Grant’s Health Tips

Originally printed in the Summer 2011 issue of ChopChop, The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families.

Grant Hill is a seven-time NBA all-star basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. Before he played for the Suns, he played for the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic after playing at Duke University and winning back-to-back NCAA Championships. As an athlete, Grant knows how important it is to eat healthy and stay active. Without eating well, Grant wouldn’t have the energy to be the great athlete he is. Grant eats a lot of fruits and vegetables, and only drinks water. Off the court, Grant is a dad and a husband and likes to cook with his daughters Myla and Lael. Myla interviewed her dad to get the inside scoop on what he likes to eat.

MYLA: My name is Myla. I am nine years old and I am going to interview my dad, Grant Hill. So, Grant Hill, what is your favorite food?
GRANT: My favorite food of all time is probably fish. I like salmon and sea bass.

MYLA: What fish do you not like?
GRANT: I don’t like tuna fish.

MYLA: Just like me.
GRANT: Just like you. High five.

MYLA: What other sports do you like besides basketball?
GRANT: I like to watch football. I like to watch my daughter play softball. I used to play soccer so I was a big fan of soccer—I enjoyed playing and watching soccer. You know, as an athlete I enjoy and appreciate all sports. I like tennis. So I really like them all. Especially the ones I can go out there and play myself. Any more questions, Miss Myla?

MYLA: How often do you train?
GRANT: Great question. I like to train 5 or 6 days a week, then take a day off. I like to sweat and do some sort of activity every day, either lifting or running or riding a bike. I like to get exercise, as you know.

MYLA: Who was your favorite athlete when growing up?
GRANT: Magic Johnson. Dr. J, who played basketball long before you were born. And then my father, who is your grandfather…

MYLA: Who is the awesomest.
GRANT: He was the awesomest, yes. He played football for the Cowboys and the Redskins. He was by far my favorite athlete growing up. Who is your favorite athlete?

MYLA: Hmmm…
GRANT: Don’t answer. Don’t answer.

MYLA: What is your favorite dessert, Mr. Hill?
GRANT: My favorite dessert is vanilla cake with vanilla icing. Yes, nothing too exciting. Kind of boring. But that’s probably my favorite dessert. And sugar cookies. You know I love sugar cookies, right? But, as an athlete I don’t eat a lot of those things. So every once in a while—birthdays, special occasions.

MYLA: How many meals do you eat a day?
GRANT: I usually eat three meals a day, but I like to snack a lot, maybe a handful of almonds or chips and salsa. I try to snack with something healthy.

Grant and Myla’s Quesadilla

When Grant isn’t playing basketball or watching football or joining Myla at her softball games or eating salmon, he likes to make quesadillas with his girls. Quesadillas are quick, easily adaptable and, above all, completely delicious.

Kitchen Gear

• Large plate
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoon
• Skillet
• Spatula
• Serving plate

Ingredients

• 4  10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 1  cup grated sharp cheddar or
• Mexican blend cheese
• 4  teaspoons olive oil
• 1  cup toppings, including a combination of black beans, cooked turkey bacon, diced tomatoes, chopped olives, sliced scallions or chopped cilantro leaves
• Plain yogurt or sour cream, for garnish
• Summer salsa, for garnish
• Guacamole, for garnish

Instructions
Wash your hands with soap and water. Clean the counter top. Gather all your kitchen gear and ingredients and put them on the clean counter.

1. Put one tortilla on the large plate and sprinkle ¼ cup grated cheese on one side of the tortilla. Try not to get it too close to the edge.
2. Top with ¼ cup toppings, then fold the tortilla in half to make a half-moon shape.
3. With the help of your adult, put the skillet on the stove and turn the heat to medium. When it is hot, carefully add 1 teaspoon olive oil.
4. Carefully, add the tortilla to the hot skillet and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and the cheese is all gooey, about 2 minutes. using the spatula, turn the tortilla over and cook another 2 minutes. Move the cooked tortilla to the serving plate.
5. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese, olive oil and toppings.
6. Garnish and serve right away.

There are some who believe that vitamin C is the cure for the common cold. Whether that’s true or not, vitamin C is still one of the best things for your body. The great thing about vitamin C is that there are many ways for your body to benefit from it.

