Shaquille O’Neal jokes that he used Charles Barkley’s physique as motivation to lose weight
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‘I had that retirement physique of Charles Barkley’: Shaquille O’Neal jokes that he used his Inside the NBA colleague’s physique as motivation to go from 401 pounds to 365… and now the Lakers legend, 50, has six pack abs
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Shaquille O’Neal prefers sexiness over Charles Barkley’s “retirement body.”
The retired Los Angeles Lakers legend recently posted photos of his shirtless self to Instagram, revealing the formation of six-pack abs on O’Neal’s massive torso.
O’Neal, who has famously struggled with weight issues both before and after his retirement in 2011, was asked about his motivation on Logan Paul’s podcast.
“I like to create crazy motivation,” Shaq said. “I looked at myself and I had that Charles Barkley retirement body.
“I didn’t want to put my stomach over the belt anymore,” he continued. “So I was like, ‘Let me go ahead and get slim.’ Then [picture] went viral, now I have to make it happen.
“I weighed 401 pounds. Now I’m 365. I’m trying to bring it down to 345. I want to have muscle all over and I want to do an underwear ad with my sons [for] Fruit of the Loom, honey.’
Shaq concluded his answer by saying that he “wants to become a sex symbol.”
Shaquille O’Neal joked that Charles Barkley’s motivation was to lose weight, from 401 pounds to 365, and develop six-pack abs along the way
O’Neal, who has famously struggled with weight issues both before and after his retirement in 2011, was asked about his motivation on Logan Paul’s podcast. “I like to create crazy motivation,” Shaq said. “I looked at myself and I had that Charles Barkley pension organ (left, right). “I didn’t want to put my stomach over the belt anymore,” he continued. “So I was like, ‘Let me go ahead and get slim.’ Then [picture] went viral, now I have to make it happen’
Curt Gowdy Transformative Media Award winner Charley Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal pose for a portrait at the Class of 2020 Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala as part of the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony on May 14, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut
The workouts weren’t too complicated, the 50-year-old co-host of TNT’s Inside the NBA told GQ in March.
“Just cardio — 30-40 minutes — then chest, arms, biceps, triceps,” O’Neal said. ‘A simple old man workout. I can’t do all that CrossFit stuff.”
O’Neal has focused more on his health since he turned 50, saying his doctor scared him by diagnosing him with sleep apnea.
O’Neal also complained that he was forced to take too many painkillers, although he insists he was not addicted.
“Some days when I couldn’t move, I only pooped one or two, just to get me going,” he said. “But I’m done with that now,” O’Neal said. “I really needed to be checked out. When they hit you with that three-letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes things.’
Barkley (left) and O’Neal (right) were both thinner during their SEC days at Auburn and LSU