BEFORE TIKTOK TRANSFORMATIONS and online training plans, there was Ghulam Mohammad Baksh – better known as The Great Gama. The legendary Indian wrestler was infamous for being undefeated in his 52-year career – alongside his mammoth physique and insane workout regime.
The man trained like a machine: wrestling up to 40 opponents a day – often back-to-back in intense bouts – as well as lifting 100kg concrete discs and swinging heavy maces for fun. But it was his intense daily training that has inspired fighters and athletes alike for more than a century since, including the iconic Bruce Lee.
As well a workout plan that’s the stuff of legend, stories around the wrestler’s nutritional habits are equally as eye-watering. Allegedly, Gama would consume up to 10 litres of milk day, alongside half a dozen chickens, half a litre of ghee and a pound of almonds. Not a diet we’d recommend.
No gym? No problem. Gama’s old-school, (super) high-volume bodyweight training is a humbling blueprint for building strength endurance and functional size.
The plan utilises unusual variations of the push-up and squat that were common at the time. Even if you don’t plan on hitting the insanely high rep count that the Great Gama was famed for, these tweaks might be the perfect way to shake up your routine and ignite new gains.
The Great Gama’s workout routine
According to historical accounts, Gama began training seriously at around age 10, under the guidance of his father and, later, other renowned wrestlers. After several years of progressively overloading his training and adapting to a huge amount of volume, Gama would allegedly perform up to 8,000 total reps, daily – including 5,000 reps of a squat variation, and 3,000 of a push-up variant.
Obviously, we don’t recommend you do the same – in fact we’d very surprised if you had the time. But, if you do have aspirations to get anywhere near this rep count, we’d advise that you follow the Great Gama’s method of gradually increasing your volume. Try starting with 50 push-ups and 100 squats each day for a week, and progressing from there.
Hindu Squats x 5,000 reps per day
The Hindu squat, or ‘bethak’, as Gama would have known it, is a dynamic bodyweight movement that builds lower-body strength, mobility, and endurance. Here’s how to perform it:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended in front.
- As you squat down, swing your arms back and lift your heels from the ground, keeping your back straight and knees tracking over toes.
- Then, drive up powerfully, swinging your arms forward. Repeat rhythmically.
This movement targets the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, while also improving ankle, knee, and hip mobility. Done at high reps, it also builds serious stamina and mental resilience – no weights required, just grit and gravity.
Hindu push-up x 3,000 reps per day
The Hindu push-up, or ‘dand’, is a flowing, full-body movement that builds upper body strength, shoulder mobility and core stability.
- Start in a downward dog position with hips high and arms extended.
- Lower your chest in an arcing motion between your hands, keeping elbows close, then sweep your chest forward and up into an upward-facing position with hips low.
- Reverse the motion to return. Each rep should be smooth and controlled.
This targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, upper back, core, and even the spine and hips. High rep sets of dands develop not just strength, but coordination, mobility and conditioning, as well as shoulder stability.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
Related:
This 3,000-rep workout built the chiselled Hollywood physiques of the ’60s
