NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has got himself into great shape of late after dropping more than 30lbs and boasting a six-pack for the first time in decades
Shaquille O’Neal opened up about his remarkable body transformation, claiming to have achieved a six-pack for the first time in almost thirty years.
The NBA icon is currently starring in the new Netflix documentary series ‘Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal’. This new series follows his journey, alongside fellow Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, to revive Reebok’s basketball division.
The president of basketball at Reebok and a new ESPN analyst, O’Neal is no stranger to turning fortunes around. After retiring from basketball in 2011, he found himself weighing over 23 stone (322lbs) a decade later, prompting him to embark on a fitness journey.
O’Neal noted that a series of personal tragedies in 2020, including the loss of his sister Ayesha Harrison-Jex and former Los Angeles Lakers team-mate Kobe Bryant, led him to seek comfort in food.
“My sister passed away before Kobe,” he told Men’s Journal. “And then Kobe passed away and then I had 28 other people pass away.
“[2020] was a really bad year and I didn’t want to do anything. So, when you don’t want to do anything, but you need to stay out of trouble, there’s two things you can do: eat and Netflix.”
This difficult period marked a turning point for O’Neal, who has since worked hard to transform his physique and achieve his impressive six-pack. In 2021, Shaq managed to leave behind his habit of indulging in late-night snacks, adopting healthier eating habits and a consistent exercise regime instead.
The impetus for this life-changing shift came unexpectedly via social media. “I saw this 70-year-old guy on there, and he had muscles everywhere. So I just decided to switch it up,” O’Neal added.
The basketball icon soon began to see impressive results and shared insights into the diet contributing to his transformed body. “I’ve been doing this for six months and just eating fruit, protein shakes, salads, fish, chicken and asparagus or other vegetables,” O’Neal said.
“Very small portions and eating that everyday has helped me lose 25-30 pounds. I started to see stuff that I haven’t seen in 20 to 30 years-like a six pack. And I haven’t had one of those since I was on the 2006 Miami Heat.
“Now I’ve been more active, I sleep through the night. I have more energy and I just want to work out all the time.”
Considering O’Neal’s sustained state of peak fitness, it is somewhat surprising to learn about his more relaxed routine. According to the man himself, although he exercises twice daily, he caps his workouts at just an hour each day.
“I do 20 minutes of cardio, I’ll do some chest, bis, tris, sit-ups, back and then I’m gone, he said. ” he added. “30-45 minutes a day, plus cardio, so about an hour a day. I still got the bad hips and the achy joints, so I can’t be jumping and running around. Next thing I’ll try is jogging.”
Despite being 53 years old and juggling family commitments, business endeavours and his career as a basketball analyst, O’Neal appears to have maintained this routine. His Netflix show, ‘Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal’, started streaming earlier this month.