“Get Fit or Die Tryin”

Hey… every now and then I like to go into my movie collection and watch movies I’ve watched before just to past the time. I don’t care how many times you watch the same movie you can always pick up on something you didn’t catch the first time. Well… the other night I watched “Get Rich or Die Tryin” with 50 cent. I love this movie! There is one particular scene which always stands out when I watch it.

50 cent aka Curtis Jackson gets shot as he is going back to his car. The shooter ends up shooting him several times and the final shot ends up going into 50’s jaw. 50 recovers from the gun shot wounds only to have his jaw wired shut. In addition to having  his jaw wired shut, he now has to depend on prescription meds to stop the pain from his gunshot wounds. The scene begins when his girlfriend asks him, “ Is this it… this place, this life”. She then calls him weak and tells him he’s given up. A few minutes pass and then you see the change in 50 cent. He goes to the kitchen and begins to crush the prescriptions and then throws them down the sink! The movie then starts to show him exercising to get back into shape. In the beginning, he can hardly run then he progresses to running and even doing pull ups. This movie inspires me everytime I watch it. It leaves me with two messages when I watch it:

1.    Setbacks happen – How you react to those setbacks will determine if you succeed in fitness or life in general. I have seen many people start diet and exercise programs only to become “weak” and accept that who they are now is all they will ever be. If you have a setback, gather yourself and get up and keep going. Setbacks are temporary… quitting is eternal.

2.    Exercise is progression – Don’t expect to go out on your first day and run two miles. It ain’t gonna happen! Many people get frustrated when they can’t do all the exercises they see in the latest fitness magazine or on a dvd and they give up. You have to stick with it and progress within each session. Remember… the people you see in magazines or on dvds have been doing those exercises for years and chances are they couldn’t do them the first time they tried. Set a goal for yourself to lift more weight or hold a pose longer than you did during the last session, never ever get discouraged. I am willing to bet within a few sessions you will get to the point where you can do the routine.

Until next time, “ Get Fit or Die Tryin”! See you on the lean side…Dee

Darren McDuffie
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Nutrition Education and Weight Management Specialist