Well, that was fast! Nope, it didn’t take long for our man Shaq to get himself back to the gym, to get started on his full-on recovery from recent hip surgery and to work on his goal of getting into his best shape ever this year.
O’Neal has already posted a video of himself using weight machines at the gym…and it’s only been a week since he underwent restorative hip surgery! The video clip posted in Instagram includes a talk from boxer Caleb Plant, who can be heard saying “bout to get my game back all you old dudes that hoop in @24hrfitness @lafitness @lifetimefitness i’m coming for yall.”
Now it’s a sure thing that O’Neal is not going to be back on court – or doing else super-strenuous anytime soon. In the video, the 51-year old Shaq can be seen using a crutch to move between pieces of gym workout equipment. Shaq shows off some of his work on an arm-press machine.
Inspirational? Yeah, a bit. Actor Jamie Foxx added a comment below the video: “Bro, this s— almost made me cry.”
Shaq had been talking earlier this year about getting back on track with his weight loss and muscle-gain mission. That included a big interview with PEOPLE Magazine, where O’Neal said: “I just had to take a couple weeks off because I had to get this hip surgery, but I’m going to jump back on. So hopefully this summer, you’ll see a couple billboards of me with my shirt off.”
He’s already making great progress. Before the surgery, Shaq says he’d already lost about 40 pounds… but says he’s still about 20 pounds away from reaching his “ultimate” goal weight.
Pretty sure O’Neal is going to be getting some good support in his weight loss mission. We all know the big man is a commercial spokesman and brand ambassador for many different products and services. One of those is a company called Novex Biotech, which produces men’s performance supplements.
As we said, it’s been a little over a week since O’Neal had the surgery. Shaq sent a message of gratitude to all those that sent him love and encouragement: “To all the people who are worried and concerned. first off, let me say thank you.” The he added a little humor: “And lastly no need to worry, just had to get some BBL WORK AKA #hipreplacement. Thanks and love you all. but no need to worry and yes I’m fine.”
For those who don’t know, “BBL” is short for “Brazilian Butt Lift.” From the website of the Cleveland Clinic: What is a Brazilian butt lift? A Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is a procedure that improves (augments) the look of your buttocks in addition to removing fat from other parts of your body (liposuction). However, a Brazilian butt lift isn’t a traditional “lift” procedure like a facelift or breast lift despite its name.
Pretty sure the big man was just joking! At least we hope so…