Make It Or Break It

This week’s [optional] theme for the Fit Dish link up (hosted by Jill Conyers @ JillConyers.com, & Jessica Joy @ TheFitSwitch.org) is…Movie Scenes That Inspire Your Fitness!

It’s been a while since I’ve watched a movie, but…TV shows are loosely related, right?!

Lemme introduce you to one of my guilty pleasures: Make It Or Break It, a show about a group of teenage Olympic hopefuls that aired on ABC Family for 3 seasons from 2009-2012.

For those of you who don’t know, gymnastics is the only sport I ever watch in the Olympics ever (save for the occasional MMA fight!). I started and ended my gymnastics career in high school, and it’s still the only thing I’ve ever completely and utterly sucked at that I still absolutely loved.

I forgot why I was pouting in this, but…it’s probably because I was hungry.

 When I first started watching the show, I think it wanted viewers to root for Emily Kmetko. As the newcomer to the gym, she had an inspiring back story that really initially made you want her to succeed, but as the series progressed and her constant negativity and bad decisions grated at my nerves, I defaulted to Payson Keeler as my favorite character, and forever shall she stay there!

Her character embodied pretty much all the traits and characteristics that I find important/hope to possess.

What I admired most about Payson, right from the very start, was how dedicated she was. Of all the gymnasts portrayed in the series, she was the most mature, persistent and grounded, refusing to let anything or anyone distract her from her dreams. She often acted as the voice of reason, and was the one that the others would look to as a leader.

In gymnastics, although you have a team, it’s still very much an individualistic sport. Despite this, she inspired her teammates to work hard to be the best they could be.

Simply put, she’s a badass.

(If you’re planning on ever watching the series, here’s my warning that SPOILERS are up ahead.)

I was never, ever considered anywhere close to an elite-level gymnast (my claims to fame were the scorpion pose on the beam, a front handspring on the vault, and lots of back walkovers on floor), but I could relate to her in a lot of ways.

In the series, she falls off the uneven bars during a competition and fractures her spine, putting what looks like a permanent end to her dreams of ever training again, let alone winning gold at the Olympics. (I accidentally flipped off the uneven bars at my very last competition and landed on my neck, so I kindasorta know the feel. Bars are still the bane of my existence.)

Injuries can be painstakingly difficult to come back from, and I know that with some, you never really can. Having all that hard work and dedication dashed to pieces and the prospect of never being able to go after your dreams could very understandably sink anyone into depression, especially when it’s pretty much all you’ve ever lived for. I’m glad they wrote her story the way they did. She’s only human, but she’s also a fighter, and I found that very inspiring. <3

She learns to face her fears.

As a result of her injury, Payson is forced to, in a sense, relearn everything after her surgery because of the changes that took place during her recovery. She’s always identified herself as a “power gymnast,” and, like me, was completely uncomfortable with exploring anything in the realms of grace and femininity.

I loved watching her grow as a character, especially when she realized that the idea of who she thought she had to be in order to succeed wasn’t something that had to be set in stone. She could be powerful and beautiful, graceful and strong.

It might be harder to tell now, but I’ve been a tomboy for most of my life. (Full disclosure: Although I’m completely cool with them now, I was actually pretty upset/ashamed when my boobs first decided to appear.) Grace, beauty, and femininity are words that I would never associate with myself. If anything, I shunned it. I actually first got into pole dancing because it looked like vertical gymnastics to me, and gymnastics was something that I very desperately missed.

The added bonuses from taking that up were that I also learned to be comfortable in my own skin, to love who I was, and to know that I had it within me to be exhibit strength and beauty–that it didn’t have to be one or the other.

There were definitely characters I wanted to punch out, but at the end of the day, Make It Or Break It did a great job of portraying a lot of different issues that athletes face. It also shows you just how much of a difference caring about someone and providing them with support and encouragement can make. <3 Due in part to her awesome coach, Payson continues to stay strong, refuses to give up, and sets out to prove that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

Through it all, she manages to retain her core values and beliefs, be it her fierce loyalty to her family and friends, or her drive to accomplish her dreams of getting an individual gold medal at the Olympics.

As luck would have it, ABC Family decided to murder the series right before they got to the Olympics, so I am forever bitter, but in my heart, I really hope she won. <3

Ayla Kell is the actress that played Payson Keeler; she actually studied ballet from a young age and danced with the American Ballet Theater! :]!

There were a ton of songs that I really loved from the series; these are some of my favorites!

• Superchick – Beauty From Pain
• Superchick – Alive
• Caitlyn Smith – Crushed and Created
• Joanna Pacciti – Watch Me Shine
• Superchick – One More
• Make It Or Break It – Finally Free
• Paul Freeman – Tightrope

Click the image to read my other Dish The Fit posts! :]