh yeah ... and Deneeta's really hot -- check out this video she did for her local bar method studio in Chicago. 

Paul Ryan missed a HUGE opportunity last night during his RNC speech -- by NOT showing off his rock hard physique ... at least according to Congressman Aaron Schock.

We caught up with Rep. Schock as he left an event for youth, sponsored by MSNBC's Chuck Todd, in Tampa yesterday -- and asked if the Republican VP nominee needs a fashion makeover.

As TMZ first reported ... Ryan works out religiously at the House gym, and we're told he's even hiding a six-pack ... just like his fellow Republican Schock.


Problem is Ryan tends to wear very boxy suits -- but Schock offered the VP-wannabe an easy 5 word solution: The suit makes the man.

While TMZ just uncovered this shirtless photo of buff Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan (left) -- President Barack Obama has been flaunting his chiseled Commander-in-Chief pecs and abs for several years now (right).

Question is ...

Paul Ryan looked damn good 6 years ago, and we're told he looks even better today -- shredded from P90X.  So shelve economic policy and crack open a 6-pack, 'cause we gotta ask ...