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duncan228
04-21-2009, 02:47 AM
Former Spur courts a healthy lifestyle (http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/Former_Spur_courts_a_healthy_lifestyle.html)
Jessica Belasco - Express-News

After a career that included being a two-time All-Star, making the most famous shot in San Antonio Spurs history, winning an NBA title and then being the first pro basketball player to return to the game after a kidney transplant, Sean Elliott met his match in the form of a faculty basketball game at his daughter’s school.

“For the next two weeks my knees hurt,” he says. “I was lying in bed, I was icing them.”

Although he still exercises regularly, Elliott, 41, concedes he’s not in the same shape he was during his days running up and down the court as a Spur. More than a decade of pro ball has left its mark on his joints, and he’s a little slower than he used to be.

Despite all that, Elliott is still committed to an active lifestyle — even if he’s now more likely to sweat his way through a session of power yoga than a basketball game.

While working for ESPN a year after he retired from the NBA in 2001, Elliott gained weight traveling four or five days a week and living on airport food. He knew he had to make a change.

Now working as a TV analyst for the Spurs, he still travels frequently, but he sticks to healthier foods and makes sure to get in a workout despite the hectic schedule.

“I am a lot more dedicated to exercise now,” he says. “I think I took it for granted as a player. When I got away from that, I realized I needed (exercise) to keep balanced. I need it more for mental well-being. When I don’t work out, I’m in a bad mood.”

Exercise (along with medication) also helps control his high blood pressure, which he has had since he was a teenager.

When he works out, Elliott likes to keep his body guessing. He lifts weights. He does Pilates. He hits golf balls onto a small green behind his house. He works out to kickboxing DVDs and strength workouts he records from FitTV. He does sandbag training, hoisting what looks like a duffel bag filled with shifting sand.

The large, mirrored workout room he had built in his North Central home is stocked with so many balls, bands and other equipment, he could open his own gym.

“I try to mix it up. I try not to get into the same type of routine,” he says.

Several times a week he also jumps into the pool, which he calls “one of my secret weapons.” The water is easy on his back and knees, but it provides a tough workout.

“I like to simulate dribbling the basketball as fast as I can in the water. Your triceps and biceps will definitely burn,” Elliott says. “Or I imitate Deion Sanders when he does those high kicks in the end zone.”

Elliott also sticks to a diet of fish, vegetables, pasta and chicken and enjoys fine wine. He doesn’t eat red meat.

It’s a far cry from his days as “the drive-through king” when he was playing ball, though he admits he still indulges in the occasional french fry.

It helps that he’s married to a registered dietitian, Claudia Zapata, an Express-News health columnist.

Or, as he calls her, “the food police.”

Still, he sometimes likes to break the rules.

“I get the salad with dressing on it, she gets it on the side,” he says. “Sometimes I just want the sauce on the chicken or on the fish, even though it’s a butter sauce.”

It’s been nearly 10 years since Elliott received the transplant from his brother after being diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a progressive kidney disease, and he must still take immune suppressants to keep his body from attacking his kidney.

“I take medication and I go in for blood tests,” he says. Otherwise, “I don’t really think about it.”

Elliott stresses the importance of listening to his body and resting when necessary.

These days, he rarely picks up a basketball, preferring golf with friends as his “new outlet for competitiveness.”

He says he can’t keep up with the Spurs players, and playing pickup games with friends is frustrating after years of pro ball.
And why not play with other retired pros?

“Because those guys are all broken down and beat up, too,” he says with a smile. “They’re in worse shape than I am.”


Sean Elliott basics

Born: Feb. 2, 1968
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Family: Married to Claudia Zapata; three children
Drafted: 1989, by the San Antonio Spurs
Retired: 2001; No. 32 jersey retired, 2005
Nickname: Ninja
Other facts: San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 2006; career points with the Spurs: 9,659

Mugen
04-21-2009, 03:03 AM
my guess is 5 posts....before...

freemeat
04-21-2009, 03:13 AM
I love Sean -- whenever I would go to a game at Staples, I made sure to sit in the front row on the players side (which is a lot easier when it's the Clippers). I got to talk to him a few times and have some cool autographs. He is -- by far -- the coolest celebrity I got to meet in my three years in Los Angeles. He's approachable and loves to talk to the fans.

duncan228
04-21-2009, 03:21 AM
He's approachable and loves to talk to the fans.

He really is wonderful. I asked him to sign for me pre game when he was heading through the tunnel, he smiled and said he would when he came back out. He came back about 10 minutes later, came right to me and signed. He was sweet and talkative.