Some of the benefits of vitamin C are that it:

• Strengthens your immune system.
• Fights free radicals in your body.
• May reduce the risk of cancer.
• Helps maintain bones, teeth and cartilage.

Foods like oranges, cabbage, broccoli, pineapples, watermelon and blueberries are just a few NATURAL sources of vitamin C for your body. While supplements and tablets may be the next the best thing, natural sources are still the best way to consume this nutrient. What matters most is that you’re providing your body with vitamin C.

ORLANDO, Fla. — There are times when a graying Grant Hill wonders why he’s still chasing kids — some literally half his age — through screens, battling them for rebounds, and taking charges from bruisers that make him ache the next day.

Then he answers himself:

Because he still can. And he still can do it surprisingly well. And he feels great.

Hill, at age 38, has given himself an extension on a basketball career that almost ended years ago, reaping the benefits now of the seasons he lost in his prime.

Anyone waiting for his pre-retirement tour around the league, and his expected start in politics, better prepare to wait a lot longer. There are too many career milestones out there awaiting him.

Hill is the third-oldest player in NBA today, trailing Shaquille O’Neal in Boston and Kurt Thomas in Chicago (who both also are 38), but he likely will outlast the other two.

“The way I feel now, I want to go another couple of seasons,” he told FanHouse Thursday night before another very efficient performance for his Phoenix Suns. “I’d like to be playing when I’m 40.”

Hill is expected to receive an unusually warm welcome for a visiting player when his Suns play in Charlotte against the Bobcats Saturday night. Hill spent four years at nearby Duke University, leading them to back-to-back NCAA titles (1991, ’92), and his return to the area as an elder statesman has been marked by increasing admiration.
(more…)

By Stefan Swiat, Suns.com

One of the toughest mental and physical hurdles to overcome in the NBA is performing well on the second night of back-to-back games.

Picture this. You’re playing the Lakers in Los Angeles and after chasing Kobe Bryant around for 48 minutes, you board a plane that gets back into Phoenix at 2 a.m.

After talking to your wife about the sale of your Orlando home, you attempt to go to sleep at around 3:30 a.m., but your 3 year old won’t let you because she’s 3 years old. At 4:30 a.m. you finally start drifting off, but now you can’t sleep because you have visions of Carmelo Anthony, the very player you’ll be defending in approximately 15 hours.

That was the exact scenario that Suns forward Grant Hill faced the yesterday. And while that predicament would be difficult for any player, it’s even more daunting for a 38 year old.

Considering his age, his position and those circumstances, conventional wisdom would predict that Hill would most likely be fairly atrocious on the second night of those back-to-back games. Think again.
(more…)

Grant Hill spends summers doing a lot of non-basketball workouts.
All photos by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

By NBA.com
Posted Jan 7 2010 6:47PM

After 15 years in the NBA, Grant Hill just reached a major milestone — he completed his first calendar year without missing a game. Quite a big deal, considering it appeared Hill was on the brink of retirement due to ankle injuries earlier in his career, playing in only 47 out of 264 games during a five-year period.

Perhaps no NBA player understands and appreciates the importance of healthy living and physical fitness than Hill, who went six for six in All-Star appearances with the Pistons and Magic before the injuries struck.

To commemorate NBA FIT Week, Hill, 37 (but who says he feels like 30), spoke with NBA.com’s John Hareas and discussed how his approach to working out, diet and nutrition has evolved over the years and why it’s important to him being an NBA FIT member.

NBA.com: You just completed your first year without missing a game in the NBA. How much has your approach to physical fitness played a role in being more durable as you’ve gotten older?

Grant Hill: I think it’s played an important role. For me, it’s been an ongoing discovery learning about your body and what it takes to stay healthy and certainly that was tested during some of those challenging years when I was hurt.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself at that time — I’m a seeker by nature — I really used it as an opportunity to learn more about the body, more about nutrition, more about health overall in general, not just in regards to getting back and playing on the court but having an active, healthy lifestyle as I get older in life.

NBA.com: What did you learn during this time?

Grant Hill: Learning to listen to your body. Your body talks to you and you have to learn how to listen to it. When you’re young and your ego is involved, you think you can overcome or override anything.

