Tom Brady Doesn't Have Chronic Pain
Tom Brady doesn’t have chronic pain. But he should, shouldn’t he? Tom has been chased around and tackled by very large men who get paid big bucks to hit him as hard as they can. But after 23 years in the NFL, Tom Brady is fine. In fact, he’s doing quite well.
So, if I can get back pain from picking up a stick in my yard, why isn’t Tom in a wheelchair by now? The answer is that (among other things):
Tom Brady loves bodywork and stretching more than anyone I’ve ever heard of.
He even wrote a book about it:
The TB12 Method: How To Do What You Love Better and Longer
In his book, Tom explains that muscle pliability is the most important factor to his longevity and his success. He says that the key to absorbing hits year after year in the NFL is soft muscle tissue.
And I know that this soft muscle philosophy is very transferable avoidance of chronic pain. Yes, we should all be working on lowering our mental stress, so that the stress doesn’t tighten up our bodies. And yes, the pain does originate with our thoughts. However, it’s not possible to stop all negative emotions from getting through and then tightening up the body. No one is that good.
So, in addition to the mental work (like journaling) that you're doing, you might consider adding muscle pliability – i.e., massage, stretching and rolling into the mix. Tom Brady has a full-time sports therapist whom he works with every day when he's training.
And Tom has 3 Golden Rules for creating super soft muscles that have no chance of causing chronic pain.
1. Muscle Pliability through massage. Tom has a massage every day during training and sometimes twice a day before and after each workout.
2. Muscle Pliability through hydration. Imagine two dinner plates. One plate has a piece of beef jerky on it and the other has a nice ribeye steak (sorry vegans). That’s the difference hydration makes in your body. Tom Brady drinks a lot of water with electrolytes every day. Hydration softens the muscles.
3. Muscle Pliability through anti-inflammatory food. Tom Brady eats more like a yoga master than the typical NFL player. His views and Dr. Sarno’s views on the negative effects of muscle inflammation are very similar (although the origin of muscle inflammation is more complex; we have an upcoming video about this in May).
Tom Brady could have published a book about anything. He chose the topic of muscle pliability because it's that important to him.
Tom Brady opted out of the NFL medical protocol in 2002. He decided instead to put himself in charge of his own healthcare – sound familiar? He’s the only NFL player ever to do this. He’s also the oldest player in the NFL for the upcoming season (after recently opting to return to the Bucs). And he’s now referred to as GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). It’s a nickname that no one disputes.
There's an entire section on Soft tissue in our Sarno 3.0 Master Class. Check it out here.
Stay flexible!
John
