Shaquille O’Neal is famously known as the most dominant basketball player the NBA has ever seen. This was because of his enormous size and strength.
In his prime, Shaq would bully his opponents, and there was nothing anybody seemed to be able to do to stop him. Yes, Shaq was strong. There was a reason why Shaq called himself Superman.
After retiring from basketball in 2011, Shaq started to put on a few extra pounds, but nothing too serious. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, everything changed.
Shaq, like everyone else, got stuck inside as we as a world tried to figure out how to combat this deadly virus. Like many other people, Shaq put on a lot of weight during this time.
In fact, Shaq is said to have reached 415 pounds during the pandemic. This didn’t sit well with Shaq, and he wanted to do something about it.
Shaq wanted to get back in shape enough that he could “go topless” and post a photo on Instagram for his 50th birthday. The goal Shaq had set for himself was to slim down to 350 pounds.
“The most challenging part about staying fit is – sometimes when you work as hard as I do, it gives you time to procrastinate and say, I’ll do it tomorrow,” Shaq said.
“Fitness goal is just to have a flat belly. Right now I’ve got a 4.9-pack. I’ll probably bring it up to an eight-pack by March.”
So, Shaq came up with the perfect workout routine to get him back into shape and healthy, most importantly. Shaq had a distinct program where he focused on different aspects every day of the week, with the final day being the day he posts that photo on Instagram.
Shaq worked hard for a while, no doubt, but for the last seven days, he shared his program on Instagram. This was likely to show his routine and for those to follow along if they liked.
Without further ado, here is Shaq’s workout routine.
Day 1
The first day of Shaq’s routine was boxing on a punching bag for 20 to 30 minutes. It’s no surprise Shaq uses boxing in his workout routine.
Shaq was bigger than basically every other player during his playing days, but he wasn’t satisfied. Shaq wanted to physically dominate his opponent every single game. He needed to keep that edge, and boxing certainly brings that out in you.
So, having a boxing routine makes sense for the Big Fella. The workout likely gave him that edge he needed to attack his workouts to help him get back into the shape he wanted to be in.
After his boxing workout, Shaq moved to the abs machine to get 10 minutes of work in. Next, Shaq performed tricep pushdowns before moving on to the bench press. Shaq finished his Day 1 workouts on the chest press machine.
Day 2
The second day of Shaq’s routine was all about cardio. Shaq rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes on different levels of resistance and at a medium pace.
After a 19-year NBA career, Shaq’s joints are understandably achy. It’s hard for him to perform long, intense workouts. Still, he was determined to get back into shape.
Shaq had some motivations that were enough to help drive anyone to achieve greatness. But first, he fell into a deep hole… more on this later.
Day 3
On the third day, Shaq started with a 10-minute workout on the abs machine. Afterward, Shaq moved onto the decline chest press machine. Once done, he moved on to the chest press machine.
Shaq finished his Day 3 workout by focusing on his biceps. The Big Aristotle used dumbbells and performed preacher curls. This type of workout focuses on the negative portion of every rep, which helps the biceps grow.
Day 4
Shaq’s fourth day of workouts involved cardio and leg workouts. Shaq performed for 30 minutes on the cross-trainer machine.
After his cross-trainer workout, Shaq performed work on the leg press machine. Shaq understands the importance of a full-body workout to get back into perfect shape.
Shaq also understands the meaning of being healthy, especially when getting older. This also includes being mentally healthy, something Shaq’s body transformation can help.
Back to what we mentioned earlier, Shaq fell into a deep hole emotionally. This occurred just before the pandemic hit. Shaq suffered tragedies to both his sister and former teammate, Kobe Bryant.
“My sister passed away before Kobe,” Shaq said. “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.”
These tragedies helped Shaq understand the meaning of life. After falling into a place where he’d eat and make overall bad health choices, Shaq was ready to make a change.
This is what drove Shaq to change his life around. Nothing was going to stop The Big Aristotle from achieving his goals.
Day 5
Day 5 was all about cardio. When it comes to losing weight and getting back into tip-top shape, nothing beats a cardio workout.
Shaq hopped back on his stationary bike and performed for 30 minutes. As mentioned earlier, Shaq’s joints are bad from playing basketball, and running on a treadmill can be painful.
“My least favorite part of working out is if I have to run on the treadmill,” Shaq said. “I can’t run anymore, and it’s sad! I used to be the greatest athlete ever, and now I have to walk on the treadmill! It’s so embarrassing in the gym when you see the young guys putting on the high speeds, and they got their pretty form… and I’m just on the treadmill, just walking. Sad! But I’m going to get it back.”
This is why Shaq prefers the stationary bike when he performs a cardio workout. A quick 30-minute workout was enough for Shaq on Day 5. The Big Fella kept it simple, not overdoing his workouts, as he continued his journey to reaching optimal health.
Day 6
The sixth day in Shaq’s workout routine was a mix of cardio and ab workouts. This time, Shaq performed 30 minutes on the stationary bike and another 30 minutes on the cross-trainer machine.
By taking it a little easier on Day 5 allowed Shaq to have the energy to up the tempo on his last workout day. After finishing his cardio workouts, Shaq moved to the abs machine.
Shaq used the ab machine for 10 minutes. It was Shaq’s goal to be able to take his shirt off with confidence, so focusing on his abs was a smart choice.
After his work on the ab machine, Shaq called it a day. He was now ready to showcase his body transformation on Day 7.
Day 7
The seventh day was when Shaq showed off his new physique on Instagram. Shaq clearly had more workouts during his entire body transformation workout period, but the above-mentioned workouts are the workouts Shaq had shared with all of us.
For all of us basketball fans and for everyone at Fadeaway World, we want to congratulate Shaq on his body transformation. It’s great that Shaq can feel comfortable in his own body again, and most importantly, it’s great to see Shaq getting back into a healthy lifestyle.
Keep up the excellent work, Shaquille O’Neal.
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