Also, understanding diet and nutrition and the role it plays and constantly trying figure out what’s best and what works for me. I think diet plays an important role. Managing your body, little tricks, such as using ice, massage theraphy, sleep, stretching, how you work out — all of these things, you become smarter and you figure out sort of what works and what doesn’t work.

I’m constantly trying to learn as much as I can. I don’t feel like I know it all but I certainly have learned a great deal over the last five or six years.

NBA.com: How has your diet and food choices evolved over the years?

Grant Hill: I think early on you learn the importance of cutting out fast food. As you get older, you stay away from sugar and a lot of the sugary drinks and drink nothing but water. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, fish, occasionally chicken.

I think the thing for me is that it’s not so much what works for everybody but what works for me. I think certainly there are some things that are consistent. I think a lot of the bad foods, the heavy foods, the fried foods, I think those are things everyone can learn from, stay away from or at least in moderation.

I don’t pretend to know the answers necessarily or pretend to have the perfect diet but I know certain foods that are good for you or are healthy don’t necessarily work well with me. I don’t feel as good when I eat those foods. Everybody is different. Everybody reacts differently to different foods.

NBA.com: How different is your offseason now than earlier in your career?

Grant Hill: When I first came in, the offseason was an opportunity to play a lot. I played a lot of basketball. I played year-round, whether it was pick-up games or playing with some of my teammates in the NBA. Whatever the case may be, I was always on the court.

Then I spent many years in the offseason doing rehab and trying to get back out onto the court, recovering from injuries, surgeries and things of that nature. Now, I’m at the point where I’m healthy, which in the last few years has been kind of uncharted waters.

What I’ve found is that cross training is a neat way to stay in shape, staying away from the physical and mental grind of playing basketball every day. What that consists of — and I try to do a lot of recreational activities outdoors — kayaking, standup paddle surfing, tennis, cycling — fun, outdoor activities that you can’t do during the season.

Living in Florida in the offseason exposes you to the sun, which I think is good. Things that I’m getting a workout in but it doesn’t feel like I’m working. It feels like I’m going out and having a good time.

Sometimes, you can just go out for a nice five-mile walk, going out for a walk with my wife. I think the important thing is to try to get the body moving every day. Obviously, I will lift weights and I will use the elliptical machine. If I don’t have access to weights or if I’m in a hotel room, I’ll do push ups, sit ups. The main thing is really trying to get a sweat every day, get the body moving.

The body is meant to be moved. If you don’t move it, you certainly lose it. I know it’s a bad cliché but it really hit home for me when all of those years I’m in a cast and the muscles in the cast around the ankle atrophy and that’s because they’re not being used. Seeing the visual of that really reinforced the importance of getting a sweat every day, getting out and moving and getting some exercise. You don’t always have access to a bike or a health club, but as long as you have a little bit of room, you can get a work out right in your hotel room or right on your living room floor and that’s what I try to do.

NBA.com: Is working out year-round a motivating factor to end your career on your terms opposed to an injury?

Grant Hill: It doesn’t drive me necessarily. Freak things can happen and obviously I’ve been through a lot and I don’t want to go out that way. I would like to be able to say you know I’ve had enough, it’s time to move on. I do understand that as you get older, it’s more important how you train. You can’t not do anything for two months and then expect to pick it back up and be able to play or work out at an intense level and not risk a chance of getting hurt. You really have to be smart. You don’t necessarily have to work long but you have to work smart at what you do. My motivation is, I want to be healthy. I want to fit in my clothes when I’m 50 (laughs). I figure by then whatever’s in fashion now will be back in fashion at that time.

As you get older the one thing that you have to fight is gaining weight and certainly weight gain has a lot to do with a lot of the diseases that are out there. How you eat, how you move and exercise, your attitude toward life, how you train, how you get your rest — all of these things are factors, I think, in how you age. Not that I’m vain or anything like that but hey, I’m an athlete, something that’s been great to me my whole life. Up until now, I’ve benefitted greatly having a father as a professional athlete — being one myself — and I would like to continue to be active as I get older in life.

If there is one thing I’ve learned throughout the ordeal of my injuries was how to take care of myself and how to hopefully prepare myself as I get older.

