I agree that it is a combo of things but he has said himself that the biggest contributor to his longevity and level of excellence in his 40s has been Alex and his approach to training and diet. I do think we tend to discount these things somewhat because it seems mundane and all professional athletes for the most part train and eat right to maintain their performance. But Brady's approach is very unique because it is counter intuitive to how most football players have trained/dieted over the years. A plant based diet in and of itself is revolutionary as most guys eat a ton of protein and muscle building foods whereas Brady's focus is high energy, less inflammation to help him have less injuries and also recover well. It takes so much disciple to train and eat the way he does. And of course, anyone who has worked with Alex has always had positive results.
I think the biggest reason why Brady has avoided the big injuries is the way he plays the game. He is so good from the pocket and gets rid of the ball so fast he avoids big hits probably better than anyone. That being said, he became the most sacked QB in NFL history last year because he has played so long so his training has really helped him the most by far.
So, like Brady, you're a believer in Alex Guerrero's regimen since you believe he's largely responsible for Tom Brady's excellent play and longevity.
The very same Alex Guerrero who:
- In 2004, pretended to be Dr. Alejandro Guerrero on infomercials hawking his Supreme Greens, a nutritional supplement he claimed had cured 192 of 200 people afflicted with cancer and also prevented arthritis, MS, Parkinson’s, diabetes, heart disease and HIV. That deceit caused the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate and it discovered none of the claims had any basis in scientific fact and, for good measure, Guerrero may have had a masters in Chinese medicine from a defunct school and that claim can't be substantiated. The FTC declared him a fraud and he was
banned for life from promoting supplements or calling himself a doctor.
Damn good thing he found Brady to promote his supplements, don't you think?
- Not to be deterred by the FTC's ban, he hit it off so well with Brady that Brady soon lent his considerable name to NeuroSafe, a wondrous concoction described as being “powered by TB12!” that Guerrero invented and marketed as “a seatbelt for the brain” because it contained minerals that allegedly promoted speedy recovery from concussion. A fantastic idea in a league with a brain injury problem except the FTC quickly forced them to withdraw it from sale because the ingredients did no such thing. That embarrassing setback showed that Guerrero had found his gullible patsy in Brady. Together they opened a sports therapy facility adjacent to Gillette Stadium and launched a whole range of ancillary products promoted by TB12 and not by Guerrero. How convenient. Are you getting the picture yet? No? There's more.
- Go to his website and you'll find all sorts of snake oil stuff from a shoulder performance kit to a can of protein powder, from a vibrating sphere to a brain-training exercise app - the TB12 brand covers all commercial bases when it comes to separating gullible fans from their dollars. Read his book and you'll see he drinks two and a half gallons of filtered water per day and claims he’s so well hydrated his skin cannot be sunburned. Maybe it’s because every glass comes carefully laced with TB12 electrolytes, containing “72 trace minerals extracted from sea water” and available for just $15 per bottle. He sleeps in a pair of his own line of pajamas that have print technology inside them reflecting “far infrared” which, somehow, promotes deeper sleep and simultaneously helps your body recover faster. Just $200.
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- People who’ve been given an up-close look at TB12 have a difficult time characterizing it. The
Times’ Mark Leibovich described it thusly:
[Brady] told me they had started a business together, called TB12, that would institutionalize Guerrero’s technique. The business is in a shopping center behind the Patriots’ home field, Gillette Stadium, but it is hard to describe what exactly TB12 is — not a gym, not a group practice of personal trainers, not a nutrition or massage-therapy center. Whenever I asked Brady and Guerrero to define TB12, they would talk of things like “re-educating muscles” and “prehab” (preventing injuries, rather than dealing with them after they happen). Inevitably, they would come around to the word “lifestyle.”
In key ways, Guerrero’s philosophies haven’t changed over the past 10 years. Back in the Supreme Greens infomercial, he spouted New-Agey ideas about the acid-alkaline theory of disease—an approach that has been criticized as junk science. Brady now mimics the same talking points, telling
Sports Illustrated that, in the magazine’s words, he adheres “to the 80-20 theory—but it’s not 80 percent healthy food, 20 percent unhealthy. It’s 80 percent alkaline, 20 percent acidic. The idea, he says, is ‘to maintain balance and harmony through my metabolic system.’”
Guerrero’s plan, according to the
Times, still employs his custom supplements:
Guerrero dispenses his own line of nutritional supplements through TB12, which he assured me he tested independently to ensure compliance with the league’s drug policies. Brady, too, told me he was “absolutely” sure nothing he was ingesting could get him into trouble.
According to the FTC, Alex Guerrero faked being a doctor and claimed his products could cure cancer.
www.bostonmagazine.com
Brady fell for Guerrero's pitch hook, line and sinker. It's not all junk. The massage therapy and pliability training are good. The nutritional advice/supplements, however, are snakeoil hogwash. The pajamas? The electrolytes preventing sunburn? The list is endless quackery.