Indian Strongmen Turned Bouncers

One of my trainees pointed this article out to me:

Old India’s Village of Warriors Becomes Birthplace of Bouncers (New York Times)

The article talks about the strongmen of Fatehpur Beri, a village on the outskirts of Dehli, India.

India has long been famous extraordinary wrestlers, including some exceptionally large and strong ones. The workouts of those wrestlers were heavy on the bodyweight exercises - squats and a pushup variant - and on high reps - the great Gama is said to have done several thousand of each every day. The style is sometimes known as kalaripayit, after the dirt-filled pits in which they train.

You can sketches of their diet (vegetarian, centered on protein and featuring dried fruit, butter, and milk) and training (grappling in a dirt pit) and a few pictures of the size and powerful builds that result from it. It's also a glimpse into what it takes to get there - years of constant training, a nutritious diet, and little or nothing in the way of health-damaging vices. While the article isn't training centered, you can see where such training has gotten them.