Look, retirement is going to happen. Injuries — you can do everything right and something freakish can happen. I certainly lived that, actually my colleagues have told me that as well, but the main thing is that it’s not a sprint but a marathon and life is a marathon and hopefully I can be as active as I can and be healthy as I get older in life.

NBA.com: Why is it important to you to join the NBA FIT cause?

Grant Hill: I think anything that spreads the message — I like to say that the NBA is one of the biggest PR firms in the world and the fact that they are putting their name, their brand behind the idea of staying in shape and being fit is important.

Look at the issue in our country with healthcare — certainly that’s been very polarizing. Even childhood obesity — you look at a lot of the problems in our country as it regards to health, wellness and fitness and certainly getting out, eating right, staying in shape, being fit, studies have shown reduced the chances of all different types of diseases and so forth.

So, if we can get young people, older people to get out and do that, then that’s great. The fact that the NBA’s doing it, I’m so excited to be a part of it and hopefully with more and more interviews, we can continue to spread the message.

Water is extremely important to the bodies ability to function correctly.This ultimately leads to the body becoming dehydrated. Dehydration happens when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount coming in. By the time you are thirsty, you are dehydrated. At this point your body has begun to suffer from dehydration. A majority of people don’t consume enough water and suffer many consequences as a result of dehydration. As a rule, you should drink half your body’s weight in ounces of water per day.
These are just a few of the many benefits to drinking water:
-metabolism raises
-healthy skin
-flushing out of toxins
-loss of weight
-increase in energy

Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill has enjoyed a marvelous career throughout his entire life. He has reached great heights and achieved many honors throughout this time as well. From a stellar high school career at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA which led to him to being named to the 1990 McDonald’s All-American Team. From there he went on to attend Duke University. Hill played four years at Duke, winning national titles in 1991 and 1992. Despite losing key contributors on those championship teams, Grant led Duke to the national championship game once again in 1994, but ended up losing to the Arkansas Razorbacks. During his collegiate career, Hill became the first player in ACC history to collect more than 1900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. As a result of his successful college career, he became the 8th player in Duke’s history to have his jersey number (33) retired.

Grant was drafted 3rd overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He entered the league to high expectations, where many expected him to be the future face of the league in a time when Michael Jordan was retired. In his first season, he averaged 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.77 steals per game, and became the first Pistons rookie since Isiah Thomas in 1981–82 to score 1000 points. Hill ended up sharing NBA Rookie of the Year Award honors with Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the first Piston since Dave Bing in 1966–67 to win the award. After signing a lucrative free agent contract with the Orlando Magic, Grant was hampered by career-threatening injuries. Overcoming adversity, Grant worked his way back through strenuous workouts and rehabilitation. In 2007, Hill signed a free-agent contract with the Suns. Since being with the Suns, Grant career has been turned back around. In the 2008–2009 season, Hill appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career, and averaged 12.0 ppg, 4.90 rpg, and 2.3 apg, scoring 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns season finale.

Off the court, Grant’s life is equally interesting. He is the son of former Dallas Cowboy Calvin Hill, a 3-Time All-Pro running back and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1969. His mother, Janet, was a Wellesley College graduate who shared a suite with Hillary Rodham when both were freshmen there. Grant Hill has been married to R&B singer Tamia since July 1999. They have 2 children: Myla Grace, 5, and Lael Rose, born August 9. Along with being a 7-time All-Star and a 5-time All-NBA selection, Grant is also known for being active off the court. He won the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 2005 and 2008. Hill also has a great love for the arts. He owns a substantial collection of African-American art, centering on the work of Romare Bearden and Elizabeth Catlett. A selection of 46 works from the collection was featured in a touring exhibition at a number of American museums from 2003 to 2006.

Living a healthy lifestyle is important to Grant as well. Recently, Grant sat down with NBAFIT.com for a Q&A to discuss fitness, nutrition and tips on living a healthy and active lifestyle and how fitness and nutrition has played a major part in his career.

Read the Conversation

Next time your in the mood for a healthy snack, grab a handful of almonds. It is well known that one of the best ways to maintain a healthy weight is to eat plenty of almonds. This super-food has the ability to give the body a great sense of satisfaction from hunger.