Shaquille O’Neal is known as one of the most dominant big men to have ever played the game. He is known as one of the strongest and biggest centers ever, and his size and strength definitely played a big part in his success.
When a player has a bigger build, it is often easier for them to put on weight. It seems as though that has been the case for Shaquille O’Neal recently. In an interview with Jewel Wicker of Men’s Health, O’Neal revealed that “his weight crept up to around 415 pounds” during the pandemic, but the article also indicated that he “is already down 50 pounds”.
The Big Aristotle is already down 50 pounds, and won’t stop until he has 8-pack abs.
Speaking of energy, Shaq’s been burning serious calories lately in his home gym. During the pandemic, his weight crept up to around 415 pounds. (His playing weight was 325.) He typically trains four days a week now for about an hour, blasting through 20 minutes of cardio and banging out 40 minutes of strength work. He wants to slim down to 350 pounds and be ripped enough to “go topless” and post an Instagram thirst trap for his 50th birthday in March. His fitness goal, he elaborates, is to make sure his stomach doesn’t hang over his belt. He doesn’t want to develop the dreaded “OTBB,” or “over-the-belt Barkley,” as he puts it. (This, of course, is a reference to his friend and Inside the NBA colleague Charles Barkley. The two regularly riff with each other on many topics, including their weight.)
Hearing about Shaquille O’Neal taking care of his health is certainly inspiring. A lot of people have gained weight during the pandemic, and O’Neal was among them. However, it is clear that he wants to improve his fitness, and it’ll certainly be interesting to see if he can “be ripped enough” for that topless photo he wants to take.
Shaquille O’Neal was known for being out of shape at times during his playing career, but it seems as though he is taking working out and conditioning seriously in his post-playing days. Hopefully, we see O’Neal achieve his fitness goal of slimming down to 350 pounds.
