Ankit Baiyanpuria

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ankit Baiyanpuria

• Ankit Baiyanpuria is an Indian fitness influencer who became popular for promoting traditional Indian workout styles. In 2023, he took on the 75 Hard Challenge.

• After finishing his formal education, he became a social media influencer.

  

• He initially uploaded Haryanvi prank/comedy videos on TikTok and  his YouTube channel called ‘Haryanvi Khagad’; however, following the Covid-19 lockdown, he shifted his focus to fitness, particularly Indian diets and workouts and rebranded his channel as ‘Ankit Baiyanpuria.’ His workout includes traditional wrestling with exercises like sapate (Hindu wrestling burpees), rope climbing, and running. He receives training in his village from his coach (guru), Krishan Pahalwan.

  

• In an interview with Muscle Blaze, Ankit revealed that his caste/ surname ‘Baiyanpuria’ is due to Dangal or wrestling tradition. The player adopts the name of their village because once someone joins the wrestling community, they are considered distinct from the village community. The identity is separate from any custom, caste, or religion. They are just known as ‘pehalwan.’

• He received the silver play button from YouTube in June 2023 for reaching 100 thousand subscribers. ^[5]YouTube – Ankit Baiyanpuria His Instagram account ‘Ankit Baiyanpuria’ was followed by 4.5 million followers in August 2023. ^[6]Instagram – Ankit Baiyanpuria

  

• Ankit has faced many career-threatening injuries during wrestling matches. In a wrestling match in 2018 in Himachal Pradesh, he suffered a slip disc injury due to which he went on bedrest for a few months. After recovering from that injury, he fought in a University-level match in which he won the silver medal but he injured his knee due to which he again had to take rest to heal. In April 2022, he injured the rotator cuffs of his shoulder and was advised a bed rest of 3 months. His weight increased from 86 kgs to 95 kgs, and he came to know about the 75 Hard Challenge during that recovery period. He said in an interview in September 2023 that he had not wrestled for more than a year due to his injuries.

  

• On 28 June 2023, Ankit Baiyanpuria undertook the 75 Hard Challenge, a mental fitness and self-improvement regimen created by American entrepreneur and author Andy Frisella in 2020. He decided to do the challenge and record it so that he could influence and motivate other people.

• The 75 Hard challenge involves five daily tasks which consist of taking a daily progress selfie, adhering to a strict diet plan that excludes alcohol and cheat meals, consuming 1 gallon (4 litres) of water, reading 10 pages of a non-fiction book (usually self-help or educational), and engaging in two workout sessions lasting 45 minutes each, with one of these workouts must be done outdoors, regardless of the weather conditions. ^[7]YouTube – Ankit Baiyanpuria

• If any of these tasks are missed, participants have to restart the challenge from Day 1. It’s estimated that only around 1% of participants have completed it. In a video, Ankit said that he wanted to increase his mental toughness by this challenge. He also said in an interview that quitting sugar was the hardest part of the challenge for him.

• He often talks about the Hindu scriptures like Bhagavad Gita and Shiv Puran, in his workout videos because he feels a sense of peace and wants his viewers to go through the same experience. This is also a differentiating factor of his videos from other fitness influencers in the country.

• He started reading the Bhagavad Gita after it was gifted by a friend. The reason he chose the Gita as his book of choice in the challenge was because he thought it was a tough book to read and there was no better time than to read it in the challenge itself. He said in an interview that the best concept he learnt from reading Gita was Stoicism which means that a person should always stay the same irrespective of conditions.

• He is a huge follower of Lord Shiva and even mentions him in every video. When he had around 10,000 subscribers, he said that he would go to Rishikesh whenever he would gain multiples of 10,000 subscribers. After that, his followers grew so fast that he had to visit Rishikesh many times, sometimes twice a week. He also gives all the onus of his growth on social media to Lord Shiva and reading Hindu scriptures.

  

• He has been nicknamed as a ‘Man with No Haters.’

• He likes to focus on strength, endurance, and stamina and not just bodybuilding. In an interview, he said that his favourite kind of exercise is where there are explosive movements. He also lifts tyres, cylinders, and wood during his workouts. He also runs around  5 km on a daily basis.

  

• Ankit has uploaded many videos of lifting heavy weights in the gym. His highest deadlift is 240 kg. He squats 220 kg and bench presses 200 kg with ease.

• He has uploaded many videos showing public reaction to his workouts in public places including Rishikesh and Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh.

