Popular actor Will Smith looks strong in his new Instagram post. In the caption he said that he felt “real confident” in his fitnes, confident enough, it seems, to run a 5K in 100-Fahrenheit heat.
“Damn near WRECKED me,” the actor joked in the caption of the photo, in which he shows off his jacked arms and shoulders.
Prior to the controversial slapping incident at the Oscars, Smith’s fitness journey was one of his top priorities and the main thing he was posting about on social media: in May 2021, he shared a shirtless photo of his belly, saying that he was in the “worst shape” of his life.
Smith had put on weight and got, in his own words, “thicky-woo-woo” to play Venus and Serena Williams’ father in the tennis movie King Richard, and then almost immediately went into lockdown, where he, like many others, acquired his “Covid body.”
After sharing his self-proclaimed dad bod online for accountability purposes, Smith then resolved to change that, and embarked on a mission to get as fit as possible.
He has also launched his own athleisure clothing line (named Bel-Air Athletics, after his iconic Fresh Prince role), Smith hit the gym and documented every step of the process, going “back to square one” and working with trainer Aaron Ferguson to learn the best practice for how to train safely in his fifties.
For me, I’m a performer, so the cameras act like my sponsor,” he said at the time. “They keep me accountable, when I know the world is going to see it, it’s like the greatest peer pressure there is. I’m not going to fail if it’s on camera.”
He did difficult workouts with the goal of losing 20 pounds in 20 weeks. Along the way he trained with NFL quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and even inspired some of his famous friends including Dr. Dre, Anthony Anderson and Marlon Wayans to join him in the “Big Willie Challenge.”
