Shaquille O’Neal is a gigantic figure, often using his size and physicality to produce amusement. Between his well-known stature, legendary basketball career and ever-present nature in the business world, Shaq is all over the place, and he is notable for his sometimes embellished stories. With that the backdrop, Shaq recently spoke with Men’s Health and, as always, he was quite candid.
While the entire interview is worth a read, Shaq revealed that his weight “crept up to around 415 pounds” during stay-at-home orders derived from the global pandemic. However, he indicated that he has already dropped as many as 50 pounds from his weight peak, and the piece outlines a training regimen that would improve the condition of anyone.
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.
It wouldn’t be a Shaq interview if he didn’t take a shot at Charles Barkley, as the two often go back and forth on TNT’s Inside The NBA. Beyond that, though, it is good news that Shaq is getting back into shape, and his 50th birthday is apparently a driving force.
Shaq will turn 50 in March, reminding many basketball fans of their own mortality in the process. Still, one of the gargantuan figures of the sports world is trimming up, and he’s still having fun in the process.