Actor Ankit Raizada, known for his impactful performances in popular television shows like Advocate Anjali Awasthi and Shehzaadi… Hai Tu Dil Ki, opened up about his fitness journey, training habits, and love for sports on the occasion of National Sports Day.
While many sports fans dream of stepping onto the field, Ankit prefers to keep his highest-adrenaline obsessions strictly on the screen. “I’m deeply obsessed with watching MMA and combat sports,” he shared. “I can sit and analyse fights for hours—the sheer technique, strategic depth, and mental resilience completely fascinate me. But if you were to ask me to actually step into the cage with a professional fighter, I’d come to the quick realisation that watching comfortably from my sofa is much safer!”
Beyond combat sports, Ankit harbours a desire for a vastly different athletic discipline. When asked about a sport he secretly wishes he could excel in professionally, he pointed to the water. “Definitely competitive swimming. I have a profound love for being in the water; there’s an incredible sense of focus and calm that comes with it. I sometimes wish I had undergone rigorous training from a young age so I could have competed at a professional level.”
Every actor’s fitness journey has a pivotal moment, and for Ankit, it arrived right at the beginning of his career while working alongside dedicated industry peers. “When I started on Jodha Akbar, I was surrounded by co-stars like Rajat Tokas, Parag Tyagi, and Kunal Bhatia,” he recalled. “Their extraordinary physical discipline and relentless commitment to training truly inspired me to take fitness seriously. Observing their work ethic made me realise that staying in peak shape isn’t merely about aesthetics—it’s rooted in daily discipline and unyielding consistency.”
If allowed to swap workout routines with any elite athlete for a single week, Ankit wouldn’t hesitate to test his limits in high-intensity combat conditioning. “I would choose a professional MMA fighter in a heartbeat,” he noted. “I’d love to immerse myself in the gruelling reality of their training week—experiencing that explosive blend of functional strength, endurance, speed, and tactical combat work. It would push me far beyond my comfort zone.”
Preparing for physically demanding roles often requires rigorous conditioning, but Ankit focuses on sustainable habits that seamlessly integrate into his life. “One major takeaway from preparing for intense roles is that steady consistency always outweighs short bursts of extreme effort,” he explained. “I make it a point to keep strength training and conditioning core parts of my daily routine. Boxing, in particular, is something I genuinely enjoy, so it never feels like a chore or just another workout.”
In industries defined by high stakes and constant scrutiny, maintaining mental resilience is key to longevity. Addressing how he handles tough days and performance pressure, Ankit emphasised, “I make a conscious effort never to carry yesterday’s setbacks into today. Rejection and difficult days are inherent to both acting and sports, and you can’t allow a single outcome to define your worth. I give myself space to process it, reset, and remind myself why I embarked on this journey in the first place. For me, the ultimate goal is personal mastery rather than trying to prove anyone wrong.”
Although sports weren’t the central focus of his upbringing, fitness quickly evolved into an essential pillar of his daily lifestyle as an actor. “My commitment to fitness deepened significantly when I began acting,” Ankit reflected. “Over time, I recognised that being fit goes far beyond looking the part on screen. It transforms your everyday quality of life—giving you sustainable energy, stamina, and strength to handle daily physical demands with ease. That realisation turned fitness from a job requirement into a way of life, where I can genuinely enjoy activities like boxing, MMA, and swimming.”
