- Talk-Think-Shishir Ramavat
- 21 days are too short to break old habits, ingrained habits, hardened mental circuits. Only if there is continuous activity with great discipline and discipline for two and a half months at a time, the old mental structure is broken and a durable edifice of new habit is erected in its place.
Ankit Bayanpuria
'Ram Ram Bhai Sareyya Ne...'
Every video of Ankit Bayanpuriya starts like this. This Haryanvi phrase means: Brother, Ram Ram to everyone! Last Saturday we started talking about the fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuria whom Narendra Modi himself invited and made a video with for the promotion of his cleanliness campaign. This rural youth has made the mental-physical challenge '75 Hard', introduced by an American entrepreneur named Andy Frisella, famous in India.
Before moving on, let's recap what the '75 Hard' challenge is all about. The challenge involves doing these five activities for 75 consecutive days: (1) Exercising twice a day for about an hour - once indoors, once outdoors, (2) Drinking four liters of water a day, (3) Eating moderate and sattvic food daily. Take - No exercise, no cheat food, no alcohol at all, (4) take a selfie every day and (5) read ten pages of a spiritual, inspirational or other non-fiction book every day. If even one of these five rules is broken, start again from one.
The '75 Hard' challenge is more mental than physical. Here your fortitude, discipline and commitment are tested. If you successfully complete this 75-day challenge with complete sincerity, as the experience of hundreds-of-thousands of people says, you will be able to see such a tremendous change in yourself that others, okay, you yourself will be surprised. Basically, it is a process of getting closer to the best version of our personality. How many times have we heard that if we repeat a new activity for 21 days, it becomes a Habit. New activity means for example not smoking cigarettes, exercising daily, getting up at six in the morning etc. Is 21 days really enough to get used to something new? The answer is: No, not at all. We all have experienced that this 21 day theory is wrong. 21 days is too short to break old habits, ingrained habits, hardened mental circuits and create new ones. Andy Frisella has hit the 75 day mark. Only if the activity is done continuously for two and a half months with great discipline and discipline, the old mental structure will be broken and in its place a durable building of new habit will be formed.
29-year-old Ankit started exercising at the age of thirteen. Initially, he used to participate in mud wrestling. He has competed in competitions as a professional wrestler. The first hurdle in Ani's career as a wrestler came in 2018. He then developed a serious back ailment known as slipped disc. After recovering well, Ankit started wrestling again. Two years later, the injury occurred again. This time in the knee. A little break again. A third serious injury occurred in November 2022. This time Ankit's left shoulder was dislocated. Wrestling stopped again and physiotherapy sessions started. Recovery came, but not enough to wrestle again. So Ankit started exercising in her own way. Just then, he saw Andy Frisella's 75-Day Hard Challenge videos on social media. It occurred to me that I can do this here in Haryana as well. Ankit decided that I will also take up this challenge and keep making small videos everyday for 75 days and uploading them on Instagram.
Even before the '75 Hard' challenge, Ankit was making small comedy videos in Haryanvi language. At that time, he had about five thousand subscribers on YouTube. On June 28 this year, he started the '75 Hard' challenge, which ended on September 11. He started sharing small videos of his daily routine on Instagram from the very first day. As if a bomb exploded, Ankit's '75 Hard' videos exploded and went viral all over the country. Within a month, 27 lakh new people started following him. Probably no other social media influencer in India has made such tremendous strides so quickly. Many enthusiasts got inspired by watching Ankit's videos and they also took up the '75 Hard' challenge and started sharing their own exercise videos.
Ankit, who has an amazing physique, has become a complete vegetarian for the past one-two years. Earlier he used to eat eggs, but only occasionally. Ankit's body is natural. No injections of hormones, no short cuts. Ankit cannot afford all this. His poor parents have raised three children by working ten days a week. Earning daily and eating daily. Ankit's father lives the life of a laborer even today. Ankit has seen his father working hard since childhood. Ankit's eyes still fill with tears when talking about his father's struggle. Ankit started earning from an early age to make ends meet. Lifting heavy sheaves of grain, peeling fruits and vegetables on the kitchen floor during weddings, working in a confectionery shop, riding a bike for twelve hours a day as a Zomato delivery boy... He quit his job with Zomato a few months ago.
During the '75 Hard' challenge, Ankit used to wake up at five in the morning without an alarm. Breakfast: 3 to 4 figs, 10 to 14 raisins, 10 to 12 cashews and four walnuts, soaked the night before. With either a banana or an apple. Then indoor exercise in the company of cow-buffaloes in the manger of the house. Then make your own protein shake. Ankit named it - Badam Ragda. Take a desi style stone mason jar, put saibandi or gurbandi type of nuts in it, add poppy seeds, melon seeds, black pepper, pepper, cardamom, fennel, rose petals etc. and grind it. Strain and drink the mixture that is made in this way. Watch the video of making this almond ragada on YouTube. will have fun
Then two to three rotis soaked in a bowl of ghee, thick with wheat flour for lunch. Along with it, if there are vegetables in the house, vegetables, otherwise, chutney. Plus some salad and a kilo of yogurt. Ankit has a cow-buffalo at home so he gets pure milk-curd-ghee. Eat one or two feet or drink lemon juice during the day. A scoop of protein powder after an outdoor workout in the evening. Dinner same as lunch - two-three rotis soaked in ghee, vegetables or chutney and salad. Guzzling a liter of milk before going to bed at night. Ankit is a professional athlete and does a lot of exercise so that he can digest so much ghee and milk. People like us can't even think of following Ankit's diet plan! Even after completing the '75 Hard' challenge, Ankit did not break the sequence of sitting in Vajrasana and reading the Gita at night.
Ankit has rustic wisdom. There is so much innocence and simplicity in his personality that the other person immediately falls for him. The reason why Ankit has been able to appeal so strongly to millions through social media is because of his unapologetic personality. He is still in recovery period after shoulder treatment. He has become a social media star by accident, but he has to 'come back' as a wrestler and develop a career in the same field.
All the best, Ankit.
