Tom Brady: Wellness Profile

Some say Tom Brady has found the Fountain of Youth.

Earlier this year, at age 43, he secured his seventh NFL Super Bowl victory during his 20th season of professional football—two impressive records in a sport where the average career is just 3.3 years.

But he is far from slowing down. In fact, according to Brady, "Not only do I feel as healthy as I ever have, but I’m proud to still be playing at the highest level and standard for my game" said Brady in his book, The TB12 Method.

He doesn't credit his longevity to good luck or good genes.

Instead, Brady recognizes his holistic lifestyle, strategic supplement use, a novel muscle therapy—and an unwavering commitment to hard work—for his unparalleled longevity and success in professional football.

More importantly, he believes these same strategies can be effective for anyone—of any age—who wants to defy aging and live their best life for as long as possible.

The Underdog

Brady is the first to acknowledge that his sports successes have not come easy for him.

During college, he didn't become the starting quarterback at the University of Michigan until his senior year.

In the 2000 NFL draft, the New England Patriots chose him as the NFL's 199th draft pick. That means he was passed over by every team in the NFL about five times.

And it's no wonder.

While his scouting report listed many positives, it ultimately described him as "a system-type player who's not what you're looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength, and mobility."

Brady's response to this description?

They were right.

But none of that discouraged Brady; it drove him to work even harder.

In his book, he discusses hard work as the key to his success.

"In my first season with the Patriots, I was mostly the fourth quarterback on the depth chart. As usual, it was because I didn’t have the natural ability some athletes had at that age. In order to compete, I had to work harder than ever before."

Even as a New England Patriot, Brady didn’t get a chance to play until starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured.

But Brady's hard work and competitive drive prepared him for the challenge, and during that Cinderella season, he led his team to victory at Super Bowl XXXVI.

That year he earned the first of 17 division titles, 13 AFC Championship Games, and seven Super Bowl titles.

But behind the scenes during those early years, Brady was in pain and at risk of losing everything—until a meeting with a body coach changed his approach to fitness, peak performance, and healthy longevity.

The Pliability Technique

Brady was no stranger to pain—something he had been taught was just part of playing the game. But by his late 20s, the tendonitis in his elbow was severe enough to potentially end his career.

With his coach, Brady utilized targeted, deep-force muscle work that lengthened and softened the muscles surrounding Brady's elbow joint.

This stopped his muscles from tugging on his tendons and allowed his muscles to work in a more relaxed, optimal state.

Ultimately, these pliability treatments eliminated Brady's pain—and it hasn’t returned since.

Now, pliability work makes up roughly half of Brady's training sessions (which also includes strength and conditioning), and he does a pliability training regimen before and after every workout.

Brady says pliability techniques—which can be done by a practitioner, or by utilizing tools like vibrating balls or rollers that can target your body’s trigger points—can help resolve existing pain while preventing future injury as well.

This applies whether you're a professional athlete or a weekend golfer, and can be used to help resolve common issues like tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, and lower back pain.

Discipline On and Off the Field

As Brady enters his 21st year in the NFL, he has more than doubled the length of a good NFL career.

When he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory earlier this year at Super Bowl LV, Brady became the oldest player to win a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback and the oldest player to be named Super Bowl MVP. He is also the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.

Yet he continues to get better with age.

He says he has been faster every year for the last six years, and he has broken his own personal bests in agility and functional strength tests.

"Over the same period, according to conventional wisdom, this doesn't happen to athletes in their late thirties and early forties," said Brady.

Pliability is a big part of these impressive results, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle.

Over the years, Brady and his coach developed a holistic regimen that has become Brady’s secret weapon to his success. It includes healthy nutrition, proper hydration, supplementation, promoting oxygen-rich blood flow, promoting anti-inflammatory responses in the body, and more.

"Once I began understanding that the things I put inside my body had a direct effect on my performance on and off the field, I took a long look at my diet and the nutritional choices I was making or not making," said Brady. "Hydration and nutrition are the foundation of healthy muscles, and if your muscles aren't healthy, it’s that much harder to attain optimal pliability."

Brady eats an anti-inflammatory diet of fresh, seasonal, organic foods from local sources. He eats 80% plant-based and 20% animal-based foods, and lots of fiber and essential fatty acids. He doesn’t eat refined carbohydrates or unhealthy fats, and limits inflammatory foods and alcohol.

"Eating healthy is an investment I make in myself," said Brady. "We all have one body and one life. I’ve made it a priority to treat that body and life as respectfully as possible."

He drinks a minimum of half his body weight in ounces of water every day. And for the past 20 years, Brady has used supplements to help boost his performance and recovery.

"It would be great if everyone had the benefits of a mostly plant-based, real-food nutritional regimen, but that often doesn’t happen because of our busy lives," said Brady. "The right supplements can’t take the place of proper nutrition, but they can help ensure that you get the daily vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body may be lacking."

Every day, Brady takes electrolytes and trace mineral drops, a multivitamin, vitamin D, vitamin B complex, an antioxidant, essential fish oils, protein powder, and a probiotic.

It's all part of a program designed to optimize his performance on and off the field.

"I define good health and being healthy as vitality—and feeling it. That means I have the energy to do the things I want to do and love to do," said Brady. "It also means doing all those activities without pain, and with energy, enthusiasm, passion, and endurance."

His principles aren't just for athletes but are valuable for anyone who wants to live a healthy, holistic lifestyle.

"I'm proud of playing football and of our team, and I'm also excited to educate people and inspire a movement that can change the lives of people from many walks and stages of life," said Brady. "If I've learned one thing as I go into my 21st NFL season, it's how important it is to devote yourself to an attitude oriented toward longevity and extended peak performance that never wavers in its longer-term perspective."

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

Tom Brady is a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and started his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. He holds numerous career quarterback records, including passing yards, completions, touchdown passes, games started, and pro bowl selections. He is also the NFL leader in career quarterback wins, regular-season wins, playoff wins, and Super Bowl MVP awards.