In 2000, a 23-year-old Tom Brady was the sixth-round draft pick for the New England Patriots. He was tall, lanky and ran the 40-yard dash in 5.28 seconds (when most starting quarterbacks do it in under 5 seconds) — not exactly what most NFL teams look for.
But today, Brady is heading into his 20th season with the Patriots, he has six Super Bowl rings under his belt and he is widely regarded as the GOAT (aka, greatest of all time) when it comes to quarterbacks.
At 42, Brady has stayed in the game longer than many — the average NFL career for a Pro-Bowl nominated quarterback is 12 years, according to the Houston Chronicle. And Brady says it’s the strict health and wellness regimen his longtime trainer Alex Guerrero has had him on since 2006 that’s key to his longevity and success.
“I absolutely know 100 percent that it works, and the reality is I’m just a client who lives by the teachings,” Brady told Men’s Health of Guerrero.
Brady gave Men’s Health an inside look at his daily health and fitness routine while training at a private resort in the Bahamas, where he has gone to train ahead of football season for the past seven years.
Here’s what his Bahamas routine looks like.
Brady wakes up at 5:30 a.m, and starts the day with a berry-and-banana smoothie. Then he meets his trainer, Guerrero, at around 8 a.m. on the beach.
Before working out, Guerrero gives Brady a four-minute massage that hits 20 muscle groups for about 20 seconds each. During the so-called “deep force” treatment, Guerrero Brady flexes and relaxes the muscle at a faster and faster pace while doing a movement, according to Men’s Health. The pre-workout massage is to help prepare Brady’s brain and body for impact, Guerrero said in an episode of the documentary series on Brady, “Tom vs. Time.”
Next, Brady starts a 40-minute workout with resistance bands. He doesn’t use weights because the focus is on speed, agility and core stability, and heavy weights create short, tear prone muscle fibers built for quick bursts, according to Guerrero. “You can’t do weighted squats one day and then the next expect to be fast and nimble in the other direction,” he told Men’s Journal.
During the off season, Brady works out four to five days a week, and most days his workouts consist of movement drills including squats, lunges, planks and shoulder exercises.
After working out, Guerrero gives Brady another type of massage treatment to increase his blood flow and flush the lactic acid that has built up in order to speed up Brady’s muscle recovery time.
Post workout, Brady typically has the same breakfast, eggs with avocado.
Brady also spends 15 minutes every day doing online brain exercises by Posit Science BrainHQ (like Hawk Eye, for “visual precision,” which quickly flashes birds on the screen, challenging the viewer to spot the one that is different from the rest). In his book, “The TB12 Method,” Brady said the exercises help him stay sharp on and off the field.
Lunch is usually a salad with nuts and fish and Brady also snacks on hummus, guacamole or mixed nuts. For dinner, Brady told Men’s Health that he typically has roasted vegetables with chicken.
But Brady adds that he is not as militant about his diet and fitness routine as people may think. “If I’m craving bacon, I have a piece. Same with pizza,” he told Men’s Health.
“You should never restrict what you really want. We’re humans, here for one life.”