Tom Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and he has no plans to stop. At 39 years old, he’s in better shape than ever. Enter, Alex Guerrero, the trainer behind Brady’s stealth superiority. A piece in Men’s Journal describes him as “trainer, nutritionist, counselor, spiritual guide, massage therapist, and godfather to Brady’s youngest son.”
But who exactly is the man known as Tom Brady’s Mr. Miyagi? Alejandro “Alex” Guerrero grew up in California and studied traditional Chinese medicine at now defunct Samra University in Los Angeles. He went on to open a rehabilitation practice in L.A., in 1996, where he began working with track athletes. Guerrero has been hugely influential on the New England Patriots quarterback’s career. The two have been together for 15 years now, and Guerrero calculated Brady’s every move. How does Brady do it? It comes down to “body discipline,” he told NYMag.com. With guidance from his guru, Brady follows a strict combination of treatment, workouts, food, practice and recovery.
The Workout
Guerrero completely revamped Brady’s workout program. Brady’s regimen is nontraditional for a football player. Resistance band workouts make up about 90 percent of his training, much of which is high-rep. In season, he works out with Guerrero three times a week. In the offseason, it’s six days a week, sometimes twice a day. They almost always meet at TB12 Sports Therapy Center, a center they founded together in Boston located in Patriot Place, the open-air shopping and entertainment plaza adjacent to Gillette Stadium. It has themed rooms – the ‘Grit Room,’ the ‘Determination Room,’ the ‘Perseverance Room’ and the ‘We Got This’ room. In the morning, before and after practice, Guerrero works Brady’s right arm and the neighboring muscles and tissue. Early-morning resistance training is also part of it. He rarely lifts weights. Brady stresses the vital importance of stretching as well to keep muscles pliable. You can glimpse a breakdown of Brady’s workout program at PopWorkouts.com.
The Diet
To achieve peak mind-body performance level, Brady follows a very strict 80-20 diet regimen. It’s not 80-20 healthy-unhealthy, but rather 80 percent alkaline, 20 percent acidic. He won’t dairy, caffeine, white sugar or white flour, MSG, nightshade vegetables or strawberries. Brady explained to Sports Illustrated that he keeps it seasonal. For most of the year, Brady is vegan. In the summer, his diet is made up of mostly raw or “cold property” foods. Come winter, he eats more “hot property” foods, like red meats. At-home chef Allen Campbell told FameFocus.com that 80 percent of what they eat is vegetables (organic) and whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, beans) and 20 percent lean meats (grass-fed organic steak and chicken, and wild salmon). As for treats, its well known that Brady’s all-time favorite is avocado ice cream. Brady compiled 89 of his favorite recipes in a “nutrition manual”, which you can get at TB12store.com.
The Lifestyle
Guerrero has also helped Brady implement several lifestyle adjustments through rest and repair (he sleeps in “athlete recovery sleepwear”) and a healthy dose of eastern spiritual practice (he meditates). Brady also goes to bed each night between 8:30-9:00 p.m., noting that if you’re going to break down your body like he does, you have to build I back up, and the only way to do that is sleep.