• Although he is a pure vegetarian, he used to eat eggs occasionally, especially during the winter season; however, he has further reduced the intake and has not consumed it for more than a year by September 2023.

• He eats dry fruits first thing in the morning. This includes 2-4 figs, 10-15 foxnuts, 10-12 cashews, and 4 walnuts. He soaks all of them in water overnight. He also consumes a banana or an apple to supplement them but it depends on the availability of the fruit; however, he is very particular about the dry fruits. After consuming this, he works out.

• He drinks an almond drink (badam ragda) after his workout with particular kinds of almonds (sonagiri and gurbandi giri) in it. It also includes watermelon seeds, fennel, black pepper, poppy seeds, and rose petals. He usually mixed some sweetener in it but during the 75 Hard challenge, he used to drink it plain.

• His favourite chutney is Kachri ki chutney which he tries to include in every single meal.

• He takes a small bowl of ghee with his meals every day.

• One kilogram of curd is mandatory for him every single day. He consumes one kilogram of milk after his dinner and before sleeping.

• After his evening workout, he takes one scoop of whey protein before his dinner.

• In the whole day, he consumes about 6-8 chapatis along with 2-3 bowls of vegetables and two servings of salad.

• In an interview, Ankit disclosed that although he was interested in studying, he became interested in wrestling as his father often took him to wrestling bouts (dangals), and in 2008, a wrestler from his village named Krishan won a medal in the Junior Asia Tournament, hence he started going to Akhara in 9th standard.

• Ankit wakes up at 5 a.m. every single day despite whatever time he sleeps.

• For his recovery from workouts, he takes ice baths and swims in local village streams.

• During his 75 Hard challenge, he was also following Brahmacharya which is a Hindu form of yoga where one needs to follow abstinence from sexual intercourse or sexual continence. According to Ankit, it helped him stabilize his mind even more. He learned this during traditional wrestling practice.

• He wanted to enter the MMA and even got an offer for training in the USA; however, he then had a shoulder and knee injury while wrestling due to which he had to give up the offer. He has also learned boxing as a hobby.

  

• The famous podcaster and social media influencer Ranveer Allahbadia gifted a Hindi version of his favourite book, The Autography of a Yogi, to Ankit in the middle of his podcast, The Ranveer Show. Ranveer read this book after Virat Kohli, his biggest influencer, commented that this book changed his life. The book is amongst Ranveer’s personal collection and he even said that he would only give it to someone that he feels is special.

• Ankit revealed during an interview that he never takes any cheat meals. He only eats kheer or churma occasionally which is also a great source of healthy fats and contains a lot of vitamins in the form of dry fruits, ghee, and milk. Ankit also cooks churma sometimes as it is one of his favourite sweet dishes.

• He worked as a labourer, lifting rice bags at a local factory, and confectioner before joining Zomato as a delivery boy because of an injury during his wrestling training. He later worked at a supplement store for a monthly salary of Rs 9000 and later quit in August 2023.

• Ankit made his video debut with the song ‘Chore Haryana Aale’ with Elvish Yadav on October 8, 2023.

• Gurugram’s Bull Nutrition Cafe has signed Ankit Baiyanpuria as its official athlete. He promotes products from the MuscleBlaze brand through his videos as well.

  

• Ankit Baiyanpuria has an affection for animals and has a cat and a dog.
  

  

  

• He has an interest in firearms and has a pistol.

  

• In an interview, he mentioned that his father is his idol, and he learned the habit of working hard from his father. Ankit has helped his father on a few occasions by working as a labourer.

• He also gives personal training to his clients.

• Ankit likes to do adventure activities, particularly rafting.

• During his early teenage years, he has been clicked many times with a hookah.

  

• Ankit Baiyanpuria strictly follows the Indian traditional vegetarian diet that includes milk, almonds, and ghee (clarified butter). He also includes Badam Ragda, a recovery drink made by pressing almonds, into his diet. ^[8]YouTube – Ankit Baiyanpuria

• Various memes were created by editing videos of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and popular characters from the Indian entertainment industry, such as Jethalal, with Ankit’s dubbed voice when he was doing the 75 Hard Challenge.

• In August 2023, there were speculations that Ankit Baiyanpuria might make an appearance in an episode of the 19th season of MTV Roadies.

• A day before Gandhi Jayanti, the bodybuilder took part in the ‘Shramdaan for cleanliness’ programme with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign. Both posted about this event on their respective X accounts (formerly Twitter).

• Here’s an interesting video about Ankit Baiyanpuria’